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

Previous Post: Review: Glossybox March 2013
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Review: Glossybox March 2013

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 in a quick survey, or by inviting friends, and redeem points for a free box.  Each survey is worth 50 points, so if you review 5 products a month, every 5th Glossybox should be free.  You get 200 Glossydots for every friend that signs up and places an order (1000 Glossydots = 1 free box)

The March 2013 box had a theme of 'City Chic', supposedly the best, most hard working products available for that effortless, well maintained look, 'with minimum time, effort and money spent.'  I've given this box an extra week or so's use to really test the products before reviewing them, so it's a bit late this month - sorry!

The first product in the box was Tresemmé Salon Finish Extra Hold hairspray - a product my best friend swears by, but he hasn't got as much hair as me, so I didn't want to just take his word for it, I wanted to try a few different styles, see how well it held up - and I have to say, despite being dubious about using an extra hold hairspray, and expecting crunchy, dry hair, I am impressed.

I've used Tressemé products in the past, including one of their hairsprays, and I used to love the bubblegum scent of it, but they seem to have got rid of that now.  It does smell like any other hairspray, quite chemical-y and sickening.  So I used it in moderation.

I curled my hair using my Babyliss Pro 230 straighteners, sprayed in short bursts where I needed hold, and brushed them out a bit for a bouncy, wavy style - it held through very strong wind and light rain for a good few hours while I was out, and gave a ton of volume.

For £1.99/100ml, I think it is a decent price for a good product, and it's nice to get something in my Glossybox that I can actually use for a change! 

It is available to buy from Boots, Superdrug, Amazon, most supermarkets, and Asda currently stocks the 500ml can for only £3.

The second product in the box was a Lip Blush from JellyPongPong - I've had a lip product from JellyPongPong in a previous box - the Irish Cream Pavlova Lip Frosting, and I loved that.  This is another new favourite - I was a bit disappointed that I got the red one and not the pink, as I've been after a nice fuchsia lipstick to try, but red is a good all-rounder, too.

It's a crayon-style moisturising lip stain with a twist-up action, and oh. my. God. it is moisturising.  It doesn't make my lips feel greasy, but just nice and soft and hydrated.  It doesn't wear off, either.  It stays moisturising for hours, and there's no need to reapply after an hour or two, unless you eat.  It does wear off a bit when you eat, but being a lip stain, it leaves some colour behind anyway.

It has a sort of satin finish, and the colour I have (which I couldn't tell you the name of, it isn't on the tube or the website - although they are calling the fuchsia one cranberry, and claiming it is a berry red, which describes this one better, so maybe this one is cranberry - don't quote me on it, though) takes two coats to get a more opaque coverage, one coat is just too sheer and looks a bit strange on me.  It's got pink undertones and looks nice with my fair skin.

The only downsides I can find are: 1. The ingredients - it has both propylparaben and methylparaben, you can read my post on parabens here.  And 2. The price, at £12 for about an inch of lip product, it's a bit pricier than some of the other high-street/drugstore lip colours available.  In fact, most MAC lipsticks are about £14, so it's going more towards the high-end side of the scale, and I woudn't pay that much, honestly.

Next in the box was St James, by Nails Inc, a bright, pillar box red, in another teeeeeny tiny 4ml sample bottle.  I tried using it on my fingernails, but it wouldn't dry fast enough and I had to go out, so I took it off and left it on my toes.  It took 2 thin layers to get opaque coverage, and is lasting well.  I can't say much for the chipping factor, because my feet aren't doing much fiddly work, but it looks like it could withstand some knocks, especially with a top coat.

I wouldn't say you should pick Nails Inc over, say, Rimmel - there's not that much difference other than price, but if you do want to go for something slightly more high-end for some reason, it's available to buy from the Nails Inc website at 3 for £22, or at BeautyBay.com for £8.69 + P&P.  

The next item in the box was a small sample of Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant (Fragrance Free)

It's hailed as a miracle product by many, but I can't say I'm a fan.  I went to The Trafford Centre with my mum after I received the box, and stopped by the Elizabeth Arden counter, and she tried a bit on her hand - she pointed out that it smells like vomit, and now I can't use it without thinking the same.  The smell is disgusting.  I appreciate fragrance free products, but a bit of a nice smelling, skin soothing oil in this wouldn't go amiss. 

It also has a super thick gel texture and is

very difficult to spread.  I can't see this as a regular addition to my skincare routine, only as an addition to my 'Elizabeth Arden products I dislike and will never use' collection.

The RRP is £25/50ml, which, for what it is (which I'm still not sure what that actually is), is way too high.  There are better, cheaper products on the market.

Last in the box was the thing I despise most - a perfume sample.  

