Leg Contouring: Would You Try This At Home?

Just take a look at the Kardashians. This is a family of women who take their face as a mere suggestion and proceed to cake on layers of makeup to create the illusion of an elongated nose, sharpened cheekbones and slimmer jawlines. Kylie has even admitted to contouring her ears. (???) The painstaking amount of time, energy, and money that goes into painting on this mask is a beauty phenomenon that was destined to spiral out of control. And it officially has.

With the raising of hemlines and season of bare legs looming, the majority of us are dreading having to shave our legs - forget about having the time to fret over the color of our legs. It is evident that the beauty game has upped its level of difficulty and the contouring trend is along for the ride. Are people really afraid of what their legs look like that they would hire a professional makeup artist to meticulously contour the nooks and crannies that haven't seen the light of day since 2015?  Well, it's happened:  How-to leg contouring videos are going viral on Instagram.

So is this what 'getting ready' has come to? We're all probably guilty of brushing on some bronzer or dusting some highlighter when we're really desperate before a night out, especially when the new skirt you bought is a much better option than your regular old skinny jeans. But could you imagine sitting on a bar stool with that much make up on your leg? What if you got just a bit closer to that cute guy you've been chatting up and then he notices brown, sparkly smudge all over his pants? We already think it's gross when we've been talking on the phone and there is residue on our phone screens, but could you imagine it all over your clothes too?!

Even worse, this doesn't seem like a one-woman task. Friendships could be tested by having to paint your BFF's leg to look like some muscle structure before dabbing in the various shades of bronzer. The slashes of foundation just look silly, let's be honest.  

Watching the how-to videos, we're still a bit stumped by the allure of the full-leg contour. The before and afters honestly do not look too different. Sure, the mesmerizing makeup trick does wonders for the face, but are your legs really worth it?

If you have the patience and cleaning supplies to tackle this new beauty craze, then by all means, go for it. But for the rest of us (sane/busy/lazy) people, we'll stick to the tried-and-true tricks of the occasional spray tan or toning exercises to attain the same results. 

[Photo via @makeupbymeri]