Contouring is the New Photoshop! #NoFilter

 photo courtesy of craveonline.com

Because you can't always walk into a room with Photoshop, there are many things you can do to make sure you always look picture perfect! Sculpting your face without surgery, is simple to do if you understand how and what products to use. You literally can transform your face with this magical illusion.

Until recently this maneuver was reserved for A listers who could afford celebrity makeup artists who have long understood the purpose of doing so, but there's no reason that the rest of us need be kept in the dark. I wrote about how to DIY in my book by using your face shape as a guide with a specific tutorial. If you want to fine tune your skills as per your face shape check out Chapter 6 of Face This: Real Advice from Real Models available for only $7.99 {HERE}, not to mention all the  great photo and posing tricks you will learn.

But basically the concept is simple. An oval face shape is what you are trying to emulate, so you want to contour areas outside of a centered oval. Contouring will make areas recede. So, if you have a square jaw you will want to contour your jaw line more, if you have a high forehead you will want to contour the top of your hairline more.

You don't need to go out and buy any special products, anything that is 1-2 shades lighter than your foundation will work, for example Loreal's true match makeup works, any concealer is great too because you usually buy this lighter than your foundation. Anything that is light, sheer and shimmery will do the job! 

For contouring, anything darker than your normal skin tone is perfect whether it be a bronzing powder or cream/liquid. But for contour be sure it is not shimmery - you are trying to create shadows here and not draw attract the light. The biggest secret to getting it right - BLEND, BLEND, BLEND!

For your nose: If you have a wide nose, contour the sides. Highlight down the center of your nose - the slimmer the line the more narrow your nose will look. If it's long, contour the tip. 

For cheeks: Apply your blush beginning at the apple of your cheek and sweep upward toward your temples. Highlight above and contour below in the hollow - underneath your cheek bone. Make the fish face to know exactly where this is.

Highlighting the center of your face brings out that ideal oval shape . 

Always contour your neck. This will give you a stronger jaw line, which becomes more critical as you age because skin sags here first. 

My favorite place to highlight that most people forget is the clavicle! The product I find easiest to use here is the same one I use on top of my cheekbones to brighten underneath my eyes:  Smashbox Photo-op.  Makeup artists use this to bring life to model's eyes when the call time is 5am! 

Over 40 Best Makeup Tips - Change is good!

You've gotten older and so have your makeup techniques. Time to re-evaluate and update your bag of tricks.

Foundation & Powder : Do not go darker with your foundation so you feel tan. This is why God invented bronzer - use it on areas that are naturally kissed by the sun. Don't pale out; this too looks unnatural. The secret to looking younger while you're getting older is to embrace the skin you're born with and enhance it -  not cover it up! 

      P.S. Smoky eye or bold lip - never both.

Brow Highlighter : Avoid using a brow highlighter that's too light or white. This is so 80's, and will definitely add 10 years to your look! Especially if you have any hooding to your eyelid ... it will immediately draw attention to it (See for yourself in the photo above). A soft pink matte eye shadow on the brow bone will be your ticket to an eye lift naturally.

Eyeliner : Yes on top - it will make your lashes look fuller, and lift. No to bottom lashes - it will make your eyes look smaller, droopy and can draw attention to bags or lines underneath.

Nude lips : Yes, it's a trend but like all trends, not always a good one. Careful ... just 2 shades too light will make you look dead and that's never flattering. Choose a stain or pencil just a bit darker than your skin tone for a natural look and finish it with a pink lip gloss on top.

I partnered with Cover Girl in the video below for more tips on how to avoid common makeup mistakes. 

Not Washing off Makeup for a Month - Mistakes that Age You!

Have you ever wondered if it really matters if you go to bed with your makeup on? Well, this is a photo of a woman who slept in her makeup, not washing it off for an entire month.With Halloween right around the corner, this itself is pretty scary for the beauty obsessed! 

photo via the Drs.

You can see that she looks about 10 years older, and the quality of her skin has definitely changed. Inflammation and clogged pores which appear larger because bacteria that causes acne has become trapped. 

We've all been guilty of skipping this important skin care step after a night out with the girls, and damage is likely not permanent, but it will take longer for your skin to bounce back.

Not washing your face can also speed up the aging process because of free radical damage. It's important to wash away pollutants that stick to makeup and contaminate our skin, attacking healthy skin that can result in a decrease in the production of collagen, which means premature wrinkles.

Moral of the story - you know it already, wash off your makeup every night! To help, buy some cleansing or baby wipes and leave them on your nightstand. This way you'll have no excuses and it's better for your skin than skipping it entirely. 

I partnered with Cover Girl in the video below to bring you some more helpful tips regarding some things you might be doing that  are actually aging your skin. 

For example, did you know that you should wash your face after you shower? Sometimes the products you use to wash your hair and body can get trapped in your pores and make them appear larger. Watch below for some more helpful tips.

