Sleek Face Form - Contour, Highlight and Blush

'With multi-tasking elements such as contour powder, highlighter and/or blusher or bronzer, Face Form is the ultimate face definition kit in one neat compact designed to suit all skin tones.Please note: Face Form in Fair and Light come with contour powder, highlighter and blush. Face Form in Medium and Dark come available with contour powder, highlighter and a bronzer.'

It's no secret, I love contouring more than any other part of my makeup routine.  It's mainly because I have a massive moon face once I put on foundation, and nobody wants a moon face.  Anyone with skin like my own will know how daunting it is to contour your face - you constantly buy bronzer after bronzer and usually end up looking like you have some sort of skin condition - It's either orange, patchy or dirty looking.    Then there's the shimmer - even the matte bronzers I've used just love to put that little bit of shimmer in there.  The light hits it and bam, moon face again. 

Until I got this bad boy.  The Sleek Face Form - I am in love. 

The Sleek Face Form kit is a palette with a bronzer, highlight and blush, and comes in four different shades to suit your skin tone (Fair, Light, Medium, Dark).  I, of course, have the Fair one - being that I am 99% sure I'm in some way related to Caspar the friendly ghost.

I apply the contour powder first (you can see where I apply it in my How to Contour and Highlight blog - here), then highlight, and then blush.  I always do the highlighter before blush so that it doesn't give a solid stripe, because the blush blends over it a bit and softens it for a more natural look.

The bronzer in this kit is perfect for pale skin - it isn't orange toned, blends really well and gives a shadow effect to the face rather than an orange stripe.  I apply mine using an ecotools tapered blush brush, or a real techniques contour brush - depending on how strong I want my contouring.

The highlight has a slight pinky tone and gives a nice sheen to the top of the cheekbones, tip of the nose and cupids bow, without making you look like you just high-5'd a disco ball with your face.

The blush is a lovely pink with gold tones, it's really subtle and gives a nice healthy glow, and can be built up to give more of a dramatic look.  Again, I apply this with my ecotools tapered blush brush (because it is THE softest brush in all the land). 

I've had this kit for almost 6 months, used it every single day and have only just hit pan on the bronzer - the highlight and blush are still going strong!  It hasn't broken me out at all, and stays on all day.

I will definitely be repurchasing this when I run out - at £9.99 for 20g of high quality product, it's a bargain.  And the packaging is extremely convenient when you're getting ready in a rush.

The Sleek Face Form kit is available to purchase from Sleek, Boots and Superdrug.

As always, thanks for reading and if you've tried this product, or found my review helpful, leave a comment below! You can also like my Facebook page to be updated with new posts, or follow my blog on BlogLovin' 

Rach xo

Make Up Basics - Contouring and Highlighting

So you've put on your foundation, you've concealed any blemishes and you're left with a completely 2D face that's all one colour and looks... flat.

Contouring and highlighting can be pretty daunting to start off with, but it's a really easy way to add dimension back into your face.








The most important parts of contouring are 1. Blend, 2. Blend, and 3. Blend.

You can use powder or cream bronzer, or you can use a foundation a couple of shades darker than you'd usually use.  If you do choose the latter, I'd use it very sparingly, and add another 'blend' onto the above list.

If you're using powder bronzer, make sure it's matte - you don't want a glittery face, people will think you're from Twilight.

Apply your chosen contour product in the areas shown on the picture, and only apply a bit at a time - knock off any excess powder from your brush, wipe any excess cream from your sponge/brush onto the back of your hand.

Apply the least amount humanly possible into the outside of your face, temple/outer corner of your eye, the hollows of your cheeks, under your jaw and down the hollows either side of your neck.  You can also add bronzer to the sides of your nose for a slimming effect, and underneath your bottom lip, for a slightly poutier look.

Apply it in layers, take your time and blend out as you go.  You don't want lines of brown across your face, just subtle colour difference where your face is naturally hidden from the light.  Think about how the light would hit your face, and apply narrower layers as you build up the colour. 

You just want to add the depth you've hidden back into your face. 

Next comes highlighting.  You can use anything lighter than your base colour to highlight - an illuminator, a light coloured concealer, a lighter shade of foundation, loose pigment, light blush or highlighting powder.

