Contouring Products + Tools For Pale Skin

I love contouring, it is an essential step in my makeup routine - if I am going to put makeup on, I am going to contour! If you don't know what contouring is then let me explain, it is a process whereby a fake shadow is created under the cheekbones to create the illusion of higher more pronounced cheekbones. Contouring can also be used along the sides of the nose if you think your nose is a bit wide, on the temples and along the jaw. Here are my favourite contouring products for pale skin along with tips and tricks!

Firstly, a very brief guide to contouring the face - I always contour my cheeks using one of the brushes above. I suck in my cheeks (make the fishy face, you will look ridiculous doing this) and place the contour/bronzer/blush into the hollow line created. Blend, blend, blend. Then take the excess on the brush and buff it into the temples and along the jaw. This process give the face more shape and structure; I always follow with highlighter. 

Contouring products (blush/bronzer/contour): First up is my favourite contouring product currently - the Chanel Healthy Glow Multi-Colour in '01 Light Harmony' which is a highlighter, bronzer and blush in one compact. The bronzer is so natural looking even on my pale skin. This product is great for contouring is it isn't very pigmented so the contouring line will not look stark/unnatural. Next up is my second favourite bronzer on the moment, Benefit's Hoola Bronzer. I have had it for ages and I have fallen in love with it again. You have to be a little bit careful if you have super pale skin as I do but it is a great bronzer for contouring the face with.   Now onto a cheaper product - the Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer which is fantastic for the price and the shimmer doesn't really show up on the skin so it is great for contouring as you shouldn't contour with shimmery/glittery products. 

The next three products have been a bit neglected but I do still love them, especially the Kevin Aucoin Creamy Sculpting Duo which has cream versions of the celestial highlighter and the sculpting powder. They apply so quickly and easily, I love this mini duo and it was only £19 from SpaceNK which is a fantastic bargain as the just one of the powder versions is over £30 (although the don't get as much product with this duo). Another creamy product is the Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow which is a grey creamy eyeshadow and contour product. I love it as an all over eyeshadow and as a contouring before foundation. This is the only contouring product that I apply before my foundation - I just moisturise, prime and then apply this in the hollows of my cheeks with my fingers or the Illamasqua brush and blend, then apply my foundation over the top with a sponge. The last contouring product is a fantastic multi-tasker as I use the lightest brown matte shade as a contour and as a bronzer. There is a white shade in this matte bronzer quad too which is great for sharpening up the contour line or blending it out. 

Contouring tools: I mainly use the Real Techniques Contour Brush as it is a great shape, it is fairly small so it is precise and it is super soft! I love all of the RT brushes! I also have the Illamasqua Blush/Contour Brush which was stupidly expensive at £28 but it is great for contour, especial cream contour as it is really dense and firm but also very soft. Lastly, the Chanel brush that came with my Multi-Colour Compact, it is a great shape for contouring as it is thin and also soft. 

Contouring tips and tricks: Suck in your cheeks and make a fishy face to make sure you are applying the contour into the hollow of your cheeks - the line should go from your ear but don't apply past the line from the middle if your pupil as it will look fake. 

Blend Blend Blend, there is almost nothing worse than a very strong contour (unless it is a halloween look in which case it is amazing). Go for cool toned product for those with pale skin as it will look like a natural shadow. I also pair contour with highlighter to make the face look more refreshed as contouring can look a bit flat sometimes. 

Has this post been useful? Have you tried any of these contouring products or tools? Let me know if you want a demo post or a post one a few of the products individually. 

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August Beauty + Travel Favourites

Well if I thought last month was filled with favourites, this month has to be the largest number of beauty favourites ever! For two weeks out of the month of august I was on an amazing Royal Caribbean cruise around the Mediterranean (lucky me) so most of these product are not just august favourites but holiday/vacation/travel favourites.

Makeup: The first makeup favourite is a foundation by Benefit, it is their Hello Flawless foundation in 'believe in me ivory'. I loved the foundation while on holiday for two weeks in august, it was perfect paired with the amazing Essence All About Matt Fixing Powder which I sadly used up completely on holiday. Another Essence base product I loved for the past couple of months is the Essence Stay All Day Concealer which is just fantastic and all Essence products are really inexpensive! My next makeup item is a very long term favourite, the NYX Blush in 'taupe', it is fantastic for contouring especially if you have pale skin as I do. I have a contouring post coming soon. The last makeup bits are lip products both of which are stains (my favourite kind of lip product). Firstly, the Topshop Gloss Ink in 'sugar rush', it is a gorgeous bright pink glossy stain that does last well; secondly the Loreal...splash stain...things! I have the shade 'lolita' which is a perfect neutral shade - at the time these were released they had a lot of negative reviews but I don't know why, I love this lip stain!

Skincare + Haircare: The product I am going to talk about next is a mix between skincare and makeup, it is the Decleor DD Cream which is an SPF and tinted moisturiser combined in my opinion. It was in a previous favourites post. My favourite moisturiser for the past couple of months has been the Nivea Sensitive Day Cream, I took it on holiday and it was just perfect. I am currently using the night cream and it is equally great although the packaging breaks very easily! The last couple of skincare products are from Guinot, you may have seen them already in my travel beauty posts (here) and (here). They are cute mini SPF products, the lip balm was a life saver on holiday! Onto the only hair care favourite for August, the Moroccan Oil Anti-Frizz Spray which does exactly what it says on the bottle, it really helps to reduce frizz - I have been using it every single time I wash my hair this month. 

