NYX Contour Pro Single in Sculpt and Sculpt and Highlight Face Duo in Taupe/Ivory

Hey All

As you can probably guess from all of our NYX posts and features on our instagram L and I are totally in love with the products!

I'm a massive fan of a great contour so when we were at the counter the other day I couldn't resist a new sculpting powder as it looked a great tone and as I'm yet to own any cream/liquid contour I had to have the sculpt and highlight duo. 

I was instantly draw to the Highlight and Sculpt pro singles. I already have palettes I can put singles into so wasn't worried about buying the full palette. My only downside is that it didn't have a magnetised back for palettes but it's easy enough to stick one onto the back. As it also has a lid it's not necessary to keep it in a palette.

I choose the shade sculpt as it had a slight taupe shade to it and wasn't as brown toned as some of the others. The texture of these is so soft and blends into the skin so easily. I find myself reaching for this most days now as it's so easy to use. I've also layered it up with other contours for a stronger look for evenings.

Here is the contour shade on. If you're following my 100 days of make up on instagram you'll have seen it on more posts/

It's available from boots here for the bargain price of £3.25. They also do a palette of highlight and contour shades which is  £18 for 8 shades

Here is the face duo swatched first and the contour powder in sculpt at the end!

I've fancied trying a liquid contour and highlight for a while and when I saw the Sculpt and Highlight Face Duo it fell into my basket without question. It was the last one on the stand in Taupe/Ivory which made me want it more. 

It comes in a concealer wand type packaging with the doe foot applicator making it really easily to apply in a specific area and makes contouring precise and easy especially on the nose area.

The sculpt and highlight due really blend into the skin easy and give a flawless finish. I blend it out with a real techniques miracle complexion sponge (my favourite sponge I grabbed the primark ones hoping for a bargain but they just don't cut it!) to gently blend the product out. I find this works best. 

Here it is on. You can see it shapes my nose and cheek bones and adds definition to the face.

It's available from boots here for £9 and comes in different shades for different skin tones. I'm really pale and this one is perfect for me. 

NYX is also all cruelty free hence why I'm heading there and buying out most of the shop at the moment!

Have you tried the nyx contouring products?

Love M

xxx

Miss Patisserie Wake Shower Steamer

Are you a bath or a shower kind of girl?

I'm 100% a shower girl...until recently over the last year when I've started to love having baths too, mostly thanks to Lush and Miss Patisserie and their amazing collections.

However the majority of the time I still have showers and sometimes it's nice to have a shower that smells amazing and fills the bathroom with the scent.

This is where the Shower Steamers from Miss Patisserie are awesome.

The description on the website is:

PACKED WITH ESSENTIAL OILS THESE THERAPEUTIC SHOWER STEAMERS ARE PERFECT FOR CREATING AN EXTRA SPECIAL SHOWER EXPERIENCE. PLACE YOUR STEAMER ON THE SHOWER BASIN, TURN ON THE WATER AND THE STEAM WILL SURROUND THE BODY WITH ESSENTIAL OILS.

There are five different types available and I picked up Wake, a beautiful aqua coloured steamer which conveniently matches my bathroom.... ;)

All you have to do with these beauties is put them on the floor in the shower and make sure the water can get to them

The steam then fills the room with the scent of your chosen Steamer, in my case this was Spearmint and Peppermint, two of my favourite scents. These essential oils can help with a cold to relieve your sinuses but also stress and headaches which is something I can suffer with.

So what did I think?

Wake smells amazing as I expected, and my bathroom did fill with the steam smelling of peppermint and spearmint. It was a delicate scent so it could be a bit stronger but maybe if you're in a shower cubicle and not using it in a shower over a bath then it may be stronger so you don't want to be too overwhelmed!

I really love the idea of these Steamers and the different scents that can help with a variety of problems such as stress, illness and sleep but I was a little disappointed that it disappeared down the plug hole quite quickly.

Maybe mine was under the direct stream of water too much so next time I try a different scent I will have to put it further away and hope that makes it last a little longer.

However I still enjoyed it and it made my normal quite boring shower that much more interesting and more of an experience. I'd like to try the Breathe steamer when i have a cold to see how much it helps and also the Sunny steamer as it has a citrus scent which is another favourite of mine.

The steamers cost £3.25 each so is definitely a treat and not for every shower, but I would definitely get one again for in the future, and hope next time it lasts a bit longer. Let's be honest the colour range is pretty enough for me to want them all to keep on display in my bathroom!

What are your thoughts on the Shower Steamers? Have you got a favourite?

I think showers are underrated and there should be more products like this available!


