Contouring and highlighting gives some dimension to the face. Contouring goes on any places that are behind from the plane of the face or are shadowed. Highlighting goes on the place that comes forward from the face. Such as the cheek bones, bridge of the nose, the brow bones, forehead and chin. I like to use a shimmery highlighter on the cheekbones and a shimmery eyeshadow on the brow bones. I avoid shimmer on the T-zone since it is already shiny. Highlighting should be done with a fluffy and less dense brush since too much shimmer looks tacky even on dry skin types. A dense brush can be used only on the cheekbones. Don’t use a dense brush on forehead, nose and chin.

Highlight Brush. Left: Posh Blending Brush, Right: MAC188

My favourite highlight brush is MAC188 (right). It will pick up a little product if you brush it on the product lightly. Start from the start of the cheekbones and make a half circle bringing the colour around the eyes – up to above arch of the brows. This brush picks up and delivers just the right amount. I also live this brush as a blush brush. It can also be used to apply lightweight foundation like MAC187 brush.

This Posh brush (left) is called Blending brush. The size is such that don’t know if it is a blending brush for eye makeup or face makeup or cheek makeup. However, I found a use of this brush. I use it to highlight on the days when I want a strong highlight. It is very dense and picks up a lot of product. But I wouldn’t consider this brush a necessity.

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Contour goes on the hollow of the cheekbones and sides of the nose. Find your cheekbones with your finger. The hollow is right under it. I also like to contour my jaw line and side of my temples to give  myself a slimmer look. I personally use bronzer to contour. If you like to stay out of shimmer then use a matter brown eyeshadow or blush. Contour brushes have to be narrow so that they can go on narrow places like hollow of cheekbones and sides of the nose. They have to be dense give the affect of high cheekbones, narrow nose and a slimmer face. They also have to be a little bit fluffy so the colour can be blended.

Contour Brush. Left: MAC186SE , Right: MAC109SE

My personal favourite contouring brush is MAC109 (right). It is a dense and narrow brush with a circular tip. It is just the right size to contour my face. I pick up my bronzer and its very easy to apply – no tricks involved. I starts from my temples and come forward towards the centre of my face.

My second favourite brush for contouring is MAC168 (left). It’s an angular dense and narrow brush. It can be used to contour holding it sideways – starting from temples and coming forward. It can also be used as a blush brush holding it normally – starting from the cheeks going towards the temples.

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Blush brushes are a great investment. The brushes that come with blushes often is of cheap quality and does not work. You should use a narrow brush if you have small face and smaller cheekbones. You might find a broad brush more useful if you have a larger face and use only one blush colour. However, I personally like to use a narrow blush brush though I have a big chubby face. The reason is that I also contour and highlight my cheeks – I apply the blush in between them so a narrow brush works great for me.

Blush Brushes left to right: MAC188, MAC129SE, MAC168SE, Posh Angle Blush Brush

I absolutely love MAC188 as a blush brush (first from left). I swirl it on my powder brush and then swipe it couple of times on my cheeks – and that is it. I start from the apple of my cheeks (I little bit behind it actually) and finish close to my ears. It picks up small amount if you want a light coverage and it picks up more if you keep swirling it. It is the baby version of MAC187.  Which means the black hair is goat hair and the site is synthetic hair. So this brush is great for people who apply cream blushes. This brush can be used to apply foundation as well. I also highlight my cheeks with this brush sometimes.

A traditional blush brush is like MAC129 (second brush from left). You swipe it from the apple of the cheeks and finish in front of the ears. I personally don’t like it. I tend to apply too much blush while using this brush. I tend to look older since the blush makes my cheeks look like it is sagging.

Another traditional blush brush is MAC168 (third from left). It is quite dense – picks up more colour and I tend to avoid it. It is very good for contouring the cheekbones though. If you use a bronzer with this brush and apply it on the hollow under your cheekbones, it gets a nice lift and makes your face look slimmer.

Posh Angle Blush brush (last brush from the left) looks similar to MAC168. It’s dense but softer and fluffier than MAC168. So this brush is not so good for contouring but a great brush for blush. If I ever lose my MAC188 (God forbids!) I will use this brush till I get a new MAC188.
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Concealer brushes are something that I wouldn’t consider absolute necessity. I feel concealer can be applied with fingers pretty well. But I do like concealer brushes and use them all the time. They are great for precise application of concealer.

Concealer brushes. Left to Right: non name brand 18a, MAC194SE, Posh Concealer brush (big), Posh Conceal Brush (Small)

My favourite concealer for under eye area is a non name brand. It’s the first brush from the left that says conceal-18a. It is just the right size for under eye area. It’s soft and firm at the same time. I can pat on concealer with it. The tip is fine enough to get close to the corner of the eyes. I also like this brush for the 2 dark patches I have on both of my temporal bones. I also like this brush to cover the redness around my nose and on the cheeks.

