Major Excitement! Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit has arrived!

Hi Everyone,

This week I finally got my hands on a product that has been on the top of my lust list for a looong time: the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit. This nifty little kit from the Queen of Brows Anastasia Soare has been out of stock and virtually impossible to get hold of for months, so I was absolutely delighted when I got an email from Cult Beauty (http://www.cultbeauty.co.uk) to say that it was back in stock. Needless to say I didn't hesitate to grab one for myself!

The kit arrived yesterday and my first impressions of it was that the packaging was sturdier than I was expecting, with a cardboard case that would be perfect for travelling. Inside the kit there are three highlighter shades (from left to right Vanilla, Banana, Sand) and three contour shades (Java, Fawn and Havana). All the shades are matte with the exception of the Sand highlighter, which has a slight shimmer without being glittery. 

I could hardly wait to experiment with this kit when I got home and I instantly fell in love with the Fawn contour shade, perfect for my skintone, and the Banana yellow-tone highlighter for the under-eye area. The surprise hit for me though with this kit was the Sand highlighter! I have an abundance of highlighters and wasn't all that excited about the Sand shade at first, but on application I really loved the way it looks. Unlike my usual go-to highlighter (Soft and Gentle by MAC) Sand is not glittery and gives a very subtle, dewy look without you looking like you're wearing anything at all. It genuinely looks so natural, as though your face is bathed in natural light, and I am sure this will become a firm favourite of mine the more I use it,

I can't wait to try this kit before a night out for a more dramatic contouring look. At £39.00 I think the price is pretty reasonable for six shades, although I do feel like Havana may be a little on the orange side for me so may not get that much use.

Have you tried the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit? Snap one up now at Cult Beauty while stocks last!

Rosie x 

How I Contour

Hi Everyone!

Today I wanted to share with you a quick post on my contouring habits. Unless you've been living under a rock somewhere, you'll know that contouring and highlighting is a key part of any makeup lover's regime to slim the face, accentuate the cheekbones and highlight our best features (!) whilst simultaneously trying to hide those that we're perhaps less fond of.

I don't claim to be an expert but I love to have a go at "HAC"ing (Highlighting & Contouring- name borrowed from Maskara's blog!), especially as my face is heart shaped and I have quite a high forehead.

There are loads of products on the market at the moment for HACing, but my personal favourites are:

Contour:

Chanel Tan De Soleil or

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer or

Topshop Bronzer in Sandcastle (which I cannot find online)

Highlight:

Estee Lauder Ideal Light Brush-on Illuminator or

Clinique Even Better Concealer in Chamois

I also tend to use a powdered or liquid highlighter such as Revlon Photoready Skinlights Illuminator to finish the look and give my skin a real glow.

For the look above I used the Estee Lauder Illuminator and the Chanel Bronzer, which is great for contouring as it is quite creamy and very easy to blend! As you can see I swipe the bronzer across the top of my forehead, under my cheekbones, down the sides of my nose and around my chin/jawline to begin with (over foundation). Some beauty bloggers will tell you not to contour too far down the face and keep it as a clean line to the middle part of your cheek, but if you have a heart-shaped face like mine you may find that this just isn't enough! I like to blend right the way across under my cheekbones to create a more visible 'apple' of the cheek, but that's just personal preference!

I also apply the highlighter down the centre of my nose, under my eyes, on my lower forehead and on my upper lip and eyebrow arch. I tend to blend the bronzer in with my Real Techniques Contour brush but prefer to use my fingers for the highlighter. Just keep blending until you're happy with it! It can be as dramatic or subtle as you like, that's the beauty of it!

To complete my look above I just swiped some Too Faced Powdered Sun onto my cheeks, added a slick of MAC lipstick in Costa Chic and lined my eyes with my Estee Lauder Doublewear Gel Eyeliner and some mascara. Easy peasy!

I'd love to hear about how you contour/highlight and what products you use so please leave me a comment below!

Rosie x