When I first heard about contouring [1] many years ago, I was equal parts confused and intrigued. I didn't really understand how it worked, but I was desperate to achieve the stunning looks that celebrities like Kim Kardashian had mastered [2]. I've come a long way since then, and I've even reached a point where I don't do my makeup without adding at least a little bit of contour. Achieving the perfect contour placement [3] was something that I still had trouble with until I found a hack that made it a breeze. The next trick I needed to tackle? Getting my contour lines to look sharp and dramatic.
So, when I saw a video of beauty influencer Serena Lakkiss [4] achieving the sharpest contour line I had ever witnessed using a roll of tape (yes, you read that right), my interest was definitely piqued. In the video, Lakkis applies tape to her face and uses it to trace a contour line. Eager to see if it would work for me, I gathered my supplies and headed to the bathroom.
@serenalakkiss [5] 💋 #contourhack [6] #makeuphacks [7]
♬ Soaked audio - RheasMami [8]
I started out by applying my primer, foundation, and filling in my eyebrows. From there, before applying blush, contour, or doing my eye makeup, I tested out the contour tape hack. To try it out, all I needed was my contour product of choice — I used Rare Beauty's Warm Wishes Effortless Bronzer Stick [9] ($23) and a roll of tape. Next, I cut off a piece of tape that I thought was around the length from one of my ears to the other, and I placed it in my mouth and upward so that a line was created from the corner of my lips to the high point on each of my ears.
From there, I used my bronzer stick to trace a line from the middle of the tape all the way to my hairline. After, I used a beauty sponge to blend everything out. Once I had blended out both sides, I removed the tape and surveyed the results.
This left my contour in an impossibly straight line that I have never been able to achieve on my own. However, the stickiness of the tape did remove some of the base makeup I had on my face under the contour line, which meant that I needed to go in and reapply underneath the line, making the line a little less sharp. However, even after I re-applied some of my base makeup, I could still make out the line placement, and it looked great.
To finish everything off, all I had to do was curl my eyelashes and put on mascara, and I was ready to head out the door. Throughout the day I kept stealing glances of myself in basically any reflective surface, and the contour kept its sharp line way past 5 pm.
I will definitely make use of this hack whenever I'm going for an intense makeup look, but I probably won't use it if I'm wearing casual makeup. I like a sharp contour just as much as the next person, but this is definitely a makeup trick for when I want to stand out. I'll also probably purchase a roll of tape that is a little less sticky because the one I used had almost too much strength.
Either way, this is definitely a TikTok hack that I'll be keeping in my back pocket and using whenever the time is right.