MASTER YOUR CONTOURING

Here goes my attempt at a contouring tutorial!This is just my way, I'm not an expert myself. I can however spot a bad contour, some people look like they've been abroad and sunbathed with their glasses on for too long.

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What is contour?

so contour literally means to 'outline' a shape or a figure. In cosmetic terms it means to create shadows, so your shadowing your face. Shadows help to define certain areas, so any area you want to push back from your eye you need to contour.

What do you use? 
I use sleek's contour kit which retails at £6.49  grab yours here
You also need a couple of brushes to apply the dark colour correctly.


What is highlight?
highlighting is the opposite of shadowing, it means adding light to your face. Opposite again to contouring your pulling things towards your eye.Making it appear brighter.

What do you use?
MAC's highlighter in light boost grab yours here. This is abit pricey at £18.50 but there are cheaper ones, for example in the Sleek contour kit there is two colours and the lighter colour from that would do perfectly fine it's just personal preference. Sleek also do a highlighter just like this for more than half the price i have linked it here. This product comes in 3 different shades, Bright Forecast, Radiant rose and Light boost.





So i start by applying the darker colour, i pout to create the natural cheek bone lines and apply with a slanted brush. http://www.boots.com/en/Real-Techniques-Limited-Edition-Duo-Fibre-Set_1333699/. I also put it along my forehead, down the sides of  nose and along the jaw line.

next is the white (pale colour) I apply this to the middle of my nose, below the dark line on my cheek bone, in triangular sections from the eye down onto my cheeks, a small amount on my cupids bow and a splash on my chin.That was a long sentence! The MAC highlighter is like a pen so application is super easy. If your using a white powder or similar product to do this step then  a blusher brush is fine to use or a fine fiber brush ( even an eyeshadow brush will do the trick)heres a cheap one.
Below are some photos of where you should be so far.

So by now your looking kinda creepy, its not the best look, You would 'nt want your crush to come to the door whilst you were contouring put it that way! My cousin will kill me when she sees this photo, but at least you have an idea what i mean.( love you Harriet!) :')

next step is to blend all this in and then apply your foundation. The other day i picked up some makeup sponges from the hairdressing warehouse so i have been using them to blend in. Any makeup sponges will do,  lots of people like the beauty blenders, but I can't bring myself to spend  £15 on a sponge.. heres one for you to see Im sure it's great but i just cant. You can buy them on E bay and they are just as good, there is a link here to one for £2.29! HERE. Take your sponge and wet it under the tap, it should double in size, squeeze out the excess water.  Next, apply some foundation to the back of your hand and dab your blender into the foundation, I'm using my normal MAC foundation. You don't want too much as you just want to blend in the colours and you already have a lot of makeup on your face. 

It's very important to set your face at this point,with powder. Use a powder brush I like Real Techniques powder brush. Any will do, this step is very important as you don't want the colours to run into each other.

It should all be coming together now and your face should be looking radiant and slim! 

I'd love to know how you lot all contour, as I said before this is just one way I'm not saying It's the right way It's just the way i like to do It. Thanks for reading, let me know how you get on! 

Happy Contouring!

How to get that summer glow all year round

         HOW TO GET THAT GORGEOUS            SUMMER GLOW ALL YEAR ROUND

 feeling pale and rubbish about yourself? dreaming about the summer and your tan from june 2014 :( me too, heres some tips to get you looking juicy in January and marvellous in March.

 Now I've used my fair share of fake tans, and yep! you guessed it! I LOVE St. Moriz tan. It's so affordable its almost too cheap. Winner of the 2011  cosmopolitan beauty award for 'best self tan', It's no wonder its become so popular.  You can buy this tan for £2.99 !!!here.

TANTABULOUS TIPS 

1. If your planning on tanning before bed, clean your teeth first! I don't know how many times I've tanned and then had to clean my teeth like a freak trying to keep the toothpaste off my lips! Then you have to rinse!! Honestly just not worth it, probably quite funny to watch though I spose! :')

2. If you need to shave your legs etc, I suggest you do this 24 hours before you want to apply your fake tan as this opens your pores which can make your tan look patchy. (not a good look!!)

3. Moisturise before you apply! This will help the tan stop from clinging to your dry bits. If you know you have a few dry patches be sure to concentrate on moisturising those first e.g: elbows, knees and ankles. Use an oil free moisturiser so that it doesn't create a barrier to the tan.

4. If your hair is fair, applying vaseline or any other barrier cream to your hairline and eyebrows can help to create a barrier to the fake tan, unless you like the orange eyebrow look! A great tan takes a lot of attention to detail!

I don't know about you,but my PET HATE is seeing patchy fake tan, those terrible burnt orange hands and half baked ankles. SO... before applying its a MUST to clean and prep your skin.Would you paint a wall without sanding it first? haha! but you see what I mean! I like to use Soap and Glory's 'Flake Away'. My favourite thing about this product is the smell, its delicious! Sweet and musky whilst still being feminine. The product itself is pretty thick,which makes application easier and helps to remove all residual dirt and dead skin cells. Massage in circular motions and keep going until the grains have nearly gone. After application, the skin is smooth and it keeps the gorgeous smell. I like to do this step the night before I plan to tan. (great rhyme!)

Application:

I find It's best applied with a mitt, I get mine from Bodycare or boots, they're only a few pounds. I've linked some here & here. A tip is to wear some disposable gloves underneath the mitt just incase you get any leakage through the mitt. 

Now this next step is personal preference. I feel like when you shower a lot of this product comes off, I like my tan to be noticeable so I apply two nights in a row. Not only does it look darker, it also lasts longer.

Comment below if you have any suggestions for me or have learnt something from this post.If not,

Happy Tanning! xxx