makeup Archives - Walking in Grace and Beauty

How To Contour and Highlight Your Face

June 18, 2013 By Cyndi 7 Comments

I love to experiment with makeup. I’m not a makeup artist but I’ve always wanted to be one. I could spend hours on the computer watching makeup videos. One of the things I’ve started doing in the last year is to contour and highlight my face.

Contouring and highlighting has been around a long time. What does it actually do? It helps sculpt your face to enhance your natural shadows and bone structure.

Here are the areas I contour and highlight (I do this after I’ve applied my foundation):

To slim your nose: apply a contouring shade on each side of your nose, blending carefully, and the highlighter down the center of your nose. (I just highlight my nose most of the time but contouring on each side will slim your nose.)
To enhance the cheekbones: suck in your cheeks, apply a darker shade to the hollows and a highlighter to the top of the cheekbones. Then apply blush as normal.
To contour the forehead: apply a light bronzer to each temple and blend upward. This will create a shadow effect causing the head to look more rounded. Highlight in the center above the brows.
For a small, thin chin: apply highlighter to the center of the chin, directly under the center of the lip.
To minimize a double chin which starts to happen as we age: apply bronzer along the jaw line and blend it down, towards your neck. This creates depth and helps to strengthen the jaw line.

Make sure you blend these in, you don’t want to walk around looking like my picture!

Here are the products I use to contour and highlight: {Disclosure: Please know that if you make a purchase using a link on this page, I may earn a commission and I am very grateful for your support of this site. Thank you.}

I use Bahama Mama for contouring. It works great for most skin types.

For highlighting I use MAC Prep +Prime Highlighter.

Do you contour and highlight your face? Have you tried it?

Beauty for the Heart~~ I was reading in Psalms this week and came across this verse, Psalm 130:5a (NLT), I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. It reminded me of how my husband often prays those words this way, “God we are counting on you!”

What situation today are you counting on God? Tell him and he will listen!

Have a blessed day!

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Almay & Kate Bryan’s Date Night Look

June 5, 2013 By Cyndi 4 Comments

I was delighted to be asked by BlogHer to share this Almay-sponsored video series, “Different Occasions. Different Looks. Always Pretty.”

I know Almay has great products, but I was also excited because Kate from The Small Things Blog was in the video.

I’ve followed her blog since she began blogging and I love all her beauty and hair tips. She also knows where true beauty is found!

Last year at Blissdom, I was able to meet Kate. She is sweet and as pretty in person as she is in her pictures.

This picture was taken last year when I had that crazy blond streak. What was I thinking?

We also got to meet Rascal Flatts and snapped a picture with them.

Now for the video! Find out how you can get Kate’s Date Night Look!

Have you tried any Almay products? What did you think of them?

Have a blessed day!

Filed Under: Blogher Sponsored Post Tagged With: Almay, makeup, The Small Things Blog

Welcome To My Youtube Channel!

May 14, 2013 By Cyndi 28 Comments

Okay, I’ve updated my Youtube channel and I’m going to start video blogging or for short vlogging. Please bare with me and realize there will be a learning curve! But I promise I’ll work hard to get better.

I know what you’re going to ask first! “Have you done a tutorial on your eye makeup for dark circles.” The answer is yes, I’m working on it! But to help with my jitters and to get use to this whole vlogging thing I started with a video of things I’m loving.

My goal is to do one video a week, yikes! I’m hoping this will be lots of fun and hopefully informative. If you have some things you want me to vlog about, by all means, let me know!

First thing I need to remember is to sit back a little further from the video camera, I’m right up on you!

Here are some products I’m loving right now.

Do you have any products you’re loving? Share them with me and I might just try them!

The products I mentioned: (Disclosure: These are affiliate links.)

Sun Labs Tan

Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow, 4 Shades, Not Just Nudes

L’Oreal Paris Double Extend Mascara

Cover FX Liquid Foundation Brush

Cafe Escapes Cafe Caramel Coffee

I would love for you to subscribe to my Youtube channel! If you would like to, you can go here!

Beauty for the Heart~~The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. Psalm 145:8

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day!

