Saturday, March 29, 2014

All About Contour Part 2!

OMG! I don't believe this! I didn't publish this article!!!! NOOOOOOO!
So here we go... late but better than never..I think.

The latter half of contour video is up!

When I was making this video, I had hard time making it short and straight to the point.
I know that I tend to ramble so I always keep in mind "Get down to the point, Yui!" when I'm filming, but even then, when I'm editing the video, I go like "Ah, that part is unnecessary." and cut that part out.
So I am not very good at making it really short yet.
You might not like how I edited this video, because I cut a lot of the parts out and it seems unnatural, but I don't think you would like me rambling and taking your precious time, so I decided to keep it that way.
Which one do you prefer though? I am very interested in what you think. If you have opinions on how a beauty vlogger should edit her/his videos, please share in the comment section of this blog. <3

Now moving on to today's topic; contour.
I thought it was easier if I put the face charts too, as we are talking about where we need to put the contouring powder, here we go.


I think the contour is a very powerful thing that makes a big difference on your face.


Left image is just a plain bare face and the right image is what it looks like when I do full contour.

These are just 2D images but they look very different.
Can you imagine what it can do to your 3D face?!








Now, let's watch what brushes I use and where exactly I would contour for different face shapes.




For round faces:

Contour for Round face.



The ideal face shape that we want to achieve is a diamond shape, so I would contour having that in mind.
Contour well the sides of the forehead, face and jaw.

As I mentioned in the video, please keep your highest point of your forehead and chin as you want to keep the height.











Next is long face:

Contour for long face.



I would like to shorten the long face by contouring forehead.
Focus more on forehead, rather than chin, as explained in the video.
This image looks like I have contour on the chin and the jaw line but contour the underside of the chin and jaw.











The last is square face:

Contour for square face.


A square face has a strong jaw line, so the point where you put the brush first (aka the darkest part) would be the corner of the jaw.
From there, blend it in all the other direction (up, down, sides).

If you have a square top of your face, contour the temple well, like for the round face and pull back your corners of your face.
Contour in the hair as well as the hair line.









Lastly I would like to share this very important tip:
Do not forget to contour 4 places I mentioned in the video.
Also when I say "contour well", it is NOT simply to put a lot of the contour products. It means to contour

  • Carefully and thoroughly
  • Keeping it looking natural
  • Still, you should have the benefit/effect of the contour.
It takes time and practice to achieve this, so practice a lot to see and feel what looks right for your face shape!

Sometimes, Less is more with makeup.
But it does not mean that you should cut the corners.


Truly beautiful makeup takes a lot of time and effort, even if it looks like there is not much makeup on the face.
I think Rae Morris agrees with me on this one. :)

Good luck and have a nice weekend! <3

Yui

Sunday, March 23, 2014

What is my skincare stuff? Skincare for sensitive skin.

Hi!

Today it is about my skincare products!
As I get a lot of questions about my skincare routine and products, I thought I would make a video about it.
If you would like to see one of those "My Skincare Routine"videos where you show your products and how I use them, please let me know.

Ok, so here is the video about it.



Products mentioned:
<Current products>
Mary Kay Timewise 3-in-1 Cleaner
Mary Kay Timewise Age-fighting Moisturizer
Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer SPF 15

<All time favorites>
BIODERMA Sensibio (Crealine) H2O
(Neutrogena Oil-Free Makeup Remover)
(Face of Australia Gentle Makeup Remover)
Setaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
Mary Kay Timewise 3-in-1 Cleanser
Noevir BlancNew Medicated Cleansing Foam
Excellula Brightning Lotion
Excellula Power Lotion
Excellula Delivery Essence
Excellula Whitening Essence
Obagi C10 Serum
Mary Kay Timewise Age-fighting Moisturizer
BIODERMA Sensibio Eye Contour Gel
CHIFURE Borage Cream
Vaseline Relief and Repair Balm

I didn't have the actual product packaging, I thought I would put the photo from my instagram of Noevir cleanser.


A photo from my instagram
when I was so upset that I was finishing this.

I know this video ended up being pretty long, but I really wanted to put them all together.
So I hope you enjoyed!
Also if you have a request for a detailed review videos of one of the products mentioned, please let me know via comment. :)

Have a great day!

Yui


Saturday, March 15, 2014

All about contour! Part one!

