Beauty | MUA Luxe shimmer sticks and how to use them*

Hello pickles,

I have some new things from MUA to show you over the next couple of weeks. Today I have MUA Luxe bronze and highlight shimmer sticks which are full of pretty sparkles.

These sticks are £4 each and twist up just like a lipstick. The highlight is lovely, and gives the look of sun bouncing off skin. The bronzer is a little light for my face at the moment since I'm quite tanned, so I've used it heavily so it shows up on camera.

Bottom right - blurry shot to show the sparkles

The photo below shows unblended swatches of the bronzer. To blend the sticks you can use your fingers or a brush. I used a flat, rounded tipped foundation brush to blend mine, using gentle downward strokes as I didn't want to risk it 'balling' up as some creamy face products can when you blend in a rough windscreen-wiper motion.

WHY HIGHLIGHT/CONTOUR?

Highlighting is all about bringing areas of your face forward, and using contour or bronzer is about making things retreat. Highlighting gives a healthy, youthful glow to the face which gives the look of the sun falling on areas which naturally catch the light, and it's a great way of cheating on dull skin days. Using bronzer or contour gives the illusion of depth, which is why I used it under my cheekbones to give them the appearance of being deeper than they are. Using highlighting and contour/bronzer in combination helps give the face definition.

Here's how I used the highlight and bronzer. 

You can also use bronzer or contour to drastically alter your face, but I did a quite light, natural look in this instance. By using a dark product at the sides of your face you give the illusion of a longer, thinner face. You can also contour your jawline and double chins to give the illusion of having less chins - I call it the fat girl contour and I'll cover that another time. :)

Another place you can use bronzer is in your cleavage to give the impression of a bit more oomph! Just apply between your girls and blend up and outward in a v shape. It really works. It's an old drag queen trick. ;)

MUA also do a shimmer blush stick, which is also £4. Buy here or on Superdrug.com and in Superdrug stores (depending on stock levels.)

Do you highlight and/or contour?

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo

*These items were sent to me by MUA but my opinion is honest and my own.