This time it was a sample of Couture La La by Juicy couture.  I'm not sure what it smells of, it smells like perfume.  Apparently it's supposed to be fruity, citrus-y, sweet and fresh.  I guess it is, but it's a tiny sample and I'll probably use it before I get chance to properly test it out.

£47/50ml.  No thanks.

I wish there was an option to opt out of perfume samples.  They're such a waste.  I can try perfumes in boots.  Please put useful things in my Glossybox thank you.

So overall for March, I like 3/5 of the products - which is more than last month.  So that's a plus.  Maybe next month will be FULL of products I will actually like.  Maybe.

Previous Post: Review: Olay Essentials Refreshing Toner

Next Post: Make Up Basics: Contouring and Highlighting

Review: Olay Essentials Refreshing Toner

'Olay's refreshing toner blended to be mild on skin for everyday cleansing.

The Essentials alcohol free formula, containing extracts of cucumber and aloe, effectively lifts away remaining traces of dirt and make up revitalising skin appearance without over drying.

The result? Simply clean, refreshed, beautiful skin.

Dermatologically tested.'

After watching countless skincare routine videos on YouTube and reading about the benefits of a proper cleanse/tone/moisturise skincare routine, I decided to give it a try.

I originally made some rosewater with the roses I got for Valentines Day, but I think they had artificial dye in them, as it turned out bright red.  I used it a couple of times but didn't trust it on my skin, and so I picked up an Olay one while I was out about a week ago.  I've been using it every morning before moisturising and every evening between cleansing and moisturising.

The difference I've seen in my skin already has amazed me.  It's not as dry and flakey, I've got no oily patches, and best of all, my blackheads on my nose and cheeks are gone, and I've had no new spots.

My skin is the clearest it's been in forever, and it feels much healthier.

All I do with it is squirt some onto a cotton wool pad, and smooth it over my face and neck, working from the middle outwards.  It lifts any dirt left over after cleaning out of your skin, and leaves you fresh and glowing.

It does contain parabens, and I am planning on buying some rose water when I get chance to compare the results, and hopefully replace this if it works well enough, but in the mean-time I am happy with this.  However, if Olay want to bring out a version of this with no parabens, I would use that forever.

The formula is suitable for all skin types, and is alcohol free, so you don't get that horrible tight feeling after you use it, it's just cool and refreshing.

The price for the amount you get is amazing - Boots have it at £2.99/200ml, but I bought it cheaper from Home Bargains - about £1.99 - you can also buy it for £1.99 from FragranceDirect.co.uk (excluding delivery).

I would definitely recommend this toner as a new addition to your skincare routine, and if you keep up your use, you will see results really quickly.

I'm in love with it, can you tell?

Previous Post: Quick Review: Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

Next Post: Review: Glossybox March 2013

Quick Review: Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

A few weeks ago, when I decided that having more pan than powder was a bad idea, I decided to try something new - I usually get a translucent powder, or a very light shade, just to set my foundation - but I went for something different this time.

On an impulse buy, I got the Rimmel London Stay Matte pressed powder in the colour Silky Beige, which is basically just a natural skin tone colour.  Nothing crazy or super dark, just a normal colour that fits my light skin quite well.

After swapping foundations last month, I needed a bit of extra colour, as the shade I have does come off as a bit yellow in some lights.

I use a very light application on a large powder brush, and just sweep it across my T-Zone, chin, and a bit on my cheeks if I need it.  It lasts all day for me, which I'm impressed with, and uses natural minerals for shine control.

Although I like the effect this has, I am in the market for a new powder, something a bit more natural, without parabens and all the other crap they've thrown into this as filler.

For something cheap and easy to pick up, it is a pretty good product, and until I find something new to replace it, I'll stick with this one.

Previous Blog Post: Review: Glossybox February 2013

Next Blog Post: Review: Olay Essentials Refreshing Toner

Review: Glossybox February 2013

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 Glossydots by reviewing the products in a quick survey, or by inviting friends, and redeem points for a free box.  Each survey is worth 50 points, so if you review 5 products a month, every 5th Glossybox should be free.  You get 200 Glossydots for every friend that signs up and places an order (1000 Glossydots = 1 free box)


February's Glossybox was Valentines Day themed - 'here to make sure you’ll have the night of your life whomever you end up spending it with.'  

I don't know if I got the leftover products no-one else would want, but I hated this month's box and wouldn't have chosen any of them.  This blog post will not be a good advertisement for Glossybox.  It is the first box I've actively disliked and been completely disappointed with - so if you're after an uplifting read, this is not the place to be.  Sorry.

The box itself is very pretty this month - with a big pink bow and pink tissue paper, very Valentines-esque.  That's where the love ends.  I honestly thought I'd never love anything ever again when I opened this box - like all capability for happy feelings had been sucked out of me.  Maybe the box contained some rogue miniature dementors, I don't know.


