How to Do Your Makeup and Hair for a More Slender Face

Co-authored by Shara Strand

Last Updated: February 23, 2023 References

Slimming Makeup Techniques

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Hair & Accessory Tricks

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Video

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Q&A

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Tips

Faces come in all different shapes—round, long, diamond, oval, and more—so it’s natural to want to try on a “new face” for a while and see how you like it. Thankfully, if you want to test out a thinner looking face, you don’t need any cosmetic surgery. In this article, we’ll show you the easiest, most convincing makeup and hair tricks to make your face look slender. Let’s dive in!

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Slimming Makeup Techniques

1
Use bronzer. Bronzer can help contour your face and make it appear thinner. Make sure you choose a bronzer that’s just one shade darker than your face so your makeup doesn’t look too jarring and pick a high-quality brush to apply it. Carefully apply it to the hollows of your cheeks, your temples, and the edges of your forehead to give your face a longer, more distinct shape.
- Brush it along the top of your cheekbones, in line with the top of your ears.
- Carefully brush it along the top right and top left of your forehead to make it seem less round.
- If you want to make your nose look longer, too, then you should get a smaller angled brush and brush the bronzer along the sides of your nose up until the corners of your brows.
- Run it along your jawline, with a darker shade just below the jaw. Make sure to blend it carefully with the rest of your makeup.
- The most important thing is that you blend your blusher and highlighter well so your contoured look appears natural.
2
Use highlighter. Highlighter, along with bronzer, can help contour your face and can make it look even thinner. As a rule, your highlighter should be just one shade lighter than your natural skin tone, so it can make your skin “pop” without looking too unnatural or dramatic. Carefully apply it in the places that you’d like to emphasize. Here’s where you should apply it:
- The apples of your cheeks
- The top of your nose
- Your forehead
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3
Draw attention to your eyes. You can do this by wearing bold eyeshadow, thick eyeliner, and black mascara so that people will look at your eyes first before naturally looking vertically down to create an illusion. You can also apply concealer to the circles under your eyes to make them pop even more. Emphasizing your eyes is a great way to make your face look thinner.
- To emphasize your eyes even more, you can create cat eyes by making your eyeliner move up past the outside corners of your eyes.
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Arch those eyebrows. If you have a round face, more angular and polished brows will give definition to your face and eye shape. Giving your brows a bit more of a dramatic arch can help your face look a bit longer. Though you don’t want to overdo it, you should try to give your brows a nice arch in the center, so the arch lines up with your eyes, while keeping them pretty thick. Too-thin brows can drown out your face and make it look more round, so make sure you keep those brows fairly thick and arched.^{[1]
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- For an even more dramatic look, you can fill in your brows with eyebrow pencil.
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Use lipstick. Applying lipstick to your lips can make your face look a bit thinner because it will draw attention to your lips. For an added effect, use lip liner and create a slightly exaggerated cleft in your upper lip to make your face look even longer than it really is. If lipstick isn’t your thing, you can go for a more subtle color or a lip gloss instead.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Hair & Accessory Tricks

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Get the right haircut. Hair plays a big role in helping your face look thinner. Though there’s no magical haircut that will fix all of your problems, there are certain haircuts that are better than others when it comes to making your face look thinner.^{[2]
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Research source} If you want to make the most of your hair and use it to make your face look thinner, you can try some of the following looks:
- Avoid bobs or haircuts that are shorter than above your ears. These generally make your face look even more round.
- If you have bangs, make sure you have a soft fringe instead of a straight, severe cut. Softer bangs will make your face look thinner than harsher bangs.
- Ideally, then your hair should fall between the top of your shoulder and the bottom of your ear. If it’s any longer, then your hair will make your face lose its shape.
- Add layers to frame your face. A few layers around your face can help it look thinner.
- Avoid giving your hair too much volume. If your hair is too poofy, then your face will appear a bit rounder.
2
Get the right hairstyle. Getting the right haircut is half the battle. Now, if you want your face to really appear thinner, then you have to style your hair in the best way possible to achieve that look. There are a number of things you can do to your hair, whether it’s long or short, to make your face look thinner. Here are some looks you can try:
- Wear your hair up in a high ponytail.
- Wear it halfway up, even letting the top part “poof” up just a tiny bit if you want, in order to elongate your face.
- Part your hair to the side. This will help keep your face from looking too symmetrical.
- Opt for a low ponytail on occasion. This will also make your face look longer and thinner.
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Wear the right jewelry. Accessories will help to elongate the face, particularly dangly earrings and long, pointy necklaces. The jewelry should be long and eye-catching. Avoid stud or large round earrings, short necklaces, or any jewelry that does not elongate the face.^{[3]
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Accessorize correctly. Along with the right jewelry, you might want to wear a higher hat or sunglasses on top of your head, if that’s your thing. You can wear a scarf that hangs low, making your body and face look thinner, but you should avoid scarves that are tied too tightly near your neck, or they will make your face look even more round.
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Make your face look thinner in photos. If you want to do this, then you can try a slight pout, which will elongate your mouth and make your face look a bit thinner. You should also try placing your tongue on the roof of your mouth if you want to avoid a double chin. Another way to look thinner in photos is to make sure you’re being photographed from above and not below, so you look taller and longer in general.
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Wear the right clothes. If you want your face to look thinner, then you can wear clothes that are thinning in general. To do this, you should opt to wear dark, solid colors instead of patterns. If you want to wear stripes, then pick an outfit with vertical stripes instead of horizontal ones, because these will actually make your face and body look longer instead of more squat.^{[4]
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- Pick an outfit that opens up your face and neck a bit. Pick V-neck shirts or dresses, or just clothes that show a bit more of your neck and shoulders. If you wear a turtleneck or high-cut tops, then this will make your neck look shorter and will make your face look rounder.
- Wear long skirts or jeans instead of shorter skirts or capri pants, which can make you look shorter.
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Lose weight. Though you may have heard of facial exercises, they have gotten mixed reviews as far as their effectiveness goes; in general, it’s not considered easy to lose weight in just one part of your body, so if you want to make your face look thinner by losing weight in it, you will have to try to lose weight in general. Even losing just a few pounds can make your face look a lot thinner, so if you think you need to lose some weight, this could be the trick for you.}
- You don’t need to go on a dramatic diet. Just get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day and eat three balanced and healthy meals each day, allowing for healthy snacks such as almonds and grapes.
- Having high-sodium foods can also make your face look a bit more bloated than usual; avoid high-sodium foods, such as potato chips, as much as you can.^{[5]
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- Drinking alcohol can also make your face look a bit more bloated, so you should avoid it or drink less often if you want your face to look thinner.^{[6]
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- Make a habit of moving as much as you can. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk to the store instead of driving, and make an effort to move whenever you can.

Community Q&A

Question

Are there any facial exercises to do this?

Community Answer

Yes, there are many different types of facial exercises to help thin out your face. You can look up tutorials online to help you.
Question

How should I cut my hair if I have a circle face?

Community Answer

You could go for a more layered feather look, and keep it longer.
Question

If I have a square face, do I do the same?

Community Answer

Yes, you can do the same. Square faces and round faces are not that different.