- Contour your nose with concealer and highlighter to make it appear slimmer. The key to a natural look is great blending!
- Emphasize your best facial features with makeup and center yourself in photos to avoid nose-widening camera distortion.
- Do face yoga or nose strengthening exercises daily to tone and massage the muscles in the side of your nose, which may create a slimmer appearance.
Contouring with Makeup
Draw 3 lines down your nose with a light concealer. Make sure to apply your regular primer, foundation, and concealer before you start contouring your nose. Then, put 1 line of concealer directly down the center of your nose from the bridge to the tip. Draw another line down each side of your nose from near the bridge to the front part of the nostril. Choose a concealer shade that’s 1-2 shades lighter than your natural skin tone. Add a small dot at the very tip of your nose to give it a slight upturn. It’s OK if the lines aren’t 100% straight or even since you’ll be blending them in later.
Blend the concealer with a beauty sponge or your ring finger. Dab at the concealer instead of swiping or spreading it around (this dabbing motion is called stippling). Stipple up and down the lines until they disappear and your nose looks smooth. If you’re concerned about the concealer staying in place, go over it with a setting powder in the same shade before the next step.
Draw 2 parallel lines down your nose with dark concealer or contour. If you’re using concealer, pick one that’s 1-2 shades darker than your natural tone. If you’re using contour, choose the darkest color in your palette. Use a small, angled makeup brush and draw 2 thin lines down the sides of bridge of your nose toward the nostrils. Add a thin, subtle line going across the bottom of your nose so the end result doesn’t look too long. The closer the lines are, the slimmer your nose will look. Make sure to leave some space between them for a natural look. The distance between the lines depends on your nose and face shape. It may take a few tries to learn to contour your nose in a way you love.
Blend your nose again with a sponge or your ring finger. Stipple your dark concealer or contour lines and move the makeup down the sides of your nose (not across the front). Keep going until the lines disappear and you get a “shadow” effect on the sides of your nose. Blend all the way up to the underside of your eyebrows for a natural look. This is where shadows naturally fall on your face.
Add highlighter powder along the sides and center of your nose. Use a highlighter brush or blending brush to run the highlighter along your nose in gentle circular motions to cover any remaining visible lines. Use a highlighter that’s 1-2 shades lighter than your natural skin tone. Not everyone adds highlighter at the end. If you’re happy with the result after you blend the contour lines, skip it.
Blend the sides of your nose into your foundation, then set it. Stipple with your makeup sponge until your nose blends into your base makeup for a natural look. If there are visible lines around your nose, add a thin line of the lightest shade of contour you have and blend it in over the lines. Finish by setting your nose with a translucent setting powder. Christopher Hopkins Christopher Hopkins, Makeover Artist The nose, so central to the face, can indeed be slimmed through facial exercises, contouring makeup, and of course, surgery. But self-acceptance of one's natural features is the true path to beauty.
Optical Illusions
Pluck the space between your eyebrows sparingly to keep it narrow. Line up the ends of your brows with the inner corner of your eyes, then feather them about 0.125 inches (0.32 cm) in towards the center. If you pluck too much or put too much of a space between them, the wide gap will make your nose look wider down the front. If your brows are naturally far apart, fill in the area with an eyebrow pencil. Draw the line slightly inward on the inside of each brow.
Emphasize other areas of your face with makeup. For example, use a bold lipstick (like a dark red) to draw eyes away from your nose. Try highlighting your eyes, too—line the tops with dark eyeliner and add a shimmery eye shadow for a dazzling effect. Contour your cheeks with matte contouring cream. Suck your cheeks in, then blend the cream into the hollows of your cheeks. Blend blush just above the shadow, then a bit of highlighter above the blush. Combine these effects with nose contouring to make your nose look smaller and let your best features pop.
Reach your arm out as far as you can when you take selfies. Try to position the camera as far away as you can get it or use a selfie stick to extend your reach. Closeup pictures actually distort images slightly, so your nose may appear up to 30% bigger on camera than it is in real life. Center your face and keep your chin and forehead equidistant from the camera. Objects near the edge of the photo will appear the most distorted. Be kind to yourself when you look at your pictures. Photos don't always show what you really look like, and everyone takes a bad photo now and then!
Pose for pictures from the side to put your nose in profile. Find your good side—maybe it’s the side where your bangs swoop, or the side where you can arch an eyebrow more easily—and turn so it’s facing the camera. That way, your nose won’t be seen head on and will look slightly smaller.
