Kim Kardashian Contour Tutorial: Photoshop Your Way to A+ Selfies

Here's the thing: I can be kind of lazy when it comes to putting on makeup at all, forget studying a 12-minute long smoky eye tutorial or Kim Kardashian's contour routine. I know how to do, like, one basic makeup look and I have two different eyeshadow color palettes to do it in — and even then I still mainly stick with the pink/brown/peachy neutrals instead of the sparkly gold. Last year, I got a bunch of makeup brushes from my mom for Christmas, determined to learn how to be a certified hot girl. When I finally got around to trying to use them on Halloweekeend, I felt, uh, pretty dumb — so I wiped what I could off before going back to those tiny little eyeshadow sponge-on-a-sticks that come with some palettes.

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One thing I am good at, though, is Photoshop. And like, I said, I do want to be a certified hot girl. Not that I'm not already, but hey — contouring like Kim K and the rest of the Kardashians is a look that really, really works for them. So I figured I'd give it a shot in the way that I know best. I set out to follow Keek's contour tutorial — this one, the crème highlight and contour kit tutorial video from her website — and recreate the effects myself in Photoshop. You know, so I could fake the whole look without having to do any real work. (Like I said, I'm pretty lazy when it comes to putting on makeup.) And, well, I just have to say the results turned out pretty awe-inspiring. *So if you, like me, are eager to ratchet your selfies up a notch without having to acquire any actual new skills, check it out. *

Start with highlighter.

Kim is starting with her matte highlighter, so I use the color select to pick a bright spot on my face and then adjust to a lighter, still pinkish shade. My face is pretty pink in this photo — gotta keep to a color palette, right? I follow the steps in Kim's shiny face tutorial and go under my eyes, down the front of my nose, in the lines around my lips, on the part of my forehead that is between my eyebrows, and on my chin. Wow, I feel glowy already — and that matte shade isn't too overboard.

Contour your face.

I follow Kim's initial moves of pretty much just outlining the top half of my face with my contour color. She says she loves to let the color run all the way into her hairline, so I feel free to be a little messy and not super precise. We'll clean it up later, probably. Kim's a total pro, so I trust her. She brings the color down her cheekbones and I copy the move, only for her to reveal that actually, she loves to do her contour in the shape of a 3. It is a shocking twist, but I know my numbers, so I follow along as best as I can, rounding out the bottom of my chin.

Let the blending begin.

Kim has fancy tools to help her blend her highlighter and contour, but guess what, Keeks? So do I. I click onto the smudge tool and start smudging the heck out of the edges of both my highlight layer and contour layer. It still looks messy, and since Kim uses two tools — the brush end and the sponge end — I get to use two tools, too. So I add masks to both layers and start painting out the edges so they fade in a little better. And can I just say, wow, I am already looking pretty beautiful.

You have to melt the color.

Not sure what that means, but Kim says she likes to melt the color into her skin, so I take the opportunity to do the same. I slap another mask over everything and start cleaning up the edges so it doesn't actually bleed off the sides of my face and onto the rest of the pic. Can't let those Instagram haters know I'm faking my look. Gotta go for those #nofilters #nomakeup #naturalbeauty likes. (What? I'm not wearing makeup technically. I'm not adding any filters here. Even my layers remain unfiltered!)

Onto your lips.

This is no longer a part of the official contouring tutorial, but Kim explains that if she's only using her contour tools, no other makeup, she'll do what she can to spice up the rest of her face. Line and highlight her lips, etc. I've got a better tool at my disposal and my natural face is way more washed out than hers so I decided to go for that glossy pink look instead. It looks perfectly kissable, as you can see.

Eyes come last.

Keeks uses the contour stick to bring some rich warm color to her eyes, although you can see she's totally still highlighting right along her brow bone. Not sure how she gets it looking so good, but I go through my paint in the color, smudge it all up, mask it all out and come out looking almost as flawless. Take that.

The final product.

And just like that, I am as stunning and as radiant as any reality TV personality. They should give me my own show. I am luminous, and will henceforth be giving all of my selfies this digital treatment and never wearing makeup again. #Naturalbeauty still totally applies as long as you're not giving yourself like an actual digital facelift, right?