We’re all familiar with this scenario: endless YouTube videos featuring your favorite beauty influencers, skillfully contouring the face, highlighting cheekbones, and perfecting brows. But not every tutorial works for everyone — in the world of beauty, there are no strict rules. The most important thing is that your makeup reflects your style and individuality.
If you’re looking for a starting point, it’s helpful to consider your face shape. For example, tutorials for round faces often recommend strong contouring to make features more defined. But if you have a narrow face, those techniques may not work as well.
The secret to makeup for a narrow face is to visually add “height” and volume. This helps draw the eye upward, creating the illusion of wider, more balanced features.
Read on in our new article to discover proven tips for makeup that will enhance your narrow facial features, create the perfect balance, and give your look a naturally expressive finish.
1. Skin Preparation
The key to any successful makeup look starts with proper skin preparation. If you want to visually add volume and freshness to your face, the first step is skincare that hydrates and strengthens the skin, creating a plump, lifted effect.
It’s best to begin your skincare routine in the evening, incorporating it into your usual beauty habits. Before bed, apply a hydrating serum with collagen and peptides. This helps you wake up with soft, moisturized, and firm skin — the perfect base for long-lasting makeup.
2. Create Shadows with Bronzer
One of the easiest ways to visually broaden a narrow face is to use bronzing powder correctly. Apply it along the hairline, chin, and temples to create the effect of more balanced proportions and make the face appear slightly “shorter” and more defined.
3. Achieve a Flawless Contour
Contouring helps to correct the shape of the face and differs from regular bronzing. Start with a cream contour or a matte bronzer (suitable for oily-prone skin). Draw a line just below the cheekbones, about halfway toward the corners of the mouth — this will accentuate the cheekbones and visually widen the face. Then gently blend the product upward and toward the hairline for a soft transition. If desired, you can also apply contour to the chin and blend it outward, creating a harmonious and natural expansion of the face shape.
4. Highlight
Highlighter is a true secret to visually widening a narrow face. Use a quality cream highlighter and apply it to the center of the forehead, under the eyes, and on the tops of the cheekbones. By illuminating these “high points,” you draw attention upward and outward, creating the effect of a more balanced and wider-looking face.
However, makeup artists recommend avoiding applying highlighter on the chin — this can visually elongate the face. You can lightly add highlighter or shimmer powder to the eyelids, but skip the chin so the face doesn’t appear longer.
Do not apply highlighter along the entire length of the nose or on the chin. Instead, be sure to highlight the tip of the nose and the area just above the center of the eyebrows — this helps bring these points forward visually and softens the length of the sides of the face.
5. Emphasize Your Eyebrows
Drawing your eyebrows with a slight outward extension helps visually widen the face. It’s important to use short, precise strokes that mimic natural hairs so the brows look realistic rather than drawn on.
6. Experiment with Blush
Applying blush can sometimes feel like a challenging step in makeup, regardless of face shape. Choosing the right shade and brush can be tricky, but blush is an easy way to highlight the natural beauty of your face.
For a soft and natural look, apply blush just below the apples of your cheeks, as if you’re slightly contouring the face or using a light bronzer. Blend the color upwards toward your ears to create a smooth, harmonious transition.
Focus on the apples of your cheeks and choose shades with a subtle shimmer — they add freshness and visual volume to the face. Apply blush gradually, building up the intensity to keep the makeup looking natural and elegant.
7. Applying a Base Powder
This beauty hack is gaining popularity every year — and it’s easy to see why. While the idea may seem unconventional, using a mattifying, oil-free, translucent, or setting powder before applying foundation offers a host of benefits. If your skin tends to get oily shine throughout the day, even after several touch-ups, this method can be a real lifesaver. Professional makeup artists have long used this technique to extend the wear of makeup all day, and for those who want to add depth and dimension to their face, it becomes an essential step for a flawless look.
TIP: Choose your tools carefully. Apply the first layer of powder with a dry sponge — this prevents a mask-like effect. Then, lightly set your makeup with a setting spray to ensure it lasts longer and looks as natural as possible.
8. Perfect Lashes
It may seem that after applying foundation, blush, and bronzer, no additional accents are needed, but believe me, a small “seasoning” in the form of expressive lashes can transform your look. Even a slight boost in volume makes the eyes appear fuller, thicker, and more alluring. The key here is the harmony of lash length and density. To achieve the effect of luxurious, voluminous lashes, choose a mascara with a lengthening effect — it will add the perfect volume and complete your makeup.
9. Highlight Your Eyes
Finally, focusing on the eyes draws attention upward, diverting the gaze from the length of the face. A cat-eye liner is an excellent choice: the tips of the wings, directed outward, visually widen the eyes and the face. Another quick way to enhance your gaze is to add extra volume to the lashes by inserting individual clusters in the center of each eye arc. Start with a few strands and gradually add more until you achieve the desired fullness.