So Instagram,  Pinterest and the rest of social media has encouraged us all to up our makeup game. Trends and fashions happen quickly, and you don’t want to get left behind. Make sure your makeup look isn’t dated, by checking out these 2016 makeup trends.

The HD Brow

Ok, so the first and probably the most vital makeup trend of 2016 is the HD brow. HD stand for high definition. So you are looking for a thick and bold brow. These first started to come into fashion when we saw a lot of Cara Delevingne and people began to emulate her look. It has become so vital to the look now, that nearly every cosmetic company has started manufacturing brow beauty products. You can get all sorts of products such as pencils, creams, powders, mascaras and blenders like these here, but which one should you use to get the right look?

Go for a retractable cream liner, in a shade that matches your current hair tone. Emphasize the top of the brow and the curve with this. Then underneath draw individual hairs on. Then take a powder and fill in the rest of the brow for a strong HD look. A step most people forget is to tidy the brow up with highlighter under and above the arch. This will make your brows neat and as hard as possible.  

Contouring

If you are asking yourself what is contouring? Then you may have been under a rock for the last year! Or maybe you just have an awful internet connection? Contouring is a way to emphasize the shape of your face.

You use a color one shade darker than your natural skin tone and another one shade lighter to do this. Once you have applied your foundation and let it set. Then you take the dark color and run it along your cheekbones. You also apply it wherever you would like to minimize a feature so your jawline, hairline, and nose. The darker contour basically gives the illusion of shadow so helps you to reshape your face. It is important to blend it with a foam sponge. Harsh lines are a no-no!

Once you have done this, you take the lighter shade and run it along the places that you want to emphasis. So down the middle of the nose, in an inverted triangle under the eyes and on the forehead. This gives the illusion of a strong bone structure, as the lighter highlights make it seem that light is hitting those areas. Once again blend and then set with transparent powder. If you need some more help with this, check out this fantastic tutorial for the basic steps.

Eyeliner

The last major makeup trend of 2016 to talk about is black eyeliner. Now this fills a lot of people with dread (including myself). Liquid eyeliner is notoriously difficult to apply well. Getting it close to your eyelash line and equal on both eyes is tough. Use a cream liner which is easier to apply. Then you should add your liner before your shadow. The is they are not quite symmetrical, the shadow blends and softens it so people can’t tell.