My favourite brush to conceal blemishes is MAC194 (second from left). It is the right size to conceal a blemish and the area around it.

Posh makes a pack of 2 concealer brushes. They are very soft and very good buy for the price. The big Posh brush (third from left) is my alternative brush to conceal under eye circles, dark spot and redness on my face. The small Posh Brush (Last from left) is my alternative brush to conceal blemishes.

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The foundation brushes I am going to review are MAC187, MAC190 and MAC181. I don’t have the full size brushes. I only own the special edition short handled brushes that I am posting pictures of.

Foundation Brushes. Left to Right: MAC187SE, MAC190SE, MAC 181SE

My favourite foundation brush is MAC187. This brush is best to use with lightweight foundation. It’s a stippling brush. It has duo fibre. The black fibres are goat hair and the white hairs on top are synthetic hair. It is best for lightweight application. It doesn’t pick up too much product so foundation application is not cakey. If you apply foundation and starts blending – you won’t benefit from this brush, you would rather use a dense brush instead.

To get the most out of this brush I stipple the foundation on my face. I use it with my Makeup For Ever HD Foundation. I pump 1 pump on the back of my hands. I dip this brush on the foundation and only get half the product on the tips of the white fibre (very lightly). Then I use a quick stipple motion on my right side of the face. I keep stippling till the foundation blends in (I don’t swirl). Then I pick up the rest for my left side of the face.  It gives a flawless application.

MAC187  has a narrow version MAC188. MAC 188 can be used the same way – the advantage is that it can be reached to places like sides of the nose, close to eyes and above the brows.

My next favourite brush is MAC190. This is a traditional foundation brush. It is great for foundations with thicker formula such as Revlon ColorStay or MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation. You pick up the foundation onto the brush from the back of your hand. Then apply it on your face with a downward stroke. It works since the tiny facial hairs also go downwards. If you move the brush upward the hairs will stand up. Keep blending the foundation in as you apply it.

Another brush that you can apply liquid foundation with is a kabuki brush like MAC181.  If is designed to apply powder foundation but it works great with liquid foundation. The only con is that it can be hard to get to narrow places like the sides of the nose.

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So you put on all the makeup and look fabulous throughout the day and get nice compliments – great. It’s time to sleep and you don’t take off the makeup – NOT great. Leaving makeup on all night can cause nasty breakouts. Next morning you wake up – all the makeup in the world is not going to make you look beautiful. It is VERY important to take off all makeup at night. You should also clean and moisturize your face afterwards.

TIP: If you are extremely tired and don’t feel like taking off makeup, wash face, put on moisturizer – use Baby Wipes for sensitive skin. It will get most makeup out of your face. Just don’t make this a daily routine.

Great makeup removers:

Whatever makeup remover you use, remember to be very gentle around the eyes to avoid premature wrinkles. I have extremely sensitive eyes. I have tried a lot of makeup removers and most of them sting my eye (though they do the job of removing makeup). Best makeup remover ever is L’oreal Dermo-Expertise Gentle Waterproof Eye and Lip Makeup Remover. It comes in a 125 ml bottle. It has 2 phases – one darker which has soft oils and another clear phase. Before each use you have shake it up, so they mix to a homogenous colour. Apply it with cotton pads or balls. If you are wearing long lasting foundation, lip colour, waterproof eyeliner or mascara – this will get everything off.  It is one of the few makeup removers that don’t sting my eyes. It’s about $10 CDN (depending on where you buy it from).

Lancome Bi-facil Double Action Eye Makeup Remover also comes in 125 ml bottle and has the same consistency and gives the exact results as the L’oreal one. But its $32.50 CDN. Though I don’t know difference between them, but I see no point spending 3X money on this when L’oreal Dermo-Expertise has the same outcome.

Okay Makeup Removers (for most people):

L’oreal Refreshening Eye Makeup Remover Oil-Free comes in a 125 ml bottle. It does not remove waterproof makeup. It stings my eyes badly. If you have sensitive eyes- stay away from it.

Neutrogena oil-free Eye Makeup remover. It removes makeup but stings my eyes.

Rimmel London Gentle Eye Makeup Remover Oil Free. It removes waterproof makeup but once again stings my eyes.

Clinique Take the day Off Makeup remover. It removes waterproof makeup but stings my eyes.

Elizabeth Arden All Gone Eye and Lip Makeup Remover. It removes waterproof makeup remover but stings my eyes.