Tools + Accessories: A few makeup brush favourites, the first is the powder brush I have been using everyday this month - it is from the Ecotools travel brush set that I purchased from Feelunique back in January. Ecotools brushes are amazing in my opinion and inexpensive. Next up some trusty brushes from Real Techniques, they are all from the core collection - the bristles are super soft, smooth and blend products quickly and easily. My last favourite for august is my Sewlomax Grey Lipstick Pouch which is personalised - it says Heather on the back! I love the Sewlomax makeup bags, I used this one on holiday as my mini-mergency bag.

There are all of my favourites for the month of august, I am missing a few products such as the Ted Baker Mia Perfume and the L'Occitane Almond Hand Cream but I thought the post was very long already! 

Have you tried any of these products, if you have what did you think of them? What were your stand out products throughout august?

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August & September Favourites!

When I first started blogging I used to make favourites posts every month but I haven't done any in what seems like a year so here is my favourite makeup, skincare and haircare products for August and September!

1. NYX Powder Blush, 'Taupe': I bought this blush after months and months of drooling over it and I bought it from 123hairandbeauty. It was around £5 and I have been using it on and off for about three weeks and I love it. It is a rosy brown blush but it great as a contour because it looks quite ashy on the skin which gives the impression of a shadow. I am going to create a post about my favourite products to contour with (for pale skin) soon!

2. Dr Jart+ BB Beauty Balm 'Platinum': I have wanted to try the Dr Jart BB creams for ages as they are supposed to be nothing like the watered down/light coverage western bb creams. I put of getting one of the BB creams as there are quite a few in the range but I ended up buying the Platinum one which is supposed to be for people over 30 so I thought it would be great for my dry skin as the older you get the more your skin is going to be drier. I have used it about six times now and I really like it. It is the first BB cream that I like! Review coming soon. 

3. Illamasqua Blush Brush: I bought this brush a few months ago and it was part of a collection - it was pretty damn expensive, in my opinion at around £28 for one brush but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I bought it from Asos and even though it is stated as a blush brush I use it for contouring as it is the best shape for contouring the face! I have no idea why they say it is a blush brush, it is very dense and perfect for contouring.

4. Mac Eyebrow Pencil 'Lingering': Love, love, love this eyebrow pencil - it is a bit expensive, although being from Mac you wouldn't expect anything else (it seems like their prices go up daily!). I love this pencil, it is so quick and easy to use and it looks so natural - but there are some flaws with this product. I also love the Loreal Brow Artist Pencil too which I took on holiday with me. 

5. Kielhs Ultimate Strength Hand Salve: I received this as part of my Selfridges Beauty Advent Calendar last year and I have been using it almost constantly - it is a staple product in my handbag. I took this hand cream with me on holiday to Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Estonia and Finland - it is a great hand cream. I have also been loving the Avene hand cream even more which is a very recently favourite. 

6. KMS Free Shape Blowdry Spray: Myself and my sister have been using this on and off for the past couple of weeks and it has honestly cut down the time it takes to blow dry our hair by about 1/3. It is a great little spray and it makes my hair quicker to dry and smoother too. 

7. Murad Recovery Treatment Gel: I received this as part of a prize that I won from Birch Box/Murad. I picked it because I have a lot of redness in my skin and sensitiveity due to eczema and I have been using this on and off for a couple of weeks and I definitely notice a reduction in the redness of my skin and it makes my skin really smooth too. I need to try it out more but so far so good! 

8. Bumble and Bumble Thickening Creme Contour: I have mentioned this in a post or two already and I just love it. I bought it from lookfantastic as I had an offer code so it came to about £17. It is a cream that has a light/medium hold and you can shape your hair with it, tame frizz and add volume - it smells divine too. 

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Week in photographs # 31

Here is another week in photographs, is it just me or are the weeks passing very quickly! My week has consisted of: sale shopping (not a surprise there!), writing summer/holiday blog posts, looking for hair style/cut ideas, getting ready for holiday, thunderstorms and being in the local newspaper! 

Firstly, I was in featured in my local newspaper because of my First class degree which I am really happy about. The newspaper editors also mentioned that I am going to donate my hair (about 8/9 inches of it) to the Little Princess Trust which is a UK organisation that makes real hair wigs, free of charge, for children suffering from cancer - I am having my hair cut on the 1st august and I will make a separate post about it and the Little Princess Trust but if you want to check out their site - click here. 

Also this week I have been writing some summer/holiday/travel themed blog posts that I will publish while I am on holiday, I will be away for two weeks from the beginning(ish) of august to mid august. I have been doing some panicky last minute holiday shopping this week which is ok because all of the final reductions are on now and there are some amazing bargains, especially on Newlook, Oasis, House of Fraser and Dorothy Perkins. There will be some sale haul posts coming soon. 

Finally, this week I have been missing the hot sunny weather because it has been raining and horrible here - there were some really strong thunder and lightening storms this week that physically shook the house! I guess the British summer is over now! Oh and the royal abby was born and named this week which is exciting.

My favourites = Perfume: Diptque Vetvyerio. TV/Movies: The Heat, Modern Family and Dexter. Food: watermelon and noodles - not together! Apps: A Beautiful Mess and Instatext. 

I hope everyone had a great week x

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