How I Contour

Contouring is not something I do everyday as I already take an age to do my makeup but if I have an event or if I'm feeling down and I want to do something more dramatic to make myself feel a bit better it's a step I love adding to my makeup routine. Having quite dry skin means I prefer to use a cream contour kit, I currently use the Anastasia Beverley Hills one in the shade Light. I start by applying my foundation and concealer as I usually would. I then apply the highlight in the areas of my face I would like to accentuate and "bring forward" like the centre of the forehead, the centre of the nose, (to elongate it) in a triangle under my eyes, on my cupids bow, on the centre of my chin and under neath my contour just to make it look even more dramatic. I then apply my contour, on my temples and the top of my forehead to make it appear smaller, down the sides of my nose (to make it look thinner) and in the hollows of my cheeks to accentuate my cheekbones. 
 Obviously you can adjust this to suit your face shape and your features as if you already have a thin nose already, you may not want to contour your nose. So just use the contour to make sections of your face appear smaller and use the highlight to bring sections forward and draw attention to those areas. I have the worlds least symmetrical face so I do adjust in order to suit my face and to *attempt* to make it look slightly more in proportion! I like to use flat eyeshadow style brushes to apply the products and then more dense buffing brushes to work the products into my skin. I avoid doing too much "buffing" and instead start by pressing the products into my skin, you don't want to use large circular motions and mix the contour and highlight together. Using a slightly damp beauty blender sponge would also work really well by just pressing the product into the skin. I then powder as I would usually and if I would like a more dramatic contour, I add my Kevin Aucoin Sculpting Powder. This is obviously a more subtle contour, something you could wear in the day as it's not a Kim Kardashian style contour!
What do you think of contouring? What are your favourite contour products?

Happy Birthday Birchbox!

Birchbox £12.95*
September marks Birchbox's 5th Birthday and to celebrate they brought out a special birthday box complete with balloons (which my niece found very quickly) and sparkles. Birchbox were the first company to come up with the idea of beauty subscription boxes back in 2010! Everything in this month's box originates from the USA, Birchbox's birthplace! So, onto the contents of the box:
Bliss Foot Patrol £18.50 Laqa & Co Lip Pencil in Humble Brag £17 John Masters Organics Citrus Neroli Detangler £16 Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting Liquid Exfoliant £23.50 Benefit The Porefessional: Licence to Blot £15.50 The Birchbrush £5.99
I think this month's box was a really great range of different products, I particularly love the Birchbrush as we know how much of a fan I am of Tangle Teezer's and this mini version is perfect for popping in your handbag to use on the go. The reason I love these kinds of brushes so much is because they don't pull at your hair and are amazing at getting even the tightest of knots out of your hair without taking half of your hair with it! It's great to use with the John Masters Organics Detangler to make sure you get less annoying knots and tangles! The Laqa & Co Lip Pencil is also a great product from the box, it's so moisturising and easy to apply, it glides on and doesn't accentuate any dry patches on the lips. The colour is also very bold and such a pretty shade of pink! I always love getting a Benefit item in my boxes, this month you get the Porefessional: Licence to Blot which battles against oily t-zones! You use it straight from the tube to mattify your skin and get rid of any shiny areas, it's also perfect for on the go, to pop in your bag and use even when you're in a rush!
What do you think of this month's box?

My Essie Nail Polish Collection

(Clockwise L-R) Ballet Slippers - Spin The Bottle - Go Ginza Master Plan - Tart Deco - Sunday Funday  A Splash of Grenadine - Status Symbol - Play Date  Bikini So Teeny - Cocktail Bling - Lapiz of Luxury  Maximillian Strasse-Her - Mint Candy Apple - Pedal Pushers Bahama Mama - Luxedo
I have to admit, I have a slight Essie nail polish addiction. I now very rarely buy a nail polish from any other brand as I love Essie ones so much. The brushes are the perfect size to apply polish quickly and neatly, the colours are all very opaque and I never get those irritating bubbles! The polish lasts longer than most polishes and rarely chips, the finish is always lovely and their shade range is beautiful. My favourite shades are "Spin the Bottle" a pinky nude shade which looks perfect with an accent glitter nail, "A Splash of Grenadine" a perfect magenta pink which I find myself reaching for often and "Cocktail Bling" a lovely pale bluey grey. You can buy Essie nail polishes from Boots here!

