Before I dedicate a post to contouring and highlighting (coming soon!), I thought I’d focus on something even more basic… finding your cheekbones! Many people have fuller cheeks and actually finding the bone can be tricky. For those of you who don’t have prominent cheekbones, here’s an easy and fool-proof way to find your cheekbones without a single cheek-sucking fish face in sight!

The usual way we learn to find our cheekbones is to suck in our cheeks and make a fish face. This technique doesn’t always work, however, and you can end up with less-than-strategic patches of bronzer on your face (not cute).

In order to correctly locate your cheekbones, place your thumb directly above your ear tragus (the little nub that sticks out). Then, place your index finger directly below your nostril. This line that your hand creates is exactly where every person’s cheekbone is located on their face. The zygomatic bone (cheekbone) articulates with the mandible right above the tragus and articulates with the maxilla below the nostril on every person, no matter their face shape.

Finish by sliding your thumb down your cheek in the line that you formed with your hand. Congrats! You’ve found your ever-elusive cheekbone! I’ll have a highlighting and contouring tutorial coming up to show you how to properly showcase those beauties.
XO, J

Sartorially speaking, a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes. Practically, though, a girl realizes how many pairs of she has when she’s moving across the country… with just two suitcases (I just bought a bunch of those vacuum-sealed bags because I want to fit EVERYTHING). For the rest of you gals who aren’t moving, I recently found a fantastic dupe for Madewell’s Winston ankle boot. I love Madewell. I love ankle boots. I don’t love the price tag. Enter Crown Vintage’s Samantha bootie.
It was actually my friend Meghan who brought these to my attention. She had just purchased a pair of Crown Vintage ankle boots and she remarked how uncannily they resembled Madewell’s Winston boot. I have to say, I’m inclined to agree wholeheartedly. They are freakishly the same. But at $69.95, the Samantha boots are a lot easier to manage financially.
What do you think, gals? Would you get the look for less?
XO, J
P.S. I have it on good authority from Meghan that the Samantha boots are wickedly comfortable. Bonus!
P.P.S. J.Crew suede flats dupe.

This hot chocolate is good. Like… fantastically, phenomenally, earth-shatteringly GOOD. Most hot chocolate recipes call for cocoa powder, which usually leaves a gritty puddle in the bottom of your mug. This hot chocolate uses semi-sweet chocolate squares and heavy cream to create a cloud of fluffy chocolate mousse… which then gets melted into hot milk. It’s velvety, creamy, and frothy. It’s heavenly! We still have a lot of winter to get through. For the love of god, put down the Swiss Miss and just make this recipe.
- 5 squares Baker’s semi sweet chocolate
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp real vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy cream
Grate the chocolate. Add to the water and melt over medium heat. When melted, add the sugar and salt. Cook for four minutes. Add the vanilla and cool to room temperature. Whip cream. Fold (not mix) with chocolate mixture. Store in refrigerator. To serve, add a super generous dollop to milk and heat slowly. Note: 3-5 Tbsp constitutes a “dollop.” :)
What are some of your hot chocolate recommendations?
XO, J
P.S. Thank you to my sweet mom who let me borrow this recipe.