The first item in the box was an Anatomicals shower gel.  It's a full size, and it smells of rose, so I get to smell like Turkish Delight for about 3 minutes until the smell wears off. 

There's really not much to say that I haven't already said in the review of the last Anatomicals product Glossybox sent me - except that this isn't as nice as the grapefruit exfoliating body scrub.  

It is a good size, the packaging is nice and bright, but the smell doesn't last and you need quite a lot to get a good lather.  I wouldn't say it's worth more than the £2.99 it costs.

The next item was Sassoon Professional Illuminating Restore, a deep-treatment conditioner loaded with all the parabens and chemicals you could dream of, which you leave on for about 15 minutes after shampooing, and rinse out to find no change whatsoever to your hair, and get out of the bath/shower disappointed.

I just don't understand how a deep conditioner could contain three different types of alcohol.

It does contain Hydrolyzed Keratin, however it's in such small amounts that I don't see it doing much in the way of improving the condition of your hair.  I know I didn't notice any difference in mine, apart from that it was quite drying and made my hair very difficult to comb out.  

It's also a case of paying for the brand rather than the product with this - as it has a RRP of £20.75/130ml.  Vastly overpriced in my opinion.



Third in the box was the Fat Cat mascara from MeMeMe - a range I've wanted to try (although what I actually wanted to try was the foundation, and maybe the highlighter).  

If you're looking for a mascara that creates a look SO natural noone will believe you're wearing any at all - this is definitely the mascara for you.  The only way I could tell I had mascara on was when it fell onto my cheeks after about 5 minutes.

It's the thinnest coating I've ever had from any mascara ever - I don't know if it's the formula or the big bristle-y brush, but it doesn't seem to hold on the lashes, and it's not buildable.  Maybe I have freak-of-nature lashes, but every other one I've tried has worked for me.

It has a RRP £7.99/8ml, although I wouldn't recommend this mascara at all - there are far better high street mascaras out there for a fiver.



Next  was a loose shimmery eye powder from Mica Bella Cosmetics.  It does say on the description that it's a pigment, but I refuse to call it that as it is not pigmented well at all.  The description also boasts that it contains 100% Natural Mica - except for the possible Carmine and Titanium Dioxide.
Carmine is a colouring which is known to cause severe allergic reactions, and Titanium Dioxide is dangerous when inhaled in micro-ground form as it is in this product.
Aside from that, it's generally just not a very good product.  I wore it today in place of my usual dark brown crease colour, and it lasted all of about 30 seconds.  The shimmer disappeared when I was blending it out, and the rest either soaked into my skin somehow, or was blown away by a gentle breeze somewhere between leaving the house and getting to my car.  I was left with dirty brown smudge patches on my eyelids.  So cute.
Here's the kicker though, the RRP is £14.95/2.5g.  If you pay that much for this product, please seek professional help.


The final, and most insulting, product in the Valentines Day box was a lipstick from Miners Cosmetics. 'Perfect your pout with Miners Cosmetics range of stunning and vibrant Lip Colours.'
 I'll have to double check the shade I received, but I like to call it Slutty Robot.  Now if you do like to dress as a slutty robot, this lipstick is PERFECT.  For everyone else, however, you will want to rip your face off when you try it.
It's a frosted, shimmery, very light lilac/pink, and it feels and smells about as cheap as it makes you look.   It sits on top of the lips rather than being in any way moisturising, and just applying it for the photo to the left made my day a whole lot worse.

(The colour I have is 'Dreamer')
RRP. £3.99/4g. 


The people at Glossybox also added a heart shaped lolly to the box as an extra treat.  That was the highlight.  Hopefully next month will be a whole heap of amazingness, or my subscription will be gone.

Fingers crossed!


Previous Post: My Miracle Procuct - Tamanu Oil
Next Post: Quick Review: Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

My Miracle Product: Tamanu Oil

Tamanu Oil is a product I've been using for over a year now, but I kind of lost my bottle when we moved house, and I've just rediscovered it's amazing-ness when I found my bottle last week.

It's a soft, smooth oil with so many amazing properties - wound healing, anti-inflammatory, scar healing, pain relief and my personal favourite - skin clearing.

I can't remember exactly where I heard about it (probably a YouTube video) but I researched it before I bought some, and learnt that it was used in the late 1920's by a nun to treat the pain of conditions such as rheumatism, sciatica, shingles and later she used it to treat leprosy - with positive results.

It comes from the nut of the Tamanu tree, which is native to South-East Asia, and islanders have used it for years as skincare.

The oil contains:
Up to 17% Palmitic Acid
Upto 17% Stearic Acid
Upto 50% Oleic Acid (Omega 9)
And upto 50% Linoleic Acid (Omega 6)

These together possess a capability to promote the growth of new tissue, along with anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties, it's perfect for a skin clearing remedy.

