Highlighting & Contouring for Black Girls. - With affordable products!

In the complete opposite spirit to the #nomakeupselfies (not intentionally) I decided to make one of these highlighting & contouring tutorials that I've seen so much of on the beauty blogosphere lately. It's so hard to find make up tips for darker girls (especially cheap ones!) so I thought I'd do my bit and be a part of the movement to change that.

I am by no stretch of the imagination a make up artist or beauty blogger but i taught myself this technique after searching for DAYS online for a decent tutorial for darker skin. Don't get me wrong there are some really great tutorials out there for black girls - some of those beauty bloggers are doing things with make up that i didn't even know was possible! - but a lot of them are american which means i either can't buy the products that they use or i have to pay a premium for shipment. The other issue i have is a lot of these beauty bloggers are using high end products like Mac or Urban Decay that are waaaaaaay out of my measly make-up budget, so really this post is just a tutorial showing you how to contour and highlight with things that you probably already have in your make up bag.

So for this particular look I used 4 main products to form my base (for those of you who don't know a base is the bottom layer of your make up or your "foundation" layer). Both your highlighter and contour can be either cream or powder it doesn't actually make a difference as long as you use it in the right places and also that you use the right shade. However if you are using powder remember to use a good fix spray or primer or you can apply a thin layer of  Vaseline on the area before applying the powder to stop it from straying. And if you're using creams make sure to have a decent setting powder for the same reasons and also to avoid shine. I have:

1. Paris Berlin Concealer Pallette (for highlights, can be substituted with a light face powder or lighter foundation try to use something with good cover up qualities)

2. Ben Nye "Banana" translucent setting Powder ( can be substituted with talcum powder)

3. Maybeline Dream Matte Mouse foundation 

4. A sample pot of Ben Nye "Ebony" Face Powder (for contours, can be substituted with any dark powder/eye shadow/ dark lipstick/ dark foundation)

The main trick to high lighting/contouring is understanding your bone structure and your best features because these are there things that you will want to highlight/make stand out.

STEP 1. In this step i used a light brown shade of concealer around the under-eye and cheeks area (for this step you can also use bronze powder or even a cheap tube of fake tan) This will bring out my cheek bones.

STEP 2. For this step i used a peach shade of concealer to go under my eyes, shape my eyebrows and also i began to outline my top lip. (for this area you can also use any type of pressed powder or eye shadow or even foundation as long as the colour is extremely fair compared to your true skin tone - anything with a slight sparkle too will help those highlighted areas pop under your foundation - For lip and eyebrow outline you can use any cheap gold lip/eye/brow pencil. Remember if you're using powders use a primer or apply a thin layer of Vaseline to the area to stop the powder from straying!) I also gently blended the concealer around my brow bone to accentuate my eyes.

STEP 3. Using the same peach shade and a foundation sponge, i highlighted a small patch of my forehead and lightly on my chin. Then using an old blending brush to create a technique i like to call the "skinny nose job" - i learnt this trick when i noticed all the housewives of Atlanta look like they've had nose jobs! after doing a bit of research i realised that they've all just been using this technique for years! Of course some of them have just had nose jobs!- I drew a narrow line from my forehead don to the tip of my nose ending in a diamond shape on the tip of my nose. You can make the line as narrow or as wide as you want - The narrower the line, the skinnier your nose will look, the thicker the line the more natural your nose will look - I tried to keep my line as narrow as the bridge part of my nose for a more natural effect.

STEP 4. I used the foundation sponge and the same light shade of concealer to highlight my bottom jaw bone, leaving the hollows of my cheeks dark. This will make your cheek bones appear higher.

STEP 5. Before using my contour powder use a thin layer of Vaseline on the areas where i will be wanting to create shadow these areas are:  the hollows of my cheeks, my temples and around my hairline and finally the sides of my nose and nostrils. I used an eye shadow brush and a blusher brush to apply the dark powder liberally to these areas.

STEP 5.5. I used the concealer to determine the shape i want my lips to be (you can change this to any shape) and i also high lighted the dimple above my cupids bow. Before the next step i applied a generous amount of Banana powder underneath my eyes and used it to buff all the other highlighted areas with a fluffy blusher brush (if you are using talcum powder you can use a generous amount under the eyes but be careful on other areas not to cake it on too much and to blend or buff it in with a fluffy blusher brush to avoid white powdery patches beneath foundation) The banana powder leaves a slight shimmer on top of the highlighted areas which will make them stand out under my foundation.

STEP 6. Using a big fluffy blusher brush (yes another one! luckily you can buy a pack of 4 in poundland) i used my dream matte mousse foundation to blend it all together. A blusher brush will allow you to blend and buff it all together more evenly and more naturally even if you are using liquid foundation.

STEP 7. I added a bit more dark powder around the areas that i felt needed more shadow like my cheekbones and the side of my nose ( you can use your judgement here to decide where you would need to apply more shading) I also fill in my eyebrows with a dark brow pencil.

STEP 8. I applied the rest of my make up as i usually would - A thin line of liquid liner, a couple of coats of mascara and i use a lip brush to carefully fill in my lipstick to make sure i stay in the lines that i drew with the concealer.

AND THAT'S IT!

Easy peasy, hope my tips help you to create your own look for less!

