When you have a problem with your nose, you have options. You could inject fillers that will correct the shape of your nose. You could save up and get a nose job. You could detract attention from your nose by wearing floppy hats and huge earrings. Or you could use the magic of makeup to make your central feature a little smaller.
If you’ve chosen to try distracting tactics, there are a few things you might do. Wearing a bold lipstick pulls focus lower down your face. You might have heard the makeup adage that you should either draw attention to your eyes or your mouth but never both.
In this case, your mouth is better, because heavy-eye make draws the eye upward, and that includes focusing on your nose. Keep your eye makeup simple and neutral. If you have eye bags or hollows beneath your eyes, camouflage them with concealer to avoid unwanted attention on your t-zone.
Human beings (and magpies) are irresistibly drawn to sparkles and shine. Wear glittery jewellery on your ears and neck to pull watching eyes in that direction. For obvious reasons, avoid nose studs and bull rings.
And aside from wearing a pretty hat – which really does work – wear large sunglasses. If you need spectacles, get large frames for them as well, since the oversized eyewear will make your nose look smaller.
The way you style your hair can be helpful too. Avoid tight ponytails. They create a vertical line straight past your nose. Instead, wear your hair down. Be conscious that central parting and large bangs pull observers’ eyes towards the middle of your face, so don’t use them.
Side parting, asymmetrical styles, and loose curls work better. If your hairstyle increases volume at the back of your head, your neck looks shorter, and that can help your nose look smaller. ‘Big hair’ is always a bad idea, because it draws focus to the middle of your face.
Regarding makeup, there are two main tips that are used to make your nose smaller and slimmer. They’re known as highlighting and contouring. To use these techniques, the shade of makeup you use is essential.
Your eye shadow, blush, and foundation all affect how your nose looks. Ideally, you’re looking for tips and tricks that give you nose a slimmer appearance from the front and shorter appearance from the side.
As a general rule, use eye shadow that is darker than your natural skin by two or three shades. These will slim your nose. For highlighters, do the opposite and go two to three shades lighter. In both cases, powder makeup is easier to blend than liquid or cream, so experiment with loose packs and soft brushes until you get the hang of it.
You need two primary tools to begin. An angled brush is easier to control when you’re applying your highlights and contours. Pair this with a blending brush or a blending sponge to seamlessly bring colours together.
Start with a primer to reduce the size of your pores, and follow that up with foundation. It covers up any skin flaws you might have and evens out your face. This is helpful because, for most of us, our skin doesn’t have a uniform tone. Some parts are darker than others, and foundation helps to give a smooth, natural look.
Foundation also absorbs natural oils from your skin and provides traction for the rest of your makeup. It helps your blush, eyeshadow, and other products hold on to your skin and last longer throughout the day.
When you choose foundation, you’re sometimes advised to test it on your hand and match it to that shade. But as we’ve said, our skin has different shades throughout our bodies, so test it on your cheek or jawline instead to get a more accurate matching.
As you lay the base for your makeup, use your fingers to layer on your primer but use a brush or sponge for the foundation. This helps you blend the product more evenly. Now it’s time to work on your nose.
Using the highlighter and an angled brush, draw a thin line down the centre of your nose but don’t curve under it. The line should be narrow because it draws light and attention to your nose. The wider the line is, the wider your nose looks.
The highlighter plays with light, giving your face more character and drawing focus towards your eyes. Blend the line of highlighter without widening it. To do this, use the blending brush or sponge to gently brush down your nose and towards the sides.
If you do this right, it will soften the boundaries of the highlighter so that there’s no clear demarcation between the paler highlighter tone and your darker foundation. But if you apply too much pressure, you’ll just spread out the highlighter and widen its line on your nose, so be as gentle as you can.
Pull eye shadow from the inner corners of your eyes, down the sides, and towards the tip of your nose in a u-shape. This gives your nose a slimmer look. Applying eye shadow beneath the curve of your nose makes it looks shorter and smaller. For these steps, an angled brush is better, though you should blend the colour with a sponge or blending brush.
If your nose is a little crooked, draw the line of eye shadow straight down instead of creating a u-shape that follows the natural contour of your nose. This creates an illusion of straightness. Finish your work by fluffing a blending brush to even out the colour, then coating it with a light dusting of setting powder. This will help the makeup stay on longer as you go about your day.
