I find contouring an indispensable method. The modern contoured look is a lot more subtle, and definitely not the harsh lines reminiscent of the 80s (i.e. think Grace Jones). The trick to make contouring work is to make it look like it’s not there. When applied right, the (untrained) eye shouldn’t be able to detect your contour make-up. It should look like the hollows of your cheekbones – only better and deeper! To sculpt your best face yet, choose a shade that’s not more than 2-3 shades darker than your own skin tone. Remember darker colours make areas of the face recede, while using lighter colours act as a highlight. Be sure to avoid orange colours, as in some bronzers, as these will scream unnatural! Opt for a matte product, as this flat texture helps to absorb light and deepen the illusion of shadow. (Shimmer textures tend to have light reflecting particles and won’t provide the same illusion of depth).
How to apply:
Use an angled blush brush for a flawless application. The angled brush will deposit the majority of the product at the back of the cheekbone and automatically taper the application as it goes inward. For a better view, suck your cheeks in (fish face time!) to get a better view of where the hollows lie beneath the cheekbone. Concentrate the brush right at the top of the hollow and just below the cheekbone. Blend in towards the nose, stopping at two fingers width away from the nose.

Recommended products:
MAC #168 Large Angled Contour Brush
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish powders
MAC Full Coverage Foundation

Related posts:
BEAUTY 101 | Contouring the Face
Q & A | Do I apply blush on the apples of my cheeks or do I contour?

The heavy-hitters at MAC have done it again releasing a new line of face make-up products developed to meet the demands of both make-up artists and everyday customers. In this latest Studio Sculpt collection (available February 7th, 2009 at MAC stores and counters), a new range of cream foundations and concealers have been designed to give the skin a satiny finish with medium buildable coverage. According to Nick Gavrelis, VP of Global Development for MAC, Studio Sculpt "had to have the wear, flexibility and flawlessness that our makeup artists demanded, as well as the comfort, moisturization, smoothing and perfecting qualities that real women have been asking for."

I love how MAC offers the widest range of skin tone selection - they definitely can't be beat in that department. I'm especially looking forward to trying Studio Sculpt concealer, as I'm always on the hunt for the next latest and greatest product to hide my undereye circles (my current fave is Stila Perfecting Concealer)! Since Studio Sculpt is also cream-based, I'm curious to see if they'll work well as contouring products (hopefully the "sculpt" lives up to its name!)

Check back as I'll be sure to post a follow-up on my experience with Studio Sculpt within the coming weeks!

Check out artistrhi.com for more professional photos from gorgeous Miss Hennie's Big Day!

Related posts:
WEDDING | Behind the Scenes With Hennie

Launching this Thursday (February 5th, 2009) is MAC's latest release for lips: Creme Team. The collection builds on the success of MAC's lipstick formulation, Cremesheen, and combines more lipstick colours, lipliners and lip glasses to the mix! The collection's lipstick and lip gloss products glide on sheer to give a creamy and high shine factor to the lips. With the Cremesheen lipliners, you can easily fill in the whole lip area and use it as a base for lipstick application - and you won't have to worry about it being drying to the lips. (Sublime Culture lipliner is already part of my kit!)

I love the texture of the Cremesheen lipglasses: flat without sparkle and not overly sticky (as in past lip glass formulations!). I test ran Cremesheen Glass in Looks Like Sin, a neutral plum colour that worked great for both daytime (worn with liquid eyeliner) and night-time (when paired with a smoky eye).

NOTE: Be warned that if you try to apply the Cremesheen gloss as advertised, you'll likely encounter feathering gloss earlier than expected. The gloss actually goes on quite sheer so my attempts to build up the colour were futile...and messy! Save yourself the trouble and the wasted product - keep the gloss application to two coats max and you're ready to pucker up!

Cremesheen lipsticks will remain part of the permanent collection, but Cremesheen lipglasses are only available until the end of March 2009.

It's February and the site has been up for about a month now. The response has been amazing so far (thank you!) and we're continually looking for ways to improve the site, with the help of your feedback. A couple of updates to the www.artistrhi.com include:1. Adding an easy click tab in the top-left corner of each page. This quick-tab allows you to easily navigate between the artistrhi site and the artistrhi blog. Remember the artistrhi blog is the place to find all of the frequent updates, make-up artist tips and the behind the scenes look at artistrhi.com. The official artistrhi.com site features a portfolio of work and details of services offered.

2. artistrhi.com is now twitter-friendly! You can view all status updates related to the site and blog through this widget or you can follow me on Twitter here. How tweet it is! 3. The Blog tab on artistrhi.com now gives a sneak peek of artistrhi the blog and imports the three latest posts. To view the full blog, keep checking artistrhi.blogspot.com or subscribe here.