I want to begin by saying that I like my makeup subtle. What the Kardashians and the like do with theirs - and don't get me wrong here - is absolutely amazing but its just not for me, especially on an everyday basis, and whilst the internet is filled with the brim of tutorials teaching you how to 'Contour the Kim K Way' there's not a lot of them that give a more realistic way to fake those cheekbones in an everyday way.
The Right Tools. The products you pick are probably the most important part of this tutorial. To contour, it's best to go for a product a couple of shades darker than your natural skin tone and with a cool undertone to realistically fake a shadow rather than looking like you have a brown stripe across your face. I like to use a powder, just because I find them easier to control and I know that it's going to last me all day. Most of the time, I use NYX Taupe, which I find is pretty much the perfect shade for me, but when I want something a little lighter I go for Makeup's Revolution eyeshadow in ----- - the perfect contour for fair skin and at only £1 it's an incredible bargain. Other recommendations are the Makeup Revolution Eyeshadow in ---- perfect for slightly darker skin tones, or the Born Pretty Palette which I have raved about before. Brush-wise, I love the Real Techniques contour brush which fits perfectly into the hollow of your cheeks and gives a nice softly blended edge.
Making it more Realistic. I think contouring works best with some sort of highlight and blush to balance it out and make it a little more even. With a dewy foundation, I don't think an extra highlight is needed, but when you need a little more glow, I love the Makeup Revolution Vivid Highlight in Peach Lights - the perfect dupe for MAC's Mineralise Skin Finish in Lightscapade - which should just be dusted lightly onto the tops of cheekbones. Finally, to round everything off, a soft blush in a neutral shade, my pick of choice is Benefit's boxed blush in Dandelion, will help add some color back and make the whole thing a bit more natural looking. Just sweep onto the apples in an 'up and out' motion and the look is complete.
Perfecting. If anything does go wrong, and not going to lie they probably will at some point (contouring is risky business) all that you need to do is go back in with your foundation brush to blend things out a bit and dim things down. In fact, it's something that I have to do almost everyday just to ensure that everything is properly blended out.
And ta-dah - Jolie-esque cheekbones - and who wouldn't want that?