Contouring and Highlighting Course

Add Contouring and Highlighting To Your Treatment Menu

Contouring is the technique clients ask for by name, usually after seeing it somewhere. It is not a treatment in its own right so much as an upgrade: it sits on top of a makeup booking, adds time and value to the appointment, and is the difference between a face that looks made up and one that looks shaped.

Done badly it is obvious, which is why the module spends as much time on product choice and placement as on technique. Five units cover the introduction, preparation and products, application, additional features beyond the standard cheek-and-nose work, and aftercare. The course runs online with step-by-step video from Victoria.

What You’ll Be Able To Do

• Read a face shape and decide where shadow and light should fall
• Choose cream or powder products to suit the skin type and the setting
• Place and blend contour so the transition is invisible
• Highlight without the result reading as shine
• Adapt the technique to features beyond the cheekbones — nose, jaw and brow bone
• Advise on removal and handle contra-actions

What To Learn Alongside Contouring and Highlighting

This is an add-on rather than a standalone service, so it works best on top of the Makeup Course. Bridal Makeup is where contouring earns most, since it is built for photographs, and Facials give you the skin knowledge behind how product sits.

Contouring and Highlighting Course FAQs

How Long Does the Contouring Course Take?

There are 28 units across four modules, five of them on contouring. It is a blending skill, so progress is uneven — the placement is quick to learn and the blending takes practice, and the gap between the two is where most students spend their time. Most complete their training within a few weeks to a few months.

How Is the Course Delivered?

Entirely online. Blending is the reason — it is a continuous motion that is almost impossible to convey in writing, and Victoria films it close enough to see where the product actually stops. Bring models with different bone structures if you can — contouring a flat cheekbone and a prominent one are different problems.

How Am I Assessed?

Every unit is assessed and you can resubmit as often as you need. Contouring is assessed on whether the result holds up in a photograph as well as in person — a contour that looks subtle in a mirror can read as a stripe on camera, and that is the failure this module is designed to prevent.

Is the Contouring Course Accredited?

Yes — by ABT, IPHM and IGCT. The certificate is recognised by insurers including Towergate, Radius, Insync and Balens, each of which sets its own requirements.

Do I Need to Do the Makeup Course First?

Not formally, and this course teaches preparation and products from the start. In practice contouring is sold as part of a makeup booking rather than on its own, so most students have the base makeup skills already or take both together.

Which Products Should I Buy?

No. Contour and highlight products have to match the skin tones you work on, and a fixed kit would only suit a narrow range. A cream and a powder option in two or three depths will take you further than a large palette.

Do I Need Any Experience?

No. The Anatomy and Physiology module covers the skeletal and muscular systems, which is more relevant here than it sounds — contouring is the one makeup technique where you are working to the bone structure underneath rather than to the surface.

What Business Training Is Included?

The Foundation module’s 12 units cover business promotion, promoting products and services, retail legislation, reception duties and taking payments. Contouring is priced as an add-on, so the units on promoting services and building the value of an appointment are the ones to read.

What Support Do I Get?

Tutor feedback on every assessment, our private student group, and lifetime access. Contouring is judged by eye, so a second opinion on your blending is worth more here than a written mark — which is what the feedback is for.