Kohl Cosmetics series: How to achieve flawless skin, contour and highlight

I used to think that once I had some sort of foundation on my face, that was it I was done. There was nothing to it, but lashing on a bit of foundation with your fingers!!! My god, there is just so much more to it. Recently during my Kohl Cosmetics makeup course in Brown Sugar, I picked up a number of tips and tricks for perfecting a flawless base and giving your face life.

Foundation

First up, foundation. For me this is the most important part to having perfect looking makeup. Once you have picked out your perfect foundation, it is all about application. When applying foundation avoid dotting the foundation on in areas and then buffing it in. Instead using a foundation brush, apply to one area of the face at a time and using small circular motions buff the foundation into the skin. If you have open pores, pat the foundation into the skin with your foundation brush in these areas. This helps to diminish the appearance of your pores, and give a real flawless look to the skin.

Normally I would apply my foundation all over the face, but it is better to only bring your foundation up as far as the socket area. Instead, the socket area will be concealed with a variety of concealers. Avoid applying your foundation to the lid areas, as foundation on the lid area breaks down during the day and can lead to creasing of your eyeshadow as the day progresses.

Concealer

Since the socket area has been left clear of foundation, it is important to use the correct concealers to cover the under eye area. First up, use a pink toned concealer in the inner corners and just under the lashes. I like to blend this out with my fingers, but a small concealer brush also works just as well.

I then pick a concealer, with a colour that suits my skin tone and apply it under the eyes and onto the lid. I pat this in with both my fingers and a Sigma angled Kabuki brush.

Powders

It is so important to set your foundation with a powder. I can’t recommend the hourglass ambient lighting powders enough for this.When applying powder, buff it all over the face with a fluffy brush. It is important to pat the powder in around any areas with open pores. Again this will help diminish the appearance of pores.

Contouring.

Lads, I am not gonna lie, I find it very hard to get the perfect contoured look. Some days my contouring is seriously on point. While other days it looks like I got a slap in the face. Good contouring is soft and subtle, rather than full on, brown line down the side of your face.

If you feel underneath your cheek area, the area you want to contour actually sweeps from the ear, up under the cheek bone area. It is better to build up to the look you want rather than, lashing on loads of product and trying to tone it down.

Your contouring powder should be applied in the shape of a 3 to the face. On the forehead, onto the temple, under the cheekbones, and finally under the jawline. Start at the ear and gently sweep the bronzer into the hollowed area under the cheekbones, up and towards the apples of the cheeks. You should start with a small amount of product and lightly apply it and then blend out.Feel out the under neath part of your cheek bones and that is where the bronzer should be applied. You should also apply product to the temple, and to the top of the forehead. If you have quite a high forehead, apply the brozer all over the top of the forehead, as this shortens the forehead. If you don’t need to do this, just apply it a third of the way in on either side. You should also apply bronzer underneath the jawline too.

When picking a bronzer, you are better with a matte bronzer when contouring. I tried the Kohl satin glow bronzer during this course and absolutely loved it.

When highlighting apply the highlighter using a fan brush, outside the contour in a v on the top of the cheekbones and up around the eye.

Blusher

You should always apply blusher when the cheeks are raised in a big smile. Apply the blusher gently onto the raised parts of the cheeks. You should apply a small amount of product and then build up to your desired look. When picking a blusher, try and avoid pink tones if you have high colour or very pink tones in your skin. Peach colours are much better in this case.

 

** I won the Kohl Cosmetics course as part of a competition. I was not asked or paid to complete this series of posts. I just wanted to share all the tips I learned during the course, with the readers of The Beautiful Truth. **