Halo Hair Extensions - Comparison REVIEW: Halo UK, Halo Crown, Halo Couture

Halo Couture vs Halo Crown vs Halo Hair Extensions (UK)

In a world of sinners, the Gods of locks, have given us the answer to all of our hairy prayers ...halo shaped hair. The easiest extension ever to use, taking less than a minute to put on without any clips to hide, messy glue or damage to your own hair. To see how easy it is check out my post about Kelly Ripa's fake hair on a wire {Here}

But the question remains - which halo design is most awe inspiring of all? To find out I ordered all three and here's what I found. 

THE PRICE

Halo Couture is by far the most expensive $375-600 for their 16 inch extensions (100 grams of hair) which are sold primarily in salons. Halo Crown, in comparison is only $225 and 40% more hair (140 grams). Halo from the UK offers a deluxe 16 inch Halo of 140 grams for $259.99, but it is only 9-10 inches in width offering only hair in back USD, plus it ships from England.

Difference in width

THE HAIR

All three have equally great hair, similar texture, silky and luxurious, but only Halo Couture and Halo Crown are laced backed. The Halo from the UK reportedly can be itchy and bulky with a single hard seam at the top holding all the hair together.

Let's face it, the reason we are looking for an extension is because we want extra hair, so it makes sense to buy the halo that has the most hair. HaloCrown's version wins! weighing in at 140 grams, which is almost 40 % more hair than either Halo Couture or the regular (non-deluxe) UK Halo.

 Halo Crown width of hair is 12.5 to 13 inches of hair that goes ear to ear. HaloCouture is 11.5 to 12 inches wide. The Halo Hair Extension from the UK is only 9-10 inches across. I prefer the wider halo design because is gives me volume on the sides too like a whole set of extensions, not just in the back of my head.

HALO CROWN - PUTTING IT ON

Here are some before and after shots of me wearing the 16 inch Halo Crown, that I had cut to 14 inch length and styled - the uncut 16 inch Halo Crown hits at my bra strap and I didn't want it quite that long.

As the old beauty queen within me would say,

"Love your hair, hope you win!"

Sponsored post

How to Pose to Look Skinny in photos for Great Pictures!

If you look at the photo above taken on my 49th birthday last week,  you are probably saying to yourself ...

"Well, I already have that skinny arm on the hip trick mastered, is that all you got?"

However, as obvious as this one seems, many women are still not using this pose to their advantage!

I am often asked by magazines for quotes about the tips and tricks of posing for better photos, and there's a lot that goes into getting a perfect photo, the lighting, the makeup, the styling. I'll be doing more televised segments about all these, but yesterday I got the chance to talk about the importance of posing for Arizona Midday - take a look here:

The skinny arm on the hip trick is completely overused on the red carpet because it does incredible things for women ... smaller waist, longer legs and creates curves. It's best if you choose the arm closet to the lens of the camera for this trick and remember to lower your shoulder. However, if you don't want to look like a teapot in all your photos, you can get the same effect if you understand why this pose works.

The basic cheat being used here isn't the hand on the hip, it's the bent elbow and separation of the body and arm, that makes this work. If must have light between or the width of your arms next to your body will make you look bigger than you actually are! You don't have to over-exaggerate it every time to get the benefit of this trick. Simply put a slight bend to your elbow and pull your arms away from your body. Or hold on to something, a purse, a drink, a  pocket .... It will make a massive difference in your pictures.

Placement of the hands is key. A model rarely shows the back of her hands. The reason? They aren't pretty and they look big. The sides are much prettier and dainty. Secondly, never clump your fingers together, instead let fingers relax and be apart.

One of the biggest mistakes women do is place their hands lower than they should when working this pose. If you do, the part of your body you will draw attention to is your hips, the widest area of your body. Instead cheat the hands up a little higher on your waist and this will give you the illusion of longer legs ... Nothing wrong with that!

Most of the time you will want to keep the weight of your body on your back foot, however if you need to fake some curves you can do what I did in the top photo and keep your weight on your front leg instead or try popping your hip toward the camera.

The other important thing to do when standing for a photo is to angle your body to the camera. We must create the angle, because the lens of the camera will flatten you out to a 2D version of yourself and make you look wider than you are if you don't! So angle yourself to the lens of the camera pointed at you. The worst thing you can do is stand front and center to the lens. This is why people say the camera adds 10 pounds. Face the camera and place your hips and feet at a 2 or 10 o'clock position to it. Then create a smaller waistline by turning your face to the lens, twisting yourself without moving your feet. Ahaha - instantly you have created a slimmer waistline too!

Practice. Practice. Practice. The mirror is your best friend and a perfect tool to teach you how to develop your own signature pose. Like I said in this video, if you try to emulate Taylor Swift's cross legged go to pose without checking yourself first, you may just end up taking a photo that looks more like you have to pee your pants instead of a young goddess with long legs.

Finally, with social media and sites like Instagram and Facebook, it's nearly impossible to get out of taking a group shot now and then, assuming you have a life outside of the world wide web. To get your best group shots just keep in mind that anything closest to the camera will look the biggest. If this happens to be you, just take a step back or hide a part of you behind the person next to you. And never get sandwiched between two people and let your arms flatten next to your body. Just remember the tips above and try to work in a slight angle and to keep some space between your body and arm for great pics on girls night out!

So many pictures, so little time ...  Hope this helps!

XO 

Shelley