You will need:

• A small-sized powder brush, preferably angled, such as Daniel Sandler’s award winning Powder/Contour brush.
• Matte eye shadow or bronzing powder that is the same colour as the natural shadows on your face. Something two or three shades darker than your own skin colour will suffice. I recommend Daniel Sandler Matte Shadows in Cedar 215 for lighter skins and  Cocoa 238 for darker skins.
• A matte or iridescent highlight powder or eye shadow.
• Any small-sized dome brush with which to apply the highlight powder.

Cheekbone Application:

• First apply your primer and foundation (for tips go to the Base section) and then powder very lightly down the cheekbones, sides of the nose, forehead and under the jaw line.
• Work a little of your shadow powder into the brush, but before applying check how much is on the brush by dabbing on your hand or a clean tissue. Get a feel for the tiny amount you will need. Too much product on the brush will create a dirty look, like you’ve just completed an army assault course.
• Do a fish face by sucking in your cheeks and check where your cheekbones are. You can also feel the indent just below them with your fingers.
• Apply the powder just below the cheekbones, beginning by the ear. Make sure you are applying the product very lightly, and it build up in layers. Continue diagonally down the face until level with the nostrils, then curve your line up and around the apple of the cheek slightly. The shape you are going for is like a Nike tick, except its gets wider at the long end rather than thinner.
• Keep building up light layers until you have the desired intensity.

Highlighting:

• Highlight with an iridescent powder along the cheekbone itself. You can also highlight along the brow bone, down the bridge of the nose, chin and cupid’s bow (top points of upper lip).
• Use a matte, light or translucent powder across the cheeks, under the contour to make the shadows really stand out.

You can also contour:

• At the temples, highlight just above.
• Down the sides of the bridge of the nose, in triangle shapes down to the nostrils, to define and narrow a wide or flat nose.
• The tip and bottom part of the bridge of the nose, to flatten a pointy or protruding nose.
• Between the bottom lip and chin, where the shadow falls, making the lips look fuller.
• Along the jaw line and under the chin, up to earlobe. This slims the area and makes the face stand out more against the neck and decollete.
• Across the top of the forehead to make high foreheads appear narrower.
• Down each side of the Trachea (windpipe) and into the hollows around the collarbone. Very sexy if you are wearing a strapless dress or showing off this area. Highlight on the collarbones themselves for a perfectly sculpted decollete.

THE MAKE-UP MINX SAFETY WARNING

Be very careful when contouring, especially before a night out. Too much shadow and highlight WILL make you look like Michael Jackson in the ‘Thriller’ video. You have been warned!

Never practice make-up or new looks before leaving the house. If you mess up you will end up stressing yourself out and/or being very late. Try practicing in the evening, before bed or when you have plenty of time on your hands.

It is so important to try foundations out properly before you buy them, especially if they are expensive. Here are my top tips to remember when buying products:

• Try to shop at a counter with an assistant, but don’t let them pressure you into buying anything straight away.
• Remember that very few brands hire trained make-up artists, so if you feel the make-up doesn’t suit, chances are you’re right.
• Make sure that he or she matches the foundation product to your neck or decollete area. Most people are darker on these areas and having a lighter/darker face than your body is very noticable, and not a good look. If you want to be darker, go to the Bronzing section and do it properly!
• Wear the product for a while –  this way you’ll know if it makes your skin dry/oily etc. And it will help you decide what type of primer you need.
• Check the colour in daylight, as the artificial light in department stores can be very misleading.

Whether you’re using the lightest tinted moisturiser or a full coverage make-up, I cannot stress the importance of finding the right foundation for your skin. A lot of surface problems can be corrected with the right primer but the difference that the right foundation can make is phenomenal.

Ever wondered why celebrities seem to have perfect bone structure?

Well, some of the are just born that way, but for others it all comes down to two things: highlight and contour.  With correct products and a little help from your furry friends (and by that I mean brushes, not pets) you too can have cheekbones to could hang a Chanel suit off. A perfectly contoured face is extremely hot right now; whether you’re going Grace Jones 80’s chic, 70’s shiney disco ball or simply creating natural definition, use The Make-Up Minx know-how to enhance your bone structure.

What is contouring?

The dictionary describes contouring as many things but the common definition is any line that adds or illustrates dimension. Contouring in make-up terms is using creams or powders to create subtle, artificial shadows on the face to enhance bone structure and make the face and features look more defined. Highlighting is using a matte powder or light-reflecting cream/powder on areas that you like and want to attract attention to. Ideally, highlighted areas must be smooth and free from imperfections.