The Perfect Winged Liner

It's taken me about five years to perfect winged eyeliner and now that I have, it's actually very simple once you get the hang of it. I feel naked without eyeliner on and I think adding a wing creates a feminine yet bold look. To create my winged liner I start by drawing a line along my lash line, it doesn't have to be neat at all, mine usually isn't! I then draw a straight line to make the wing, imagine your lower lash line carries upwards and map that line out to create the basic shape. Alternatively, you can create the wing at any angle, this may differ depending on your eye shape and what suits your eyes! I then simply join up the end of that line with the first line along the upper lash line and fill in the gap. I find liquid lines with thin tips perfect for this as it's very easy to fix the wing. Clean the lines, making sure it all flows together and you have your perfect winged eyeliner! When I wear winged liner, I love to also apply false lashes as it makes my makeup look even more girly and adds definition to the eyes. I use the Soap and Glory Supercat Eyeliner which I find brilliant for perfecting a cat eye, it is thin and therefore can create crisp lines as well as being quite firm so you have control over what you're doing. However you can also use gel eyeliner, if you can get the hang of it! 
What do you think of winged liner?

Wishlist

As my current liquid eyeliner is coming to an end, I've been looking at a few alternatives to try out. I have heard lots of good things about the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner, in particular, the nib looks PERFECT for winged liner as it looks so tiny, great for getting those clean lines. As I go back to university in a couple of weeks, I'm going to have to wear clothes other than my work uniform and my pajamas, so I've been searching for a few nice tops to wear. I found this lovely Peplum top from French Connection which I think very feminine and girly with the peplum but is also quite casual, perfect for university. I've been after a pair of light brown boots for ages, I've had an image in my head of exactly the pair I would like! The Ugg Charlotte boots in Wet Sand are pretty much exactly what I had in mind, however these are a past seasons style and I cannot find it in my size anywhere! *sob* Although I recently found these boots from Toms which I love and although they're a slightly different shape, I still think they are lovely! Finally is something I've already added to my christmas list. I'm not entirely sure how many watches I need but I absolutely adore this one from Olivia Burton. I love the mix of gold and black and think it looks so simple but stunning! 

Brow Routine

My natural brows are far from brilliant; they are very thin and have little shape to them. Over the past three years or so, I've been searching for brow products to achieve "the perfect brow" and I think I may have found them. I've used Anastasia Beverly Hills' brow products for about a year and a half, mainly the Brow Wiz, however I recently rediscovered the Dip Brow Pomade and I don't think I'll use any other brow product for a very long time. I use the shade "blonde" which matches my brows really well, usually products are way too dark and look unnatural but this blends really nicely. I apply it with the Anastasia Beverly Hills number 12 brush, this comes with a spoolie brush on one end, perfect for brushing your brows into place and ensuring the product is evenly distributed and small angled brush. The brush is a great size as it's quite tiny so allows for precision. I start by applying a decent amount of product onto the brush and line the bottom of my brow and then along the top to create the basic shape, the key is to apply it with a light hand. I then, in upward strokes create hair-like lines to make it look as natural as possible. Dip Brow is the best product I've found that holds brows in place, however if I want to make sure they stay in place all day, I apply the Benefit Gimme Brow lightly through my brows!

What are your favourite brow products?

L'oreal Infallible 24-Hour Matte Foundation

L'oreal Infallible 24-Hour Matte Foundation £7.99
Over the past year or so I don't think I've bought a single drugstore foundation; I was a bit of a foundation snob. However after seeing quite a few people rave about the L'oreal Infallible 24-Hour Matte Foundation, I popped to Boots and promptly bought it. As a little bit of skin background, I have dry, dehydrated skin. So it may seem strange of me to pick up a foundation with the word "matte" on it, however I really like matte foundations that last on the skin and don't need extra powdering throughout the day because I cannot be doing with that. In short, I love this foundation. It reminds me of my Mac Studio Fix Fluid, it covers everything I need it to, it looks flawless and it lasts. As you can see in the above photo, I have two shades; Porcelain and Vanilla. Vanilla was a little too pink for my neutral undertones and Porcelain was a little light, so the two together work really well. As the foundation is so affordable, I don't mind too much about having to mix the two together as rarely do drugstore foundations match me. 
My favourite way to apply it (as with most foundations) is with a slightly damp beauty blender, which leaves it looking flawless. It's a full coverage foundation which I love as I have a lot of acne scarring to cover, however at the same time, it doesn't feel heavy or cakey on the skin. It makes me look like I have good skin, which I definitely don't. As for the "24-Hour" claim, I can't really comment on this as I have never worn this for 24 hours, but it lasts amazingly through the whole day, I don't need to touch up or re-powder my skin. I think this is a great foundation is you are after something with high coverage, high staying power and a matte finish. You can buy it from boots for only £7.99!