From making your cheekbones look high to highlighting your best features, contouring can do magic. Contouring is commonly done on the face, with a variation of light and dark makeup. But did you know you can also contour your entire body with a self-tanner? Here are some tips on how to apply a self-tanner contour (tontouring) to make your body look perfect:

Apply the Self-Tanner on Your Arms

Contouring with self-tanner can make your arms look toned. Get a mirror and look at your arm while pointing your index finger to the floor. You will see your flexed triceps, and that’s what you are going to highlight. 

Get a makeup brush and dip it into the self-tanner. Then, trace the natural definition of your triceps, and repeat the process on your other arm.

Raise your elbow and clench your fist to flex your biceps. Take the makeup brush and trace the half-moon shape on your biceps.

Create a Defining Shadow on Your Stomach

To create a defined stomach, trace a line from the middle of your chest down to your belly button with a makeup brush dipped in self-tanner. Then, create a parentheses shape on the sides of your belly button, from your rib cage to your hips. Do this a few times, making sure each shape is overlapping the first lines you drew until it creates an hourglass shape. 

Create an Illusion of Lifted and Tighter Buttocks

Create a parentheses shape on the lower and outer portion of your butt, keeping the upper part and center lighter. This will create the illusion that you have lifted and tighter buttocks. 

Apply the Self-Tanner on Your Legs and Thighs

Make your legs look sexier with self-tanner. Lift your leg to see the natural muscle definition of your inner thigh, then trace the line with a lighter color of self-tanner. Then, flex and point your toes to see the natural lines defining your outer thighs. Trace the line from the bottom of your bum to the muscle above your knees. Then, trace the line down to your lower leg, from below your knee to above the ankle. 

Contour Your Face

Contouring can give high cheekbones and make your face look slimmer. Apply the self-tanner all over your face as a base. Then, apply a gradual darker self-tanner on your forehead near your hairline. Swipe the same darker self-tanner under your cheekbones and blend it quickly. Contour both sides and the tip of your nose, and mix them quickly. Wait for the gradual self-tanner to develop over the next few hours, and you’re done.

How to Get Perfect Results with Self Tanner Contouring

Now that you have understood how to use self-tanner for contouring your body, here are some best practices to help you get the perfect results. Follow these steps before you start working on the contouring.

Properly Prepare Your Complexion

Before you begin, make sure that you use a gentle exfoliator like Dermasuri Deep Exfoliating Body Mitt ($14.95) to smoothen out any rough patches on the skin and provide hydration to your skin. Make sure to do this one night before you decide to apply self-tanner for contouring. 

Choose the Right Self-Tanner

You should always treat a self-tanner with the same standards you treat your skincare and beauty products. The tanner should be high quality and it should never clog your pores or harm your skin. Although the tanner you pick should depend on your skin tone, complexion, and other factors, we recommend using the Australian Gold Almost Famous Triple Bronzer because it is new and contains hemp seed oil with Vitamin A which provides protection to the skin. 

Always Pick One Shade Darker Than Your Natural Skin Tone

If you want to achieve the perfect balance of a contoured look than the key is to use a darker shade of the self-tanner. The color should be one shade darker than your natural skin tone for the best results. If you use darker than that, it may give you a muddy look and you may not appear slim at all. 

Work on a Single Area First

Don’t rush contouring. Try to cover each part of the body one by one. Work on one part of the body thoroughly and give the tanner some time to set in, only then move on the next part. Since the face has many parts where you can apply the self-tanner to gain a contoured look, we recommend covering each part one by one. 

Brushes Are Great, but Cotton Ball Works Too

Although we recommend using a makeup brush for the best result, if you have a cotton ball in your drawer, that can also work. Whatever you do, do not use your fingers to apply a contoured look. The cotton ball will also allow you to gently contour the body. Just make sure you are applying a light, sweeping motion for the smoothest result. 

Conclusion

Contouring with self-tanner can make your body look better as your best features are highlighted. Thanks to tontouring, you can finally have toned arms, defined abs, sexy legs, and tighter bum. Contouring can also make you look slimmer, mainly when you apply it on your face.  

Don’t forget to find the right self-tanner product that looks best on you, giving you the glowing bronze color. Give our new 2019 collection of tanning lotions a look. You’ll definitely find something to work with on the list.