Bad Makeup Removers:

Olay mascara + Makeup Remover claims to removes waterproof mascara. It doesn’t remove all of the waterproof mascara. It stings my eyes.

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Most women don’t have perfect skin. But a lot of them puts on a lot of foundation to cover blemishes and ends up with a cakey effect. The wise thing is to use concealer instead and then use minimal foundation needed. I prefer to use concealer before foundation. A common misconception is to use a shade or two lighter than your skin colour- I absolutely disagree with it. Concealer should be an exact match to your skin, just like foundation.

Blemish covering concealer:

Select Cover-up by MAC is the best for blemishes. If you are having break outs, or have acne spots, scar, redness, dark circles and you can only afford one concealer- this is what I recommend. It is a liquid and comes in a small tube- very easy to use and convenient to travel with.

Studio Finish Concealer by MAC is the second best. It does everything that Select Cover-up does, but it has SPF 35, which is a good thing. However, SPF has an ingredient called Titanium Dioxide in it which reflects light and makes skin look shiny. So I try to avoid it for the photo days.

Studio Sculpt Concealer by MAC is a cream and best for dry skin. A little goes a long way. If too much is applied, the thick formula tends to make skin look cakey.

Makeup For Ever makes 5-Camouflage Palette Cream concealer. There are 5 colours – so it may not be cost effective for a regular woman. It has decent coverage and there are 5 different palettes. One is a colour corrective palette. One palette is for dark skin and 3 palettes are for light skin ( the 3 are VERY similar).

Colour Correcting Concealer:

There are different colour correcting concealers available that works based on the colour theory. For example, green concealer would take out any redness in skin – but I feel that green on skin only makes it look ashy. Peach is a GREAT colour correcting concealer for under eye circles. Peach takes out the blue/purple undertone of under eye circles. My favourite peach concealer is by Bobby Brown. They have more pinky tones for lighter skin and peach to dark peach tones for darker skin.

Anyone who ever wore make up, knows a little bit about foundation. They should also know that the cake-on look is so over. Modern day foundation has is light-weight and gives medium to full coverage. There are a few types of foundation. Creams foundation are best dry skin, powder foundations are best for oily skin and liquid foundation works on all types of skin. Tinted moisturizers are great for sheer coverage. Mineral foundations are good for sensitive skin and for sheer coverage. But everyone is different. To find your best foundation and your exact shade, you might need to try more than one or two foundations – which can get expensive. I think it is worth spending money on foundation since it is just that- foundation for the rest of makeup. Foundation needs to look flawless for eye makeup, blush and lip stick to look good. If face is even and blemish free, confidence comes from within.

Modern day women have to keep their makeup up with technology. If an event is video graphed, possibility is that the camera is High Definition (HD). HD cameras can pick up more than naked eyes. So even more blemishes can be seen – which is kind of scary. However, as technology is improving, makeup is also improving along with that. I have tried tons of foundations and will try to give brief reviews on a few of them.

High End Foundations:

Make Up For Ever’s HD Foundation is the holy grail of all foundations! It gives awesome coverage but looks amazingly natural on skin. It is very light weight for the coverage. The application is smooth and dries within a minute or two. It feels very light on the skin and the natural looking finish amazes me every time. It is $43 CDN but worth every penny. It has 25 shades – everyone should find their exact shade (or a better shade compared to other brands). It can be found at Sephora, Sears and some select Shoppers’ Drug Mart in Canada.

Vincent Longo Liquid Canvas Dew Finish Foundation. It has SPF 15 and called Radiant Glow foundation. It’s great for dry skin. It gives a glowy finish and has awesome coverage. I don’t recommend it for oily skin since oily skin doesn’t need more shine. The darker shades can be a bit orangey.

Mineralized Skinfinish Natural by MAC is a mineral powder, but it is pressed. I like that I don’t have to deal with the trouble of loose powder going all over the place. It gives a natural but dewy finish. It’s great for summer since it can be applied with a Kabuki brush within a minute. And none likes the feel of liquid or cream foundation on their face during summer (except for special occasions). However, it can be really shiny on oily skin and can look greasy in photographs.

Sheer Colour SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer by Stila has SPF 15 and is great for a natural look. They also made an oil-free version of this recently – which is even a better news to us oily-skinned girls.

Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation by MAC is a cream foundation is best for dry skin. It gives a dewy finish. It is a full coverage foundation and can look cakey if too much is applied. People with oily skin should avoid it.

Benefit makes some kind-a-gorgeous foundation. It is a cream foundation and is supposed to match every skin tone. Though I would not agree with the skin matching part. It also has a slogan on the package, “Fake it, don’t cake it”. But unfortunately I think it does look cakey.