I do love to be beside the seaside

Living by the sea can definitely be a bit long sometimes but as soon as the sun comes out it suddenly becomes clear to you that all of those horrible storms and the unbearable wind was all worth it for a ray or two of pure sunshine on the shore. It's actually a little sad how excited i am to finally be wearing mini skirts/dresses again! (No tights, coz i'm a boss). I know that florals in the spring can be a little predictable but the erdem SS14 collection has been the source of my inspiration lately and for me floral will never die.

Photography by Jack W. Mulholland.

Floral Dress: Fonthill road £5

Chunky Knit Cardigan: Topman clearance sale £7

Denim Jacket:  Mothers castoffs

Platform Trainers: Ebay £25

My new obsession!

I've decided I'm going to try and keep a regular post about my favourite thing that i've bought/received every month. I'll try to make them breif too!

This month i'm completely obsessing over my new(ish) Ted Baker bag. I actually got it over Christmas from my boyfriends mum after she saw me shamelessly drooling over it in the store. It's the kind of bag that instantly changes your attitude, I threw this baby on with a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and my camel coat and (despite the fact that I was wearing no make up and a minnie mouse head scarf to cover up my un-straightened weave) I swear to god I felt like tyra on a good day! On top of aaaall of that (as if instant modelesque fabulosity wasn't enough) its a really good size and fits all my text books and school supplies, so I turn up to all my lectures looking all turned out with a strut like Naomi Campbell stompin it out at a 'chitlin circuit' fashion show the night before her rent is due. And it's nude so it goes with EVERYTHING I OWN!!!!

You damn right.

The "Matching" trend

I'm back! after a few days of horrible weather i finally managed to get out and take a few outfit shots today before the torrential downpour started again so....

I'm  HUGE fan of the "matchy-matchy" trend and i've been seeing it all over the place from high street to runway. Now usually i would insist that this look would ONLY be acceptable on baby twins and old church ladies however exceptions can be made especially when pertaining to fabulousity and down right BEAT-ness.

 I spotted this saucy little number in primark (i know!) and loved it so much i even brought it in another colour (It was pink and turned out to be butters so it was swiftly returned!). The top was actually normal T-shirt length when i brought it but i thought the look would suit a bit more of  crop top so i trimmed the front and hemmed it and left the back the same length for a dip-hem affect. 

It really reminded me of the spice girls in their hey-day with the mini skirts and "belly tops" as they used to be called way back in my day loooong before the "crop top" was coined. So i threw on my platform trainers, fished out my mums old denim jacket from the 90's and went as ratchet as possible with the accessories. I even managed to find a minimalist little monochrome leather rucksack to carry my lollipops in.

Crop top: Primark £8

Body con mini skirt: Primark £6

Denim Jacket: Cast offs from my mum

Platform trainers: Ebay £25

Monochrome Leather rucksack: Primark £8

1 Dress 2 Looks.

The first of many i hope!

I got this dress around new years in a charity shop in london and i didn't really like it at first because i wasnt too sure how versatile the print would be. I' a huge fan of loud garish prints but it's always too hard to find accessories that don't clash, so my idea was to keep it simple classic and fresh.

My trusty denim jacket my mum gave me from the 90's. That's real vintage for you! I'm thinking of acid washing it but i'm too much of a sentimental old fart to touch it. 

Those black leather calf  boots are probable the best thing i've ever brought from primark, They've lasted me longer than probably everything else i've brought there and longevity and quality materials are not something high up on my list of expectations for the place.

I thought i'd welcome my new cashmere coat into the family in style, i swear you could through this thing on over a potatoe sack and you'd look like Carine De Roitfeld. The tan leather clutch used to be some sort of laptop case but i felt it really deserve more of a life than that, i bought it at a car boot sale and haggled my little arse off and manged to take it home for pennies.

 

Floral turtle neck body con midi dress - Second hand shop £8

Tan leather clutch - Car boot sale 50p

Faded denim jacket - Mothers hand me downs (BEST STORE IN THE WHOLE WORLD!)

Black Court shoes - New Look Sale £10

Black buckled boots - Primark £15

My New Cashmere Coat

Nothing excites me more than a new addition to my wardrobe! I was out perusing the local charity shops with my wife (common law - i should clarify) and we both fell in love with this, so much so that we went halves on it and flipped a coin to decide who should get it. I don't even know who won the coin toss but we both sighed and gasped like a couple of old biddies in a pet shop full of puppies when i tried it on so the rest was history. I haven't actually paid her back so i guess it's still kind of hers in a way but she will have to pry it from my cold dead fingers before she can have it! 

It's a wool and cashmere blend which is a rare find in charity shops these days especially for £20.

Feeling like a straight G. haha!

The "thigh high boots" trend

Thigh high boots are my new thing these days. They seem to be making a come back and with all this crappy weather i am honestly relieved! I found these boots as well as the little Topshop mini skirt in a charity shop in Kentish Town where i used to volunteer when i was in my teens. These boots combine two of my great loves - Tanned leather and keeping my feet dry and warm in the rain - and for £18.99 i really couldn't resist. They're real leather and all!

I guess leather t-shirts is another one of my obsessions this season, i seem to have started to grow a quite a collection. This one has lazer cut outs and mesh inserts and an exposed silver zip at he back. I bought it from a little indie store on Albert road in Pompey and i happened to wander in during their 25% off RRP sale! SCORE! So i bagged myself a steal for £9.