So I figured it was worth a go - it's not expensive and I only bought a small bottle so even if I hated it it wouldn't be too much of a waste.

I apply mine twice a day - morning and night, just a small amount straight onto my problem areas - redness, spots, dry skin, acne scars etc - and I can feel an improvement almost straight away, but after about a week of use you can see the improvement. It only takes a few days to fully heal spots and dry skin.

It doesn't clog up my skin or leave it feeling greasy and dirty - it absorbs really quickly and makes my skin feel fuller and brighter straight away.

I've used it for other problems, too - cold sores, damaged hair, burns, razor burn, cuts - it speeds up the healing process for all of them, and I can see now why my skin got so crappy when I lost my bottle!

I also turned my step-mum onto Tamanu Oil, for her arthritis pains, and she definitely felt an improvement (until she tried to take the bottle in her hand-luggage on a flight and it was confiscated at customs).

Different brands of the oil have different smells - my first bottle smelled very nutty, whereas my second bottle had a distinct smell of curry, but it all does the same thing, and the smell fades off as the oil absorbs into your skin.

There are a few different 'recipes' for the different uses of Tamanu Oil, for scar healing, massage blends for pain relief, dry skin, but my favourite way to apply has always been straight from the bottle, just 100% Tamanu Oil straight onto the skin.

I use it either before or in place of my moisturiser (if using before, make sure it has mostly absorbed into your skin first) and just put my finger over the top of the bottle, tip it up and use whatever I get out - you don't need much, it's really moisturising.

It makes my skin feel like it's had a really good drink.  That's the best way I can describe it, I think.  It's super hydrating and moisturising, makes my skin softer and fuller and I've fallen in love with it all over again.

I found that the best place to buy it was from Ebay, from sellers with a high rating.  It generally costs between £4-10 for 10-60ml, depending on the seller.  I found a cold-pressed 30ml bottle for £4.19 from AkomaTradeUK on Ebay.



I definitely suggest trying Tamanu Oil for skincare, leave comments below if you've tried it and let me know what you thought!



Previous Post: Review: Benefit They're Real Mascara
Next Post: Review: Glossybox February 2013

Review: Benefit They're Real Mascara

After hearing a LOT of great things about Benefit's They're Real Mascara, I went for a look around the Benefit shop in the Trafford Centre with Chris.

I was stood reading the packaging, admiring, coveting, wishing it wasn't so damn expensive, and then Chris offered to buy it for me - I refused, he offered again, I refused again, he told me he'd only offer one more time, I accepted.

We came home and I immediately removed my mascara and applied this... Oh My God.

My eyelashes are naturally stumpy at best - I usually wear eyeliner along the base of my lashes, and then a couple of coats of mascara, to make them look a bit thicker and longer.  One coat of this and POW eyelashes everywhere.

I didn't believe the hype, but it's all true! Every word.  With the first coat, my eyelashes were longer, thicker and jet black, and with the second coat they practically touched my eyebrows.  Amazing!

I'm not sure if it's the mascara wand or the formula, but they're both different to any high-street mascara I've tried before.  The wand is plastic with little spikes all around, and longer spikes on the end - so you can actually get the eyelashes in the inner and outer corner of your eyes, and it makes all the difference!

The formula is wetter than most mascaras I've used before, and it doesn't dry super quickly, so you have time to apply a coat and fix your lashes into the right position to avoid clumping before you apply the second coat if you need it.

The instructions say to apply the mascara starting at the base of the lashes and slowly wiggle the wand toward the tips - it's definitely the only way I've found to apply it to avoid my lashes sticking together, just because the formula is so wet.

Ingredients - Paraben Free

I also find that I need to curl my lashes before I use it, because mine aren't very curly naturally - it's pretty lightweight, so it doesn't weigh down your lashes at all and holds the curl really well.

I've not had any issues with the mascara crumbling or flaking off, and it stays on until you wash it off.  It's definitely got the longest wear of any mascara I've tried before.  Whilst that is a major positive, the negative is that it is quite difficult to remove.  I've adapted my nightly face routine to include an oil based cleanser around the eyes - either Dermalogica's Precleanse or DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil, whichever is closest - followed by my usual Witch face wipes.

It is pricey, as I mentioned, at £18.50/8.5g, but it's DEFINITELY worth the money.  If you have stumpy lashes like mine, or if you're looking for a mascara that won't clump, or you simply want one that will stay put for as long as you need it to, this is the mascara for you - give it a try, you won't be disappointed!

I've included some photos below to show the comparison between my natural/usual/they're real lashes.

Natural lashes - No mascara or eyeliner

Lashes with  2 coats of Maybelline Colossal Volum'Express Mascara and eyeliner 

Lashes with 2 coats of Benefit They're Real Mascara and no eyeliner

Available to buy from Benefit (2 free samples with every online order) and Boots for £18.50.



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