June Birchbox

Birchbox £12.95*

Jelly Pong Pong Paradise Pigments £17.95

Percy & Reed Hairspray £12

James Read Overnight Tan Sleep Mask £25

Laura Mercier Soufflé Body Creme in Ambre Vanille £45

Absolution Le Nettoyant Purete £26 

This month's Birchbox is described as "a box of sunshine!" It definitely makes me feel like summer is on it's way, even if the current weather suggests otherwise! I was really impressed with the products in this box, it contained products from brands I have tried and loved before so it was nice to be able to try a few other products from these brands! I always find it handy to have a travel sized hairspray with me so I was excited to receive the Percy & Reed Hairspray, I really love their hair products so I love this! The fake tan I use is the James Read Tan however I don't use it on my face as I have very sensitive skin so I was happy to receive one specifically for the face. The best things about this is that it works overnight, so you can apply it, sleep and then wake up to a lovely glowy tan! My final favourite from this month's box is the Laura Mercier Soufflé Body Creme, I have wanted to try this for ages but the price has always put me off. This stuff smells incredible so I'm definitely going to use it to keep my dry skin in check!

What do you think of this month's box?  

How I Cover My Acne

I've had acne since the age of 13 which is when I first got into makeup, I spent so much money on different products and trying my best to hide it. I've gradually found the best ways to cover blemishes as well as scarring from previous breakouts too! To start I make sure I moisturise my skin, I then apply The NYX Pot Green Concealer on the areas of my skin that are red and blend it in slightly with my fingers. Over the top, with a damp Beauty Blender I apply my favourite foundation at the moment, the L'oreal Infallible 24 Hour. I love this foundation as it is full coverage and is perfect if you want your skin to look absolutely flawless, it also lasts really well on the skin and gives a nice matte finish. For large or hard to hide spots, I use the Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover Makeup to pinpoint conceal. Again, this is a brilliant product for hiding absolutely everything! Under my eyes, I use the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer, this really brightens the eye area, making me look a lot more awake. Occasionally I will contour my skin to give it a more sculpted look, I use the LA Girl Concealer in the shade Toast and then blend it out with my Beauty Blender again. As you can see from the 'after' photo, this did cling a bit to a dry patch on my skin and made a blemish look a little darker. So usually I would avoid it if I have blemishes in this area! To finish I apply the NYX HD Powder which sets my makeup perfectly all day and keeps it in place. I'm really happy with the products and the routine I currently have to cover my makeup, it's a nice mix of high end and drugstore products that work well together to hide my problem skin!

Benefit Watts Up Highligher

Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter £24.50

This highlighter was a product I had wanted to try for ages and when I had a gift card, I decided to go ahead and purchase it. I had always used powder highlighters previously so I was super excited to try something different. I adore this product, it's really easy to apply lightly and get a natural and radiant glow or also get a super dramatic highlight. I apply this with a flat foundation brush, personally I'm not a massive fan of the packaging, I don't think the sponge applicator on the other side of the highlighter works very well. I would prefer it if it came off and could be used to apply the product directly to the skin however because it is attached, it can only be used to sort of blend the product in once applied. As the product is fairly thick in consistency, it is difficult to blend once you have put it on your skin so having a removable sponge would be a lot better! However, apart from the packaging; I absolutely love this product. I find it the perfect colour, not too gold and not too silver but a perfect and natural mix of the two. This retails for £24.50 which may seem slightly steep however the product will last a long time as it is very pigmented and you only need a very small amount of product. 

Have you tried Watt's Up? 

New From NYX

 

I always love trying new products from NYX, I love how affordable the brand is while still having amazing quality products. I love the Soft Matte Lip Creams and already own my fair share of shades, I had seen the shade London on someone recently and fell in love with it. It's a pretty nude brown shade, it's quite similar to my natural lip colour so it's a lovely subtle lip colour to wear. I decided to try two of the Concealer Jars, the green and yellow colour correctors. I have a lot of redness on my skin from breakouts and around my nose so I have been using the green concealer to hide redness before I apply my foundation. These pot concealers are quite thick in formula which makes them good for hiding problem areas on the skin! The final products I bought were the Gel Liners in the shades Jet Black and Charlotte, I usually wear black gel liner however it can sometimes look too dark on me as I am quite fair. I bought the dark brown shade to create a less harsh winged liner, it works really well and I think the texture and consistency is my favourite of all the gel liners I have tried. They're really soft and creamy so apply nicely and it takes hardly any time at all to create a wing, which usually takes me a while! I have an obsession with NYX products and will definitely keep repurchasing new items to try, do you have any recommendations?