DIY Highlight & Contour Kit (Makeup How-To)

One of the features I’ve always been self-conscious of is my cheeks. Or maybe it’s just my bone structure. I can’t help it, but I sometimes cringe when I see photos of myself, especially if I’m smiling. And if I gain weight, my face is the first place it becomes evident. Ever since learning that makeup artists use bronzers and highlighters to contour and create perfect bone structure, I’ve been on the hunt for a kit that would help me attempt this technique myself.

Well, I’ve had absolutely zero success, so I decided to experiment with what I have on hand. Of course, the first place I turn to is my Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 palettes. Here’s the combination of shades that seem to work best with my complexion:

Highlighter – Foxy (Naked 2 palette)
Bronzer – Naked (original Naked palette)

Foxy and Naked can also be purchased separately. Both eyeshadows perform well as face makeup as they are matte (free of sheen, glitter and shimmer).

HOW TO:

Use a large fluffy brush to apply Naked to the hollows of your cheeks, blending along the jaw line and upwards along the hair line to your temples. If needed, blend by applying a quick sweep of Naked with a large fluffy brush to your neck and forehead. If Naked seems too dark for your complexion you can dilute the shade by first tapping the brush on the back of your hand. Remember to start with just a little, you can always build to a deeper tone.

If you want to slim your nose, use small or medium fluffy brush to sweep a small amount of Naked along both sides of the bridge. The darker shade creates a shadowy appearance, minimizing features you’d like to draw attention away from.

Highlighting does just the opposite. Foxy performs great as a highlighter, enhancing areas where light would naturally fall to play up your eyes and create a fresh complexion. Use a small or medium fluffy brush to apply Foxy down the bridge up your nose and under your eyes to minimize any darkness. Sometimes I sweep a bit of Foxy along my outer brow bone to draw more focus to my eyes.

So that’s my DIY kit for now, while I continue my search for a kit made specifically for contouring and highlighting.

Do you know of such a kit? Or have you come up with your own solution? We’d love to know, so please share in the comments!

Shellac Cityscape + Jewelled Ring Finger [TUTORIAL]

Since I am relatively new to the DIY scene when it comes to nails, I was ~~a bit~~ nervous to make my first attempt with DIY nail art. I have always preferred nail art to be on the understated side. In my opinion, a single embellished nail (for some reason the ring finger just seems best) on each hand presents better than enhancing all ten nails. I recently came across a nail appliqué kit that: (1) matches my personal style, (2) claims to be cohesive with gel nail polish, and (3) touts an application technique that actually seems doable. So, I decided to give Dashing Diva Design FX a try along with my much-awaited bottle of CND Shellac in Cityscape.

Fortunately, the Dashing Diva Design FX appliqués were very doable (even for a newbie), and worked seamlessly with my regular Shellac manicure.

Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised by my success with my first attempt at DIY nail art. Keep reading for photos and the complete tutorial.

1. Apply CND Shellac base coat, color coats, and top coat as directed. Remove tacky inhibition layer with a lint-free pad soaked in 99% isopropyl alcohol.

2. Using cuticle scissors, cut an appropriately sized nail appliqué to match your chosen fingernail’s size (in my case, the ring finger) as closely as possible and set aside. Apply a thin layer of CND Shellac base coat to the ring finger of one hand (making sure the cap the free edge) and cure under a UV light as directed. Repeat on other hand. (I find it’s easier to polish, cure, and cut the appliqué using my non-dominant hand first; e.g. I am right-handed, so I get the tough stuff out of the way first by using my left hand.)

3. Carefully apply the cut-down appliqués to your chosen nails of each hand. Use an orange stick to smooth any uneven areas. If the nail appliqué is longer than your nail, tuck the extra length under the free edge and gently use a coarse nail file to remove the excess. Apply a thin coat of CND Shellac top coat to the nails with an appliqué, making sure to cap the free edges, and cure under a UV light as directed.

*Please note: CND Shellac is a professional only product, to be applied and removed at a salon by a trained professional; I am a licensed cosmetologist.

Cake Pops. My Nemesis.

Well, let me clarify. These are not “official” cake pops. They are actually no-bake cake batter cake pops, inspired by this recipe, which has been making the rounds on Pinterest lately.

After my last fateful experience with cake pops, I was pretty much convinced that the cake pop pros of the world (read: Bakerella) were holding out the secret to non-lopsided cake pops on us mere mortals. When I came across this recipe it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take another shot at cake pops. I figured if things started to go awry I could abandon my pursuit of cute cake pops and settle for simple truffles as the recipe originally instructs.

The result? I’m still convinced that Bakerella is holding some secrets out on us, but who can blame her? It’s her schtick.

These cake pops certainly came out prettier than the monsters I made for Halloween, but pretty doesn’t always mean better. They were a little too sweet and did not taste as good as my ugly cake pops in general.

The most redeeming part of my second, and not completely, utterly tragic, cake pop experience is that I learned three things:

Don’t use Wilton Candy Melts. I blame them (mostly) for my ugly cake pops. The melts never melted to a thin enough consistency making it impossible to evenly coat the cake pops. I used Wilton Candy Dips this time, which melted considerably better and comes in a convenient microwavable package.
I tried to get cute, but I picked the absolute wrong sprinkles. The small colored sprinkles were okay, but the big pearlized sprinkles were difficult to bite into and ended up making the cake pops/truffles VERY messy to eat. I should have stuck with good old jimmies.
Who needs a fancy schmancy cake pop decorating stand? I flipped over my salad spinner and carefully arranged the decorated cake pops between the grooves. Not too shabby, huh?