Hi guys! Sorry for not uploading for two weeks!
It is very hard to keep up with my new business and planning a wedding..

Anyway, it is about contour today!
I am making two videos about contour and today is the first part.
(I make videos in two different languages so it is automatically a double length..)

In Part 1, I will explain:
What is Contour as an idea?
What color should you use?
Not many people talk about the color of the contour and it is one of the reasons why I wanted to make a video about contouring.

For a long time, I used the wrong color for contour and looked muddy and dirty. Had no idea why it didn't look good on me as no one told me what color it should be.

You can find a bunch of information about contouring on the internet and books.
And you apply it as they tell you, the color and the place and everything... But you look at the mirror and think "That doesn't look quite right.."
Well, you have to know certain things to contour properly and it is not really in the books.
Because you have to know where the light hits and where the shadow falls on your own face.
No body can tell you that. (Unless you have a personal makeup artist.)
General face chart is only a guide line. You have to fit in to your needs and make it your own!
So you have to start from observing and studying your face.
Understanding your face.
This is the only way to get better at contouring, honestly!

So which color should you pick? Isn't bronzing contouring??
Please watch the video to find out.



I am putting all the photos of the contour (including matte/semi matte bronzers) products that I compared.

Contour products!
Every single product mentioned on this article gets swatches on my finger(s).
I know the finger swatch is kinda hard to see, but I edited some photos to make it look consistent and better.
Also at the end of the article, I put a very clear comparison photo of all the colors so that you can have a better idea of what the color looks like.
I compared them all for you to see which one has orange/pink/red/yellow tone in the products.

CS Hot Pots in M22 and M20
As I said in the video, I would recommend M20 as a countour for SUPER pale people, who are a bit scared to use NYX Taupe (mentioned later in this article).
I personally prefer it if it was a little more gray, but it might still work as contour for a very pale skin.
M22was not mentioned in the video but later realized that it would be a good contour color for dark skin.
They are both completely matte finish and they are very inexpensive! ($1.95 each from Coastal Scents)

M20 and M22 swatches.

Maybelline Expert weareyeshadow in Creme de Cocoa.

Creme de Cocoa swatch.
NYC Bronzer in Sunny.

So this is the bronzer that everyone on YouTube is talking about; NYC Sunny Bronzer!
This is inexpensive and a good warm-toned bronzer.
As I mentioned in my video, this did NOT work for me because it was a wrong color for contour.
If I want to use it as a bronzer, I can still use it but it is still a little too pink for me.
If you have medium skin tone with blue undertone (which means your skin appears pink-ish), this would work well.

NYC Bronzer swatch.

T.Leclerc Pressed Powder in Cannelle.

It got badly cracked and I tried to mend it.
Now it looks lumpy but works totally fine!

CANMAKE Shading Powder in 03.

CANMAKE Shading Powder swatch.
CANMAKE Bronzer in 01

This bronzer was one of the first bronzers that Japanese drugstore brands created.
It has beautiful gold shimmer sprayed onto the powder. And I think some people didn't like it then they made the shading powder that doesn't contain any shimmer at all, which is the product mentioned previously.
As you keep using it, or dig in, there are much less shimmer, almost feels like no shimmer at all.
Apparently this is a discontinued product. (I just found out now!)


CANMAKE Bronzer swatch.

CEZANNE Nose Shadow & Highlight.

I wish they make a whole pan of this dark color.
To be honest, I don't even like this high light powder. They are little too glittery.

CEZANNE Nose Shadow swatch.


NYX Blush in Taupe.
This is something I swear by! I think it should be a holy grail product of every pale girl!!

NYX Taupe swatch.


Bourjois Delice de Soleil in 14.
This is, I think, a chocolate-themed bronzer from what I can see from the outer packaging.
It has a picture of a chocolate on it.
However, it does not smell like a chocolate, unlike the ones from Too Faced. A little disappointing.
Also this is way too red for my skin tone/undertone. :(

Delice de Soleil swatch.


So what do you think?? Do you have ideas of what they are like? Not quite, huh?
That's why I compared them all on a white baby wipe so that you can REALLY see the difference in the color.

Swatched on baby wipes in the order shown.

This really shows the color difference, does't it??
That's it for today! I hope it was helpful!!
Have a great weekend, everyone!

Yui