Contouring Tips & Products

Hi guys

I know most of you probably have heard of the term contouring by now. Anyone who knows Kim K will concur with that fact!

Anyway I wanted to share with you an item I have been extensively using to contour. I’ve recently realised that my actual foundation doesn’t match my skintone *covered monkey face*. What a rookie mistake. I am so in love with the foundation formula itself I forgot to check it actually matched my neck colour etc etc.

Anyway that’s a blog for another time. I have used many items to contour in my time. I mainly concentrate the contour underneath my cheekbones, but on YouTube you’ll see girls (and guys) contouring to the extreme. Unless it’s a special occasion or you just love sculpted, chiselled cheekbones; a natural contour can still be achieved without looking streaky or caked.

I’ve gone through cream formulations and powder and to be honest I use both. When in I’m a rush I reach for my Bourjois Bronzing powder to set my Becca Radiant Skin Satin Foundation in the Colour Mink. This is more of a liquid formula but I cheat and use a foundation instead of a normal creamy contour.

But whatever you use it’s important you use the correct technique regardless of the colour. As long as the colour is a few shades darker than your own skintone you’re good to go.

I use the Becca foundation because it just blends seamlessly into the skin, doesn’t leave streaks and it’s so easy to work with. A little goes a long way. I bought it in the Space NK sale; it must have been a colour people weren’t buying often so it was mega reduced to like £3.00 or something ridiculous. I understand normally it’s around the £20.00 – £25.00 mark.

I am not a great at advising how to contour, so I suggest you watch beauty bloggers on YouTube as it’s become almost a part of nearly everyone’s routine as part of a regular tutorial.

There are so many contouring products out there, when I first started out, I had to get my head round the idea that most makeup companies don’t actually product special contour products, its mostly bronzers and mattified powders. However here is a list of some common ones:

Laura Mercier Contour Kit - £34.00
Mac Mineralise Skinfinish Natural - £24.00
Anastasia Beverley Hills Cream and Powder Contour Kit - £39.00
Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate, Cream – I have a blog about this.

The Bourjois setting bronzing powder I use is under £10 from Boots and I think it’s just one universal colour as oppose to different shades. It is also available in different variations; it can come with a highlighting powder or with two blocks of bronzer and its packaging is pretty neat too.

And remember, if you ‘over contour’ you can always just go over it all with a little bit of your regular foundation and start again. Also if you have amazing contoured cheeks already why are you bothering??!!

Hehe we all love a bit of contour!

Ciao for now

SKINCARE REVIEW - Farsali Elixir Hydrating Moisturiser

Hi guys

I am lame blogger, I get so wrapped up with the busy workings of my life that i forget that I have a following and people eagerly anticipating my next blog post/review.

Let me sort this.....today I will be blogging about the about the Farsali Volcanic Elixir!!

Now I don't think I have read a single bad review about this product anywhere on the tinterweb...however there's always a first which subsequently allows for floodgates to be opened...

Let me start by introducing this product as I appreciate many of you won't have heard of it as yet...Farsali is a brand owned and developed by married couple Farah and Sali ( I have no idea what his full name is tbh) they are you tubers and Farah has amassed a great following on her extremely popular beauty channel @farahdhukai.

I have to admit she is brilliant, she's not just someone who picked up makeup and learnt to do it on herself amazingly, but she's done her research and she knows product inside out. From the health benefits all the way down to the ingredients that go into the makeup products we know and love.

So when I heard she was launching her own skincare range I was genuinely excited. The Elixir was released late last year as far as I understand. It is a moisturising oil that is to be used on a daily basis in place of a regular moisturising cream.

It is dispensed using a pipette style dispenser and the oil itself is yellow in colour and has a cream like consistency, what you'd expect from your typical oil.

I bought it online as UK shipping was limited but I considered myself one of those lucky few to get my hands on some bottles. I think one bottle costs around £30 and can be purchased from the Farsali website which can be found on the @Farsali Instagram page.

Having bought this and tried it for a few days, I felt like it made my face itch a lot, it also emanated the most hideous smell. Now I'm Asian and we eat curry on a daily basis, but no way in hell do I like that smell on my face everyday.

Unfortunately I had to relegate the oil to night time use but even then I wasn't seeing much skincare benefits, my regular moisturiser wasn't itchy and provided excellent hydration with no fragrance. Now when I queried the fragrance situation with Farsali customer services I was told this was the natural fragrance of the oil as it is completely organic. However no other review has mentioned this...which surprised me.

To test that it wasn't just me I asked a few other people to try it and they agreed with me, there was definitely a distinct smell which made the product lose a lot of value.

So all in all, if you don't mind the distinct smell of curry and you have money to burn then go ahead buy this product, otherwise there are better and cheaper alternatives in the market.

Ciao for now