How to Make Your Nose Look Smaller with Makeup & Contouring

Cosmetics experts reveal how to shrink your nose and make your other features pop

Co-authored by Daniel Vann

Last Updated: March 13, 2023 References

Contouring Your Nose

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Best Makeup Products

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Highlighting Other Facial Features

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Video

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Expert Q&A

If you want to make you nose appear thinner, there are tons of makeup tricks that you can use! Learning about contouring, blending, and how to draw attention away from your nose with makeup will all help to create the illusion of a smaller nose. With a little practice, you'll be in love with your new nose in no time!

Things You Should Know

Contour a thinner nose by highlighting the bridge of your nose and drawing darker lines along the sides of your nose (don’t forget to blend, blend, blend!).
Use a concealer or highlighter that’s 1-2 shades brighter than your natural skin tone and contour or powder that’s about 2 shades darker.
Contour your cheekbones or apply blush or bronzer to draw attention away from your nose. Try bold eye or lip makeup, too.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Contouring Your Nose

1
Start by putting on your foundation. Before you contour your nose, you'll need to apple your normal foundation. Apply your foundation as your regularly would, including your nose. You'll contour your nose on top of the foundation. This will help your makeup look more natural once you blend everything together.
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Apply the highlighter to the bridge of your nose. Apply a thin line of highlighting concealer down the center of the bridge of your nose. Start at eye-level, and stop about half an inch before the end of your nose. This will create the illusion of a smaller nose. You can use your finger or a small, angled brush to apply the concealer.^{[1]
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3
Add the darker makeup to the sides of your nose. Use your contouring pencil or take a thin, angled brush to draw lines down the sides of your nose. Start near the inner corner of each eye, and shade straight down to the end of your nose. The closer you put your lines to the center of your nose, the thinner your nose will appear. Practice until you find your desired width of your contoured nose.
- If you have wide nostrils, add a bit of this darker shade to your nostrils as well^{[2]
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Blend, blend, blend! Once you've applied your foundation, highlighter, and darker contour, it's time to blend everything together! The beauty of contouring is that it creates an illusion, so your makeup should look as seamless and smooth as possible. Take your blending brush or beauty blender and gently blend your makeup. Use circular, outward motions to blend the lines of your contouring together.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Best Makeup Products

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Get the right makeup brushes. To make your nose appear thinner with makeup, you'll need the proper makeup brushes. You'll need your foundation brush, a small, angled brush to contour and shape your nose, as well as a fluffy blending brush or beauty blender to soften lines. Using the proper brushes will help your makeup to look natural and well-blended.
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Purchase good highlighting products. To highlight your nose, use a luminous concealer that is 1-2 shades lighter than your natural skin tone or foundation. If you want to add a shimmery highlighter to your nose, do it after you've applied all of your other makeup. Sometimes shimmery highlighters can draw unwanted attention to your nose, so use them lightly or not at all.^{[3]
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3
Buy a darker powder or foundation to contour with. To make your nose appear smaller, you'll need to use darker shades of makeup to create shadows. These shadows will make your nose appear thinner, and will look natural once blended. Choose a powder, eyeshadow, or foundation that is about 2 shades darker than your skin tone.
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Get a contouring kit. If you're unsure of the types of highlighters and darker contouring makeup to buy, invest a little more money to get a contouring kit. Contouring kits are used by both beginners and professionals, and they make sculpting your nose with makeup much easier. Contouring kits can be purchased at professional makeup stores or at local convenience stores.^{[4]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Highlighting Other Facial Features

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Contour the rest of your face! Creating the illusion of more pronounced cheekbones and a thinner face will help take the attention away from your nose. Use the same products to highlight your cheeks and draw contour lines diagonally on your cheeks. Like you blended your nose, use your brush or beauty blender to blend the rest of your contouring.
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Use blush and bronzer. If you don't want to go full out with contouring your entire face, you can use products like brush and bronzer to draw attention away from your nose and onto your cheekbones. These products will help you get a more natural look while still adding additional pigments and highlights to your face.^{[5]
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Draw attention to your eyes and lips. If you don't want the attention to be on your nose, use makeup to enhance your lips and eyes. Wear a bright or shimmery lipstick or gloss, as this will make your lips standout. If you want your eyes to be the focus, add a bit of eyeliner and mascara to your beauty routine.

Expert Q&A

Question

Can makeup make your nose look smaller?

Daniel Vann
Licensed Aesthetician
Daniel Vann is the Creative Director for Daredevil Cosmetics, a makeup studio in the Seattle Area. He has been working in the cosmetics industry for over 15 years and is currently a licensed aesthetician and makeup educator.

Daniel Vann

Licensed Aesthetician

Expert Answer

Adding shading and darker areas creates the illusion that your nose is smaller. Use this technique if you feel like your nose is large or too long.
Question

Can a woman with a big nose be attractive?

Daniel Vann
Licensed Aesthetician
Daniel Vann is the Creative Director for Daredevil Cosmetics, a makeup studio in the Seattle Area. He has been working in the cosmetics industry for over 15 years and is currently a licensed aesthetician and makeup educator.

Daniel Vann

Licensed Aesthetician

Expert Answer

Of course! It's important to mention that for the last 50-60 years we have celebrated Caucasian features and Caucasian makeup, which can lead to all kinds of insecurities when you don't fit that mold. Now we are celebrating our differences more, so don't feel like you have to contour your nose just because it's 'different.' It's really important that we celebrate diverse features and appearances.
Question

What if I don't have proper brushes to use?

Community Answer

If you don't have proper brushes to use, you can go to your local drugstore and buy some. If you don't want to spend the money, you can clip a bobby pin around the brush part of a bigger brush to make it thinner and easier to work with.