How To: Highlight & Contour

Hi beauties! Today we will be talking all about HIGHLIGHT & CONTOUR! Highlighting and contouring is a technique used by pretty much every model, actress, and celebrity that brings light toward particular features of the face, while casting shadows on others. Highlighting and contouring makes a huge difference in the appearance of one's face, and trust me once you master this technique you will be absolutely addicted! You can make your nose appear smaller, your cheekbones more defined, your eyes brighter.. Simply amazing!

 Kim K is infamous for her beautiful highlighted and contoured look!

Let's Begin!
First, we need to make sure we have the right tools. Below are some recommendations:

Highlighters:
NARS Albatross, $29
Sephora Collection Microsmooth Luminzier, $12
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish (I love the shade "Soft and Gentle), $30
NYX Mosaic Powder Highlighter, $7

Bronzers/Contours:
Smashbox Halo Perfecting Bronzer, $39
Benefit Hoola, $28
MAC Matte Bronzer, $24
NYC "Sunny" Bronzer, $3

Brushes:
An angled blush brush - Sephora Pro Angled Blush Brush #49, $32
A blending brush - Sephora Pro Airbrush Concealer Brush #57, $24
A shader brush (if contouring your nose) - Sephora Pro Shadow Brush #14, $20
A fan brush - Sephora I.T. Highlighting Fan Brush, $9 (Only on Sephora.com, soon to be discontinued)

Here is a picture of me with just foundation, no highlight or contour:

Just wait until you see the difference highlight & contour will make at the end!

First, you'll have to find the hollows of your cheekbones. As a rule of thumb, your contour should start right by your ear and follow along a diagonal toward the tip of your mouth. (If in doubt, you can just make a fishy face to find your hollows.) Using an angled blush brush, apply your contour shade starting by your ear and working your way downward.

It should look something like this:

Then taking the brush, blend that out so we don't have any harsh lines:

I used Smashbox Halo Bronzer for this step with my Sephora Pro #49 brush.

Next, you can contour your nose by taking some of your bronzer on a small-medium shader brush, and draw lines on either side of your nose, starting at the uppermost outer edge of your nose and working your way down toward the tip.

Can you see the difference from one of my nose to the other?!

Next, you're going to want to add some highlight just below my eyes to really brighten them up. Take a highlighting pen, such as Yves St Laurent Touche Eclat (which is what I used, in #1), and draw upside down triangles underneath your eyes. You may also draw a straight line down the center of your nose, a line down your cupid's bow, and a bit underneath your chin to highlight. Blend these out with a blending brush, such as Sephora Pro #57.

I'm so fair, you can barely see the highlight.. But this is before blending!

Then, you may want to add some blush as well. For my particular face, I like a really contour look, so I'm going to go back with my angled brush and add blush just above where I put my bronzer, following along the same shape of my contour, but working from the apples of my cheek back. I used NARS Orgasm blush.

This is where I start the application of my blush, and I work back toward my ear.

Finally, add some extra highlight just above your cheekbones to create a beautiful glowy look! Taking a fan brush to ensure a light application, apply your highlighter right above your blush and contour.

And now you are a highlight and contour pro!! Here is the finished results..

Enjoy loves! XOXO

Summer Must Haves!

1: Jose Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 40: This is the perfect summer moisturizer! SPF 40 to protect you from those harmful rays, chemical free, and infused with my favorite- argan oil! In case you didn't know, argan oil is an excellent moisturizer for both hair and skin! Any skin type can use this, as it is never sticky or greasy, and absorbs super fast. My favorite part is that it doesn't smell horrid, like most sunscreens or SPF products. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone, all year round, but especially for summertime!

2: AmorePacific CC Cream: Seriously, love this stuff! This CC cream comes in a cute little compact, and you press the provided puff down on the liquid filled sponge. So cool! The formula is very hydrating, cooling, loaded with antioxidants, and SPF 50+! Love! It provides a light/medium coverage, and gives a beautiful dewy finish. It comes in 4 shades, and also comes with one replacement pack as well!

3: NARS Bronzer in "Laguna": Great summer bronze! This color gives a light, not too shimmery, but definitely golden glowy look to the skin. I would say any light-medium skin tone gal could wear this one, but if you are deeper toned, or prefer a deep bronze, I'd go with the color Casino.

4: NARS Satin Lip Pencil "Yu": Another winner from NARS! I was always a fan of their Velvet Matte lip pencils, and when these Satin ones launched a couple months ago, I knew I had to try (at least) one. Yu is the perfect hot pink color. Beautifully bright, but not too overbearing, this color adds a gorgeous pop of color to the lips. These lip pencils are perfectly pigmented, long lasting, and non-drying. Side note: another great color to try would be Lodhi, a beautiful coral!

5: Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray: I am a huge fan of hot tools, but let's be honest, in the hot summer months, ain't nobody got time for that (hehe)! And this is where my friend, B&B Surf Spray comes in. This saltwater-based spray adds beautiful texture and volume for a soft beachy look. The way I use this is by spraying it to damp hair, twisting a little with my fingers, and letting it air dry. I've also used this after showering at night, spraying and then braiding my hair, and when I let out the braids the next morning I had a beautiful wave. I'd recommend this to straight-wavy hair types, but if your hair is on the more course, curly side, this may not work best for you.

6: St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse: Best self tanner ever! I am super fair skinned, and always have had bad experiences with self tanners turning me orange.. not this one! This bronzing mousse is easy to apply (please use a mitt!), non-streaking (if you use a mitt!), and never, ever orange. First, I exfoliate my body, moisturize elbows, knees, ankles, any dry areas, and then pump the mousse (I use about 2 pumps per body part) directly to the tanning mitt and apply from my toes up. I apply at night (the mousse only takes a minute or two to dry), and shower off in the morning to reveal a beautifully bronzed tan. I'd recommend reapplying a couple times a week to maintain the tan, or two nights in a row to deepen.

And that's a wrap for my first post! :-) What are some of your summer favorites?!