I'm enlisting David After Dentist to help me with this post. Why? Because when I'm really distracted or busy, I sometimes just don't feel like coming up with my own material, and he's more entertaining to listen to anyway so really, you're welcome for not subjecting you to my chugging-coffee-well-into-the-afternoon vibes today.
If you're thinking, "Dude, Jessi, that video is so old." Well then, yeah, I mean, I get that.
But there's nothing wrong with getting old. Chevy Chase is doing it. The chia seeds in my cupboard are doing it. Those endless articles about Justin Bieber's legal woes are getting REALLY old, so I really feel like I should get a free pass for this one, guys.
I'm sorry for being MIA lately. I decided to sit the last few plays out because I did a peel and had a really unfortunate breakout as a result.
But I'm cleared for play again! So again, I'm sorry for the lull, but I'm excited to get back to business.
I told you guys I'd put up a review on the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit so this is my After shot.
Verdict: Yeah, I love it.
then, yep. She's a keeper.
And also, in case you didn't know, Sephora and ULTA let you return makeup even if it's used so if I've ever led you astray or if you've ever bought something you weren't totally in love with, get your money back.
And if you need any more convincing of the power of highlighting and contouring, I will refer you to the all-powerful HAC-King: Samer Khouzami.
No idea how to pronounce his name, no idea where he came from, no idea if this magic sorcerer is even mortal, but check out some of these unbelievable transformations.
To the best of my knowledge, yeah, those are real Before-and-Afters.
If this is your first time HAC-ing your face, don't worry—it's not as violent as it sounds. Here's one of my older posts on it if you'd like to revisit some of the details.
Basically, just use the contour shade in areas you want to recede (particularly under the cheekbones, along the jawline, in your temples, and by your hairline) and highlighter in areas you want to accentuate (particularly on top of your cheekbones and generally anywhere along your T-zone).
Oh hey, that's perfect! You'll need at least two to be able to grip your brushes. I'd advise using two brushes so as not to muddy up the highlighter, but if you only have one, just do your highlighting first and try to clean off the brush before you move to contouring.
Just so you know, about halfway through—actually probably all the way up until the blending step—you're probably going look in the mirror and be like . . .
Yeah, that'll happen. It's kind of a weird process. Don't get discouraged, though. It takes practice and a whole lotta blending, but it's worth it in the end.
I'd also like to be able to say there's no right or wrong way of doing this, but then you see those "Pinstrosity" pictures on Pinterest where people get it totally wrong, and you're like, yeah, okay we took a wrong turn somewhere.
But really, HAC-ing IS different for everyone because we all have different bone structures and face shapes. Just stick to the contour-where-I-want-to-recede-and-highlight-what-I-want-to-show-off thing and go from there.
And when you finish and you totally nailed it and you feel like a new woman and confetti is raining down around you, you might think . . .
That would be nice to have perfect lighting following you around for the rest of your life, wouldn't it? But no, that sculpting is vulnerable to soap and water. But hey, rock it till you wash it!
If this is truly the case, then don't panic, but something has gone horribly awry, and it is now out of my control.
Or wait until drugstore brands come out with their own little HAC packs because I guarantee every cosmetic brand is in the development stages of one right now. HAC-ing is a pretty new thing, and the cheaper brands tend to let the big wigs test out new ideas before they come out with their cheaper alternatives.
On an unrelated-but-still-somewhat-related note, I decided I'm going to start posting in the mornings before my day job. I absolutely love blogging, but life just gets busy, and I'm finding myself trying to carve out hours where there are none to be able to fit this in, so I'm going to try getting up earlier so I can make this more of a priority. I think it's really important to make time for the things that make you happy.
As some of you know way too well, I'm not a morning person . . . God help us all.