10 Best Makeup Tips for Square-Shaped Faces

We're always on the hunt to apply makeup in the best way for the shape of our face. I have a square-shaped face, and if your temples, cheekbones, and the end of your jaw all line up perfectly, then you have a square face too.

I'd follow makeup tips that were meant for round faces and even tutorials for heart-shaped faces. It was no wonder my makeup usually turned out a little odd. After discovering the shape of my face, I focused on makeup tips solely for those with a square face. Once I figured it out, my makeup had never looked better!

If you have a square face and are having a little trouble applying makeup, check out these makeup tips for square-shaped faces to try out now!

To begin with, you always want to contour using a shade that's slightly darker than your natural skin tone—a shade that's too close to your skin tone won't be as effective at creating the effect of a shadow. Contour the edges of your forehead to minimize the shape and soften the sides.

Don't apply contour just around your hairline, but focus on your temples, too. You want to smooth out the edges of your forehead and blend until there are no harsh lines. Kiko's Smart Contouring Palette has the perfect contour shade you want to use to buff around the edges of your forehead. It's not too dark for a natural look and its soft texture is buildable, too.

Your cheekbones play an important role if you're looking for the best makeup tips for square-shaped faces because you want to strengthen them. Everyone loves cheekbones, and if you have a square face, you want make them look more defined.

Add the contour in a scooping motion right under your cheekbones. This will make them look outlined and more noticeable. Remember, when you're contouring, you're aiming to soften the edges of your facial features. Blend precisely and avoid putting on too much contour that will cause your face to look filthy rather than flawless. RMS Beauty's Contour Bronzer is the best shade for really defining your cheekbones. This contour bronzer features radiant bronze hues for a sun-kissed glow and it’s super creamy so it blends easily with your skin.

Soften the jawline.

People with square faces have a very built jawline. I always had trouble trying to minimize the thickness of my jawline, but it's actually easier than it sounds. You're not reshaping your jawline but softening its appearance by contouring.

You're also going to use a scooping motion when applying contour to your jawline. Outline both sides of your jawline in a rounded manner than a chiseled fashion. Since you're reducing the broadness of your jawline, applying the contour in a rounded way can ease the edges of your jawline. You can also use Kiko's Smart Contouring Palette to soften the edges of your jawline, too.

The best makeup tips for square-shaped faces include contour highlighting your forehead, chin, bridge of your nose, and your cheekbones. You're applying highlight where light naturally hits your face. You're focusing on the high points of your face which would be your forehead, cheekbones, bridge of your nose, and chin.

Contour highlight the center of your forehead and the bridge of your nose. Then highlight the tips of your cheekbones to bring them out. Finally, add a bit of highlight to the center of your chin, but not too much to avoid an oily face—unless that's what you're aiming for. Blend everything in precisely for a natural glow. Kiko's Smart Contouring Palette comes with the best contour highlighter that you should use on the high points of your face. It's blendable, applies on smoothly, and settles into your skin in an instant.

Most of us are looking to make our eyes appear bigger. The eye looks that I usually focus on feature dark shades like browns, grays, black, even dark purples. I discovered that dark eyeshadow looks made my eyes appear much larger even for my square face which was hiding the shape of my eyes.

Darker eyeshadows and lots of mascara are key to achieving that bigger-eye look. You can also use false lashes to really open up your eyes, but that's optional. In addition, never be afraid to pull off a smokey eye for a dramatic look! Urban Decay's Smoked Eyeshadow Palette is the best palette to pull off dramatic, smokey eye looks. It features dark, stunning eyeshadows that can make your eyes pop and each shade blends like butter on the eyelids!

When choosing the right blush shade for your skin tone, don't choose a shade that's too pink and obvious. You want a shade that's very natural and will bring out life in your cheeks!

Using a rosy-toned blush is one of the best makeup tips for square-shaped faces because it's more on the natural side, but you're still applying color to your cheeks. Since you contoured your cheekbones, you want the contour to gain most of the attention—not how flushed your cheeks are. Apply a light amount of the best long lasting blushes onto the cheeks for a subtle look. Milani's Rose Powder Blush is a stunning choice because it offers the perfect shade of blush that all square-shaped faces need! This pressed blush powder gives off a radiant glow and complements the foundation base that leaves you with a natural-looking glow.

It's time to plump those lips! No, you won't need fillers to plump your lips, but the magic of makeup will grant you it. If you already have thick lips, then stick with what you have and apply lipstick shades that aren't too dark. Lip gloss does well, too, with bringing out the fullness of your lips.

If you're like me and have thin lips, don't be shy about lightly expanding the shape of your lips. Use a lip liner to outline your natural lips, and slightly overline them, but not too much. Then lightly fill the outer edges of your lips without completely filling your lips with the lip liner. It's the best choice if you use a liquid lipstick to fill in your lips because you can easily blend it with the lip liner and it dries over your liner to keep it lasting longer. MAC's Lip Pencil in shade Spice is a great nude lip liner that will shape your lips to your desite. It's a creamy formula that can blend with the nude liquid lipstick.

Bronzing the hollows of your cheek is one of the makeup tips for square-shaped faces that you shouldn't skip out on. Yes, you've already contoured the hollows of your cheekbones, but now it's time to bronze them up and really bring them out.

Depending on your skin tone, you don't want to use a bronzer that's way darker. You're aiming for the most natural makeup look, so choose a shade that's a bit darker than your natural tone. Don't go heavy with the bronzing since you already contoured. Light bronzing will bring out the contour and blend until the shade merges with your skin. Tarte's Amazonian Clay Matte Waterproof Bronzer is the type of shade you want to use because it's not too dark, but enough to bring out your cheekbones! Not only is this one of the bestselling bronzers, but it applies on smoothly and blends in with your contour.

Now it's time for my favorite part—highlighting! Highlighting can be pretty tricky because you either want a wet and dewy look or the natural look. In this case, we're aiming for a more natural look, so don't overdo the highlighter (I know, it's tough to refrain).

People with square-shaped faces should highlight in the shape of a "C" from their temples to their cheekbones. This method will soften the edges of a defined face and still bring out a stunning glow when it reflects the light! You should also highlight your cupid's bow and the tip of your nose for a little more shine. OFRA Cosmetics always creates the best highlighters and their highlighter that they created when collaborating with NikkieTutorials is amazing because it includes three different shades. You can use each shade individually or swirl your brush around and collect all three!

Finally, one of the best makeup tips for square-shaped faces is making your brows rounded. This doesn't mean make the entire brow in the shape of a crescent, but the arch should be slightly softened.

If you have a square face, you don't want any sharp features and this includes your eyebrows. If your eyebrows are naturally sharpened at the arches, smooth them out with an eyebrow pencil. This method will give you a softer look, but filling them in will still keep your brows looking bold and daring! Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof Brow Color is a great eyebrow product that can precisely shape your brows and will last a lot longer since it's waterproof. It features a marker-like brush tip that can define the brows for a natural brow look.