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...

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!