Highlight and contour: OK for everyday? Is it just a fad?

Wendy Renee Crowe

I keep mine pretty low-key and it looks great!! I can even wear less eye make-up etc… by only HACing and my face looks fresh and refreshed!!I As long as it is minimal and not looking like I am about to hit the club it’s a KEEP for an everyday look!

RenataMD

HACing is awesome! People need to STOP looking at Kim K. She overdoes and ruins everything! Nobody give her a puppy, please!

Maggiek

Hi Cara!! I think it’s here to stay for sure. The other day my mom found a book on beauty she bought in 1962. It talks about highlighting and contouring. Which I thought was so cool..its an amazing way of doing your make up. I do it every day. Sometimes minimally. Sometimes full coverage. I love it. Thank you so much for teaching us how to HAC.

Kelsey

For me, the concept is definitely here to stay, but I recently chose to start doing selective, very light hac-ing. I have a lot of freckles and it seems like I can easily look over-makeuped because of them. So when it comes to the lovely IIID foundation, I do my triangles under my eyes for my dark eye circles, mix contour and cheek color for a darker, browner blush, lightly touch the tops of my cheekbones and browbones with the pearl, and use the contour from my jawline down my neck because it has no freckles and looks very pale compared to my face. And that’s it! I love wearing natural looking, quick make up and thinking outside the box to make the IIID set work for my wants and needs. 🙂 I think Cara is right about comparing hac to ombre-it’s just like “overdrawing your lips”.

Cee

but it’s so hard for us regular people :'( I can barely manage one foundation. lol

Gerley

It is not a “fad”- it’s just something that goes in and out of style like power brows vs skinny brows, bright lips vs nude lips, matte textures vs shine.
Not too long ago everyone and their mother used lipgloss and no one under 60 went NEAR a lipstick. Bright lips were for OLD people.
You had no contour, a smokey eye and pale glossy lips. Now bright lips combined with a strong liner- which was SO eighties and awful and never do that ever- is absolutely accepted.
Contouring and Highlighting was something we considered old-school, dated and awful when I started make-up (2003) and I remember you would only do it in emergencies (like bumps on noses, bringing together overplucked brows etc) and now it’s a huge trend. I remember telling a story to colleagues about a photographer who asked me about contour and we laughed about it like “Oh that old fart who knows nothing”

Gosh I am old 😀

Sam Sands

I know for certain that I will be HACing my face for as long as there is makeup… No it does not have to be over the top, but it does help slim the facial features and give dimension and that “glow from within” look that everyone is constantly searching for. The beauty is that you can make it more subtle or dramatic depending on the look you are going for and I absolutely think it can be done in the daytime as well as the nighttime.

<3

Rachel

I agree that HACing to look more natural will be around (and likely has been around) for a very long time. To me it just shows the natural curves and bones in the face so much better and gives you a super flattering look 🙂 Now if only I could master it 😉

Robin

I love HACing! Here to stay. Question regarding your IIID foundation…I have oily skin and am 50+ so am curious if your makeup will work for me.

meme

I didn’t know about HAC until I saw this site a couple of years ago and I too thought, great for still photo poses, but that’s it. Then I realized I was already doing it, for like 10 years, but with a slight difference. I have a really ruddy complexion and covering it all up looked terrible, like a mask, flat and unnatural. So instead I used a creamy yellow based concealer from Lancôme – called sunlight!!! To use around my eyes and nose and a bit around my chin. It wasn’t about coverage, but complimenting. Basically just adding light to those areas. The yellow tone on pink / red skin was far far more natural than what a lot of makeup artists had recommended – horrible green camouflage under regular foundation. The combo was awful!

I didn’t think the mascara HAC kit would work for me, because rosacea and color tone make skin pretty uneven. But I’ve never used anything better, and I am a certified makeup addict. I’ve tried it all. I really love the kit, but again use it a bit differently in that I don’t use any cream contouring because it settles on my uneven / textured skin and looks rough. I love the lighter shade (sunlit) and use the blush then do a powder bronzer just lightly for contour. The result is not a porcelain skin look, but rather a healthy skin tone with naturally rosy cheeks. The look is a huge pick me up, really fast (always under 3 minutes) and just works so well. I get loads of compliments on my skin and beautiful complexion – ha! – cracks me up. So regardless of those images of extremely perfect HAC that are certainly a fad, I do a variation of it ever single day and it’s the most natural look I’ve ever had! Really love it!

Rhiannon

HAC is here to stay. at least for me. I would never go back to one color foundation. But it definitely isn’t for me on a daily basis. I do wear eyeliner and mascara almost every day but. 1) I am a SAHM of a 3 year old and an 8 month old. I am just not going to take the time to apply and ‘re apply all day. 2) I really don’t like the feel of it on my skin all day 3) I am super lucky to have a pretty complexion and if it ain’t broke….

Angie

I think your take on it is right on. If not overdone, there is nothing about it that would go ‘out’ of style. It is too classic and natural to ever go out.

Jennifer

nice post, I love maskara
kiss

FASHIONBYJEJE

Jordan

I’m hoping this isn’t just a fad – I love the way my face looks when I HAC! Though it definitely needs to be subtler when it’s everyday.

Felicia Madrid

Seeing the two pictures side by side definitely shows that HACing is actually achieving a more natural look, which I prefer. I love your makeovers, everyone always looks younger and more fresh, who doesn’t want that?! I usually do a simplified version of HACing, but would love to try IIID Foundation one day soon. I have been following you for quite a while, when you lived in AZ, which is where I’m from. 🙂 Your blog has only gotten better, it was your article about Christians dad that I first read and I can relate. I think I came back to read those posts a few times, just when I needed to know I wasn’t alone. Thanks for sharing a piece of you!

thefurniturefinder

Definitely everyday! I LOVE my maskcara makeup and I HAC everyday, but very lightly. I feel like my face glows and I can see the difference in my features (smaller looking nose! Awesome! Thank you very much!). Cara, keep up the good work girl! You are moving mountains and inspiring many and making us all the more beautiful on the outside and inside (since our self confidences are growing). xo

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