Nose Exercises
Do the “smile and push” to slim your nostrils and bridge. It’s a very simple exercise—smile, then push the tip of your nose up with your index finger. Repeat 20 to 30 times per day for the best results. This exercise is said to slim and strengthen the muscles around the nose and reduce fine lines.
Try the “O” pinch to make your nose seem slimmer or smaller. Make a wide “O” shape with your mouth, then use your index fingers to push your nostrils halfway closed. Then, look up toward the ceiling without wrinkling your forehead. Exhale through your nostrils while flaring and widening them against your fingers at the same time. Do this for about 10 seconds, a few times a day.
Perform nose massages to narrow your nose. Use your index and middle finger on both hands to rub circles against your nose, starting at the top of the bridge of your nose. Make counterclockwise circles in one hand and clockwise circles in the other. Move down the bridge slowly toward the tip of your nose, making sure to massage the sides, too. In addition to slimming your nose, this massage can also provide migraine relief.
Do the “Bull Dog Push” to tone your nose and correct flaring nostrils. Put both index fingers on the sides of your nose with the base of your fingers close to your nostrils. Breathe in while flaring your nostrils out and add a little pressure from your fingers to keep the flare small. Exhale through your nose and release. Repeat this exercise 5-10 times per day. This exercise works out the nasalis muscles, which tend to get weaker and stretched out as we age.
Do the Anulom Vilom breathing technique to strengthen your nose. In your right hand, bend your index and middle finger toward your palm. Close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale slowly through your left until your lungs are full. Then, release your right nostril and close the left with your ring finger. Exhale through your right nostril. Repeat the exercise in reverse, inhaling through your right nostril and exhaling through the left. This breathing exercise is also great for oxygenating your brain and clearing your mind.
Inhale through one nostril at a time for 10 seconds. Use your index finger to block or push one nostril closed. Then, exhale all your air through your mouth and inhale through the free nostril for 10 seconds. Repeat with the other nostril. This exercise strengthens and tones the muscles on the sides of your nose.
Try nose shaping exercises, but keep your expectations realistic. Currently, there’s no scientific evidence that nose exercises or face yoga can reshape your nose. Its shape is largely determined by your bone and cartilage structure, which can’t be altered without surgery. There aren’t bad side effects to nose exercises—some can get rid of smile lines, and breathing exercises are helpful for relaxation and energizing your brain. There hasn’t been much research done on nose exercises, so it’s possible you might see very subtle results after a long period of consistent dedication.
Medical Procedures
Get dermal fillers to make your nose look proportionate. Nonsurgical rhinoplasty (a “liquid nose job”) involves injections that temporarily change the shape of your nose. The fillers can’t make your nose slimmer outright, but they can smooth out bumps and add volume to certain areas to make your nose look perfectly proportionate to itself and to your facial features. If you’re uncertain about the permanence of rhinoplasty, try fillers first to see how other modifications to your nose look. Remember that fillers only last about 6 months, so you’ll have to schedule followup appointments consistently. Make sure to see a licensed doctor or practitioner for the best results.
Consider rhinoplasty (nose reshaping surgery) as a last resort. Cosmetic rhinoplasty is a plastic surgery that can shrink wide nostrils or make your nose smaller so your face looks balanced. Unlike with fillers, the surgeon will reshape the bone and cartilage in your nose to physically change its shape and size. Make sure you’re eligible—you and your nose must be fully grown, you can’t smoke, and you need to be in good physical health. Rhinoplasty is the only way to effectively and permanently reshape your nose. Make sure that it is something you truly want before requesting the procedure. Patients leave the facility the same day and see results when they remove their nose splint after a week or two. Full recovery might take up to 1 year.
Follow your surgeon’s post-op recovery guidelines. Rest in bed with your head elevated to reduce bleeding and swelling. Keep your internal and external bandage in place for about a week or until your surgeon says you can remove them (or have them removed by a doctor). Use SPF 30 on your nose and avoid resting glasses on it (rest them on your cheeks or tape them to your forehead instead). Lower your dietary sodium to make the swelling go away faster. Do not use ice packs or compresses on your nose. You may feel very congested afterwards, and bruising and swelling can extend as far as your eyes. Most of the immediate bruising and pain will go away after about 4 weeks, but some minor swelling may remain for up to a year.
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