L xxx

NYX Cosmetics Brow Gel in Brunette

We all know that brows are big business, and after the myriad of products appeared on the market how do you even begin to start with purchasing the correct brow products for you??

I've been doing my brows now for the last few years, mine have always been black anyway so were always present on my face but having them 'done' makes such a big difference to my face. However I still haven't tried all of the different brow products that are available so I decided at the NYX cosmetics event in Cardiff a few weeks ago to try their Brow Gel.

The lovely Jade gave us a demonstration of a few products and this was one that caught my eye, we were told it may need some practice to get your brows right with this as it can dry really fast and be a bit pigmented.

With this in mind I didn't rush home and try this as soon as i could. I waited until I had some spare time and plenty of micellar water around just in case I ended up with eyebrows like Hagrid (subtle Harry Potter reference there!)

Following Jade's instructions I put a tiny but on the back of my hand, filled in the main section of my brows from the bottom with strokes moving upwards and outwards to the end, and then came back to fill the front in with whatever was left on my brush so I didn't have the dreaded Sharpie effect.

I got this right first time with these instructions so I'm really pleased (and thankful!) to Jade for taking us through the tips!



I did find that the tiniest bit went a long way, and it does dry quite fast although not as fast as I originally thought (I pretty much squeezed some out and gave myself a few seconds before thinking it would be dry!)

It all depends on the look you go for really, but I find outlining the bottom of the brow to give a clean line and then blending upwards and outwards in strokes gives a natural but defined look without being too heavy which is what I prefer for work. I have a few small patches at the front of my brows which are a bit sparse but it didn't look like these had been blocked in which was a small concern!

After using the brow gel to fill in i then either use a spoolie brush to blend the brow hairs or a product such as Benefit's Gimme Brow to set the hairs so they don't move. There's nothing that annoys me more than drawing my brows on and then the actual hairs (particularly at the ends) stick out in any direction later on in the day!

So how does it look on? Let's get very close to my face:

I find this easy to work with and I'm surprised, as normally I've always used a pencil or a product like Gimme Brow where the gel is on a brush already and simply needs to be brushed through.

Although this does take a little work I like drawing my brows on in the morning and I don't feel like it takes much longer either.

As far as longevity goes once this sets it does stay for the day. I have managed to smudge it at the end of the day (forgot I had it on and rubbed my temples after a long day - somehow managed to smudge the end off one brow at the same time!) so as long as your skin isn't too oily and you don't rub it I don't see any reason for it to move.

The NYX brow gel costs £5.50 and is available in 5 colours. I really think this is worth every penny and will definitely be back to try more from NYX.

This was the first product from them that I have properly tried, and I have a few more to review in the next few weeks including the infamous Lip Lingeries. I've been impressed so far especially for the prices, what do you think?

What's your favourite products from NYX? Have you tried the brow gel?

L xxx

Miss Patisserie: Miami Bath Ball

Hey there!

Well look at that cold weather creeping back in, Autumn is well and truly here and the colder mornings now require a scarf and boots. I have to say this pleases me quite a bit as I'm definitely a lover of Autumn and Winter. Hot chocolates, blankets and fairy lights please me no end so I'm enjoying adding layers on!

With that comes more baths. I mean, it's not like I stopped having them over the summer because let's face it I live in Wales and the rain is always pouring somewhere but a cosy bath in the evening is even better when it's cold.

The best type of baths however are the ones that remind you of summer at this time - just like the Miami bath ball.

Green is hands down my favourite colour anyway, so I may be slightly biased but I did really love the colour of this bath ball.

I also love the swirly effect of the colours on the outside, everyone loves a marble effect right?

Without further rambling, I spun it into my bath and watched the bath porn (the technical term obviously) commence!

It didn't take long for the fabulous pink colour to arrive which made the bath art look even better!

Looking at the image below I immediately think of some of the crazy retro style prints you can get for summer in Miami - the description on the Miss Patisserie website for this bath ball is perfect 'Sun, beaches, flamingos and everything fabulous'. Spot on!

This bath ball's main scent is Lavender, and it surprised me just how much I enjoyed it. I'm not normally a fan of it but I really enjoyed this bath. The bath ball also has a scent of florida grapefruit so maybe that was why! Who knows, I still loved it and would definitely but it again, if just for the beautiful colours and the swirls.

You can pick up this bath ball for £3.95, I'd definitely recommend popping in to the store if you can as it's so beautiful. And then accidentally picking up the rest of the store contents....which is exactly what I do!

Have you tried the Miami Bath Ball? What were your thoughts? Have you got a favourite so far?

L xxx