Elizabeth Arden makes Flawless Finish Mousse Makeup. It has a good packaging, it comes out like a mousse, applies smoothly and feels good on the skin. And that’s how it is sold. However, it is $40 CDN and is a does nothing for the price. It gives a very sheer coverage. Within an hour, it starts looking really shiny and wears off very easily.

Budges-Friendly Foundation:

Revlon ColourStay Makeup Foundation is the best low-end foundation, period. They make two versions – combination/oily skin and normal/dry skin. There are quite a few shades to choose from. Some of the foundations have SPF 15, some have SPF 6 and some has none, I don’t understand the chemistry behind that. But it really lives up to its name. Once it goes on it won’t go on your dress and it lasts forever. The formula is very thick – designed to give full coverage. But it can be sheered out with a moisturizer.

My second budget-friendly favourite foundation is also by Revlon. Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup is great for the days when you want medium coverage. It has SPF 15 and looks natural.

Dream Matte Mousse Foundation by Maybelline is a great foundation for oily skin. It gives a matte finish.

ELF is the acronym for Eyes Lips Face. This website has a lot of products for $1 USD only (There are a few exceptions, i.e. Mineral and Studio line). But if you are ordering from Canada beware of the big shipping fee. ELF makes Shielding Hydro-Tint SPF 15 foundation. It has 4 shades. It is not the best, but it is quite nice for the price.

ELF also makes a mineral powder. It only has 4 shades and can look cakey after a few hours.

All Over Cover Stick by ELF is a cream foundation that comes in a stick and has 4 shades. It is very cakey – I only recommend it for theatrical makeup.

So I have been chit-chatting for a while. Now I am going to really start talking about makeup in details. Today’s topic is face primers. There are different types of face primers. Some are water based and some are dimethicone based. Primers go after moisturizer and before foundation. So it makes a barrier between skin and foundation. Most primers even out skin tone, smooth out any rough patches or dryness, fill in fine lines and pores. Primers also make the foundation application very smooth and easy. Foundation usually lasts longer when applied over a primer.

High end primers:

My all time favourite primer is Make Up For Ever’s HD primer. It has a non-oily finish so foundation can be applied immediately and it goes beautifully with Make Up For Ever’s HD foundation. It’s great for all types of skin. They have one translucent primer and 6 other coloured ones to correct imperfection, I prefer the translucent one.

My second favourite is Photofinish primer by Smashbox. But it is my favourite only in winter because it makes my face greasy in summer. It is oil-free and gives a velvety finish. The translucent primer has an “original” version and a “light” version for oily skin. There are also colour-correcting primers.

Clarins make Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch. It is a creamy and non-oily primer and best for dry skin. It gives a smooth finish and fills in fine lines and pores.

Clinique makes Pore Minimizer. It comes in two colours- Invisible Light and Invisible Deep. It really does minimize the pores. But it comes in a tiny tube and is pricey for the product.

Budget friendly primers:

Fix and Perfect foundation primer by Rimmel is a great low end primer. It goes in peachy but is invisible once you blend it. It smoothes the skin and hides pore very well. It’s excellent for oily skin. The finish is somewhat like Make Up For Ever’s HD primer, unlike Smashbox’s silky finish.

Last but not the least, Monistat Chaffing Gel. It is an intimate care product and NOT designed as a primer. It cautions to keep out from eyes. So I am NOT responsible if this product harms your face. However, it is the best primer for dry skin in my opinion. It smoothes the skin, fills in fine lines, gives a silky finish – everything that a primer does.

Wow, it’s been a long time! But I hope to be a regular from now on. Okay, so you wonder why the models on the add look impossibly perfect? Please consider this: Models do modelling as a profession. This means they spend thousands of dollars to keep themselves looking their best, just like you spent money to get your education/knowledge/experience for your job. Models have to watch what they are eating all the time since their bodies get them the job. And eating healthy can get more expensive than eating junk. Models have to spend money to be fit- to go to the gym and get personal training. They taking extremely good care of their skin since their faces are their number one advertising tool. This means going to the dermatologist regularly and getting several types of work done on the face.

When it comes to the actual photo shoot/ advertise/ video, they get professional photography (good lighting to make their face/body look great and even better retouching), professional hairstyling, professional makeup and professional wardrobe stylist. So, please stop being so hard on yourselves because what you see in a magazine is fake. Even the models themselves cannot live up to their fake perfection. The message I am trying to get across is that learning to apply beautiful makeup is great. But none should go to the point where they feel uncomfortable without makeup. Because the fact is: none is perfect though sadly the media tries to portrait just that.