NYX haul

When an email telling me NYX was hitting my local Boots landed in my inbox, I almost did an excited wee. For months I've been lusting over Instagram feeds and blogs waiting for this very moment.

The stand itself was a dream. Rows and rows full to burst with products begging to be bought. I swatched so much my hand looked like a contender for the Turner prize. Half an hour and a very bored boyfriend later, I'd whittled it down to just six products... I still want it all.

Perhaps my most eagerly anticipated purchase was the Lip Lingerie liquid lipstick. I bought two fairly 'everyday' shades; Lace Detail (a pinky 'your-lips-but-better shade) and Corset (a grey/brown toned beige nude). 

The HD concealer pops up on every 'My Top Five.. ' concealer post I've ever read so my hand was practically forced. Right?! I got this in the shade Fair to highlight my under eyes however I think this product has such a full coverage that I won't need to conceal beforehand! 

As we get into warmer weather I like to switch the dark smoky eyes for a contoured and defined look. It's so hard to find a completely matte shadow from an affordable range so imagine my delight when I found an entire matte range. Better still, I found my perfect contour shade - Get Naked. 

Highlight that could blind someone? Hello NYX Illuminator in Ritualistic. The highlighter looks pearly in the pan but when applied it's leaves a  beautiful champagne toned glow.

Finally, something to keep my beautifully blended eyeshadows in place in our ridiculously hot English summer (optimistic, I know), the Proof It waterproof eye primer. I hope this can battle the oil slick that seems to occur in warmer weather!

Even though I only completed my first purchase around 48 hours ago I'm so impressed I'm scouring reviews to create a shopping list for my next visit! I'd love to read some recommendations if you have any...

Rosie for Autograph Highlighter Powder

Now we've started seeing a little more sunshine in the month, it felt like the time to break out the glow. 

Although I love the highlighted dewy look, most products left me looking greasy and almost sweaty (nice, right?). 

Pootling around M&S, it's almost impossible for a rose gold addict to avoid the Rosie stand - unable to resist, I picked up the Highlighting Powder!

As ever with the Rosie makeup range, the packaging is beautiful and great quality. The powder sits beneath a mesh (rather than just holes in plastic) which minimises the mess factor. 

The highlighter has a champagne tone and subtle shimmer. The powder is very finely milled so blends well leaving a soft, radiant glow. A little goes a long way which justifies the £15 price tag.

All that's left to say is...

Glow. Come at me!

Kiko Milano Cream Radiance Highlighter

Kiko Milano has become ever increasingly prevelant throughout the beauty community recently - especially so in February for the heart shaped bullet of their lipsticks. 

I picked up this highlight a couple of months back and have pretty much worn it to death since. 

I really love that rather than a pink tone it's more golden which suits my skin better. The shimmer is really subtle too, meaning you get the glow without looking like you've just emerged from a toddler's glitter princess party.

The product is a cream but it feels almost like a really luxurious eyeshadow - really buttery and blendable. It's super pigmented as you can see from the swatch, so to tone it down apply between your foundation and powder. However, if like me, you want to look like a sunbeam you are then highlight after setting your concealer/contour.

This was my first product from Kiko but I think I'll be making future purchases from there soon! 

LOC Champagne Problems

Opening my Birchbox with a slightly pessimistic attitude this month, I wasn't exactly expecting much if I'm totally honest. I feel like me and the B-box have had a poor run the past couple months but lo and behold, I was wrong...

This little ray of sunshine is LOC One & Done shadow stick in Champagne Problems. I am loving this product! It's a beautiful, creamy shadow stick, so blendable and pigmented. It's so pretty I even forgot about the Spectrum brush for a hot minute, but that's a story for another post...

Pick these up for £8 in the Birchbox store!

Contouring for a square face...

We can't all be blessed with delicate, elfin features of the supermodel kind but thanks to the rise of contouring we can make our face shape more flattering.

I have a square face - wide forehead in line with my jaw which I feel can make me look slightly masculine. Typical contouring patterns can leave me looking a little unbalanced but through copious amount of trial and error I think I've got it nailed!

Highlighting 
This look is very contour based so highlight is really to a minimum here.
  -  A thin line from half way down the forehead to just after the bridge of the nose.
  - Two lines just above the the eyebrows.
  - A triangle on the chin.
  - An upside down triangle under each eye.
  - A dot on the cupids bow.

Contour 
To bring the edges of the face in you ned to shade the wider parts of your face.
  - Around the corners of the forehead.
  - Across the base of the nose.
  - A line down each cheekbone.
  - A small curved line on each side of the jaw.

When blended and set move on to the glow....

Glow
Pop a shimmer on the following areas to further highlight...
  - On the very tip of the nose.
  - On the tops of the cheekbones.
  - Above the arch of the eyebrow.

These tips should slenderise the face and accentuate the nose, as well as heightening the cheekbones and brow bone!