These products act as a partially permeable membrane between the skin and the make-up. They allow the skin to breathe while also stopping dirt, oil and make-up from being absorbed (making your skin look and feel dirty and also causing spots and blackheads). As if this wasn’t wonderful enough, they also create an optimum base for the make-up to adhere to, giving a smooth, even and long-lasting finish. If your face ever feels dirty, itchy or like it needs a cleanse half way through the day, or if your make-up flakes, goes patchy or moves around then you are a prime candidate.

Primers can also have added benefits for specific skin types:

• Hydrating – for dry or dehydrated skins. Ideal if you work in an air-conditioned environment.
• Oil-Free/Mattifying – for shiny, oily or combination skins. However, if you have combination skin then stick to oil-free.
• Illuminating – good for people with dull complexion, usually caused by uneven skin surface. Be careful with lined areas.
• Silicon – fills in open pores, lines and wrinkles. Smoothes surface texture of skin.

Most of these benefits are also available in foundations, however it is unlikely that you will need both products doing the same thing (for example illuminating primer AND illuminating foundation). Except in the case of those of you with very dry or dehydrated skin, then you may want both products to be hydrating.

Long lashes – for those of you who are blessed in the lash department a big, fat brush and slightly thicker consistency is preferable. The big brush enables you to get maximum lift and lash coverage (as opposed to a smaller brush which may make long lashes stick together) combined with thicker product will give a full, false lash effect. Avoid small brushes and very fluid mascaras as they will make the lashes look spidery.

Application – tilt your head back and lift eye-lid up slightly with your other hand (this enables you to get very close to the root). Holding the brush near the middle of the eye, try to get as close to the root as possible and as your pulling away from the eye, move the brush in a  swift zig-zag motion. Coat the inner lashes lightly  and in the direction of growth. Pay slightly more attention to outer lashes and give them an extra coat or two.  Comb, separate and repeat if necessary.

Medium lashes – use a regular/small sized brush. This will enable good, even coverage, while also building up length and giving lift which makes lashes look longer. A slightly more fluid consistency is preferable in order to build up the length and thickness during application.

Application - tilt your head back and lift eye-lid up slightly with your other hand (this enables you to get very close to the root). Holding the brush near the middle of the eye, move the brush in a  swift zig-zag motion. Repeat for inner and outer lashes, paying extra attention to outer ones as this will give the eyes a ‘lift’. Comb through and repeat on the centre and outer lashes. Comb through again and give just the outer lashes one more coat.

Short/Baby lashes – use a tiny brush to get perfect and precise application. If the brush is bigger than your lashes then you’re bound to make a mess! Use a viscous product as something too thick will clump.

Application – Start in the middle of the eye, and apply in direction of lash growth. Spend extra time the on outer corners of each eye and build up lots of layers, allowing each layer time to dry. Add extra definition using an ultra fine brush with a little dark eye shadow powder or liner at the roots of the lashes on the top and bottom.

Bottom Lashes - I rarely apply much mascara, if any to the bottom lashes, as it tends to smudge or run very quickly. Instead, I use a fine, flat brush and some dark eye shadow and dot a broken line along the bottom lashes, as close to the root as possible. This gives the illusion of mascara but with out the casualties an hour later! Dip a dry (or wet, depending on how intense you want the line) brush into your product and tap off the excess. working literally on the roots of the lashes, work the product in between, pressing gently and wiggling the brush slightly, then moving along, pressing and wiggling until you have created a broken line. Whether you go all the way along the bottom is up to you, however in my experience about one third of the way is flattering on most people.

I have taught all types of women, and men about make-up, hair care and skin care, from the London Bourgeoisie through to middle eastern royalty. Now it’s your turn to have my knowledge at your disposal. There’s lots of information here, including tutorials and product ratings which will be updated regularly, but if there is anything else you want to learn about or anything I’ve missed, please post your ideas or questions and I will try and answer them as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Also, if you are having trouble with a product that you’ve bought then let me know, I’ll do my best to work out what’s going wrong.

It’s not all about what I think…

I want to hear what you think too! Review the products your loving (or hating) at the moment. It’s important that I stay up-to-date with everything that’s going on and I can’t use every product on the market so please tell me what you think. You may find something fabulous and want to share it with the world! Remember this is an idea and opinion sharing website too, although I will not publish anything too negative.

Make-Up Minx is here to make you look and feel fabulous!