Filed Under: Beauty Tips, Video Tagged With: makeup, vlogging, youtube

How I Cover Up My Dark Circles!

April 30, 2013 By Cyndi 28 Comments

Each week I post pictures of my outfits or my latest makeup or beauty tips. But, I don’t usually post pictures of myself without my makeup. Several of you have emailed me and asked if I would share how I do my makeup. Honestly, I haven’t wanted to do it because I didn’t want to video myself without makeup.

Call me vain, but when you’re over 45, you’re not dying to take all your makeup off and share it on the world wide web!

I’ve always had dark circles. I can thank my Dad for that, but the older I get, the more they are showing up, even after I put my concealer on under my eyes.

Last week, I shared some new makeup I had tried called Cover FX. I love the primers and the foundation but I noticed the concealer wasn’t quite covering my dark circles enough.

So, I went back to Sephora and ~~asked~~ begged one of the ladies to help me with my dark circles. She assured me she was a miracle worker and she could help me. I wasn’t sure she knew what she was up against!

This first picture I have eyeliner and and mascara on but as you can see I have dark circles!

Normally, I put my concealer on first but for today’s post I’m putting my foundation on first. The products I use after my moisturizer are:

Color FX anti-aging primer, Color FX anti-aging eye primer (this is an affiliate link), Color FX foundation and to set my foundation I use Color FX pressed mineral foundation.

I have my foundation on and I added some color to my cheeks with Color FX bronzer (this is an affiliate link) in golden peach.

These next three pictures show the steps I use to cover up my dark circles and fine lines around my eyes. I use three separate products but I think they make a huge difference.

So what do you think? Want to know the products I’m using under my eyes?

Stop back by on Thursday and I’ll share them with you! (Tomorrow is my What I Wore-My Style post so that’s why I’ll share it with you on Thursday).

Beauty For the Heart~~I had to share this verse today, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Before applying my makeup up, I look a little rough but with some makeup I’m a new person. That’a a great analogy of my life before Christ and the life I live now with Christ. I’m a new creation and hopefully I look different!

Have a blessed day!

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post.

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Filed Under: Beauty Tips Tagged With: beauty tips, Color FX, dark circles, makeup, over 40

Keeping It Simple with Cover FX

April 25, 2013 By Cyndi 5 Comments

Have you ever gone into Sephora thinking you’re going to buy ONE thing and come out with a bag full? I recently did that very thing!

I went in wanting to buy a new foundation. I mentioned the other day, I sometimes like to change my foundation in the spring/summer. I ended up being introduced to Cover FX. Cover FX tries to be as organic as they possibly can and keep their ingredients simple.

Cover FX creates healthy, natural-looking foundations for flawless full coverage. They take their ingredient choices seriously which is why each product is free of parabens, fragrance, gluten, mineral oil and talc.

But here’s the funny part, I left WITHOUT buying the foundation! I fell in love with their primers and concealer. I did get a sample of their foundation and I’ve used it all week. I’ll be going back to buy the foundation!

What we put on our face before we put our foundation on is important. Primers make a huge difference!

I start with the anti-aging primer for my face (1). What does this do?

This reparative primer hydrates and smooths the skin to blur the appearance of fine lines and pores, facilitates blending and extends wear.
Contains anti-aging ingredients that improve clarity and radiance and reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles.
Antioxidants protect the skin, soothe inflammation and reduce redness while protecting against premature skin aging.

Then I use the anti-aging smoothing eye primer (2). This eye primer has anti-aging benefits that binds concealer and eye shadows to lids and eye area. It firms, energizes and tightens!

I also purchased their concealer (3) for under my eyes and the bronzing powder in golden peach (4) to use as my blush.

The price is comparative to other primers and concealers and they will last months because you only use a small amount. It won’t make you look twenty years younger but I do like the simple ingredients and the way it feels on my face.

Have you ever tried Cover Fx? Do you use primers before you put your makeup on?

Beauty For the Heart~~I love this quote by Billy Graham. “Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children.” I’m so thankful for my mother and the influence she had and continues to have on me, even after she has gone home to be with Jesus.

Have a blessed day!