You can use shimmer or matte, it's completely down to your own personal preference


You only want to add highlights to the parts of your face that the light would hit - 


Your brow bone
The tops of your cheekbones
The bridge of your nose
Your cupid's bow

When applying to your brow bone, you want to go just under the arch of your eyebrow and work down under the tail.  You can join the eyebrow and cheekbone highlights, just remember to blend everything out so it doesn't look like you've just drawn white lines all over your face.

When it comes to the bridge of the nose, you want to apply a very thin line of highlight - otherwise you'll be widening your nose (of course, if you want to widen the nose, use a slightly thicker line).

Highlighting the cupid's bow is a really good way to get a naturally pouty look without loading up on lipgloss and getting into the hassle of contouring your lips.  You just want to apply a thin line just above your natural lip line (the bottom of your frenulum) and blend it out.

Once you've practiced and got your preferred technique, you'll be able to contour and highlight as part of your daily routine, and figure out which products work best for you.  It's a case of trial and error, and as ever, practice makes perfect.

I hope this has helped, and if you want to leave a comment below to let me know what you thought of this, or what tutorials you'd like to see, please do!

Left - Base colour only

Right - contour and highlight

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Review: Glossybox June 2012

After mentioning Glossybox in a few of my blogs so far, I've decided I should start reviewing the boxes I receive - starting with the first one I got, back in June 2012.

Glossybox is a monthly subscription of 5 high-end beauty product samples (with some full-size products sometimes, too) for £10 + £2.95 p&p.

You can earn Glossydots by reviewing the products sent to you in a quick survey, and redeem points for a free box. (1000 GlossyDots = 1 free box)

 'Tried and tested by the Glossybox Pros, Glossybox does the hard work for you'

The first item in my 06/12 box was a little box with 3 samples of Agent Provocateur Eau Provocateur perfumes.  I won't lie here, the box is in my makeup case and the phials are still full.  I don't like perfume samples and I don't want to smell like these ones smell.  The Black one, L'Agent, is supposed to be 'fresh' and 'floral'.  It smells like an old man's house.  The Pink one, Signature, is 'citrus teamed with red fruit' - honestly smells like talc. And finally, the Red one, Maitresse, is supposed to be 'a floral feast'.  I just don't like it.

This one was a let down, I'm afraid. 

(RRP £39/50ml - available from AgentProvocateurParfums.com)

Second in the box was a Glossybox brush, 'Made with best quality goat hair with natural tips from Asian mountain goats'.  The hairs are indeed super soft, but they don't pick up any product, and they don't lay it down - which, for a makeup brush, isn't all that great.  The design is okay, I like the all-black look, and it hasn't shed at all, but it just doesn't do the job.

(RRP £15)


Next was a sample size Yves Rocher Ultra Volume Sexy Pulp Mascara.  It has a really nice curved brush applicator, and lays on the product really well - coating individual lashes with no clumps.  As it claims, it doesn't weigh down lashes, it's not heavy but still gives a good impact.  The pigment's good (I have the black one - also available in brown and blue), and it stays on for ages.  I have no complaints about this one!

(RRP £16.90, available from Yves-Rocher.co.uk for £8.95 - online exclusive)





Vichy Dermablend Ultra-Corrective Foundation Cream Stick

 'Ideal for camouflage of skin concerns such as dark circles, acne marks, redness, dark spots, vitiligo, and the masking of tattoos. Product benefits: 40% pigment concentration- Twice the coverage of a traditional foundation. Fragrance-free and hypoallergenic. Sweat resistant & water resistant. SPF 30. Long lasting-14Hr hold.' 

Despite all it's miraculous claims and the recommendations from anyone I mentioned it to, this isn't suited to my skin.  It provides really heavy coverage, which broke me out - although I'm sure for someone less sensitive skin, it would work well.  I do think it's a lot to pay for what is, essentially, a concealer stick, and there are similar, less expensive products on the market.  

(RRP £19/12g, available from TheGarden.co.uk)

The final product in the 06/12 box was a tiny sample of the Summer Warmth Bronzer from BM beauty.  It is a mineral bronzer with the fewest ingredients I've ever seen in a product - Mica, Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide.  It is very pigmented and applies really well.  It has a really dark colour to it in the packaging, but it goes on as a nice warm golden bronze, with a bit of a shimmer.  It builds well or you can leave it as a light dusting for a healthy looking glow.  It's not too expensive, and it has no bad ingredients (In fact, all their makeup is free from parabens, BUAV, animal products and synthetic dyes/fragrances) so it gets a big thumbs up from me.

(RRP £8/4g, available from BMbeauty.com)

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