Best Contour Shade For Pale Skin

If you're more on the pale side, like me, you may find it difficult to achieve a good contour with a bronzer. Most people do use a matte bronzer to contour their face, however if you're pale this can look too dark, too orangey or be hard to blend into a more subtle look. I have found a product that's absolutely perfect for getting that contoured look on pale skin, let me introduce you to NYX Blush in Taupe. 

Yes, this shade is marketed as a blush, but it's quite a cool toned, matte, ashy brown with slight hints of an almost purply colour - which is actually much better to contour with than most bronzers as it will help you achieve that shadow effect much more successfully.
I'm a big fan of the formulation of NYX blushes, they're soft, easy to blend, well pigmented, long lasting and very inexpensive. This shade didn't disappoint at all, and lived up to my expectations.
Since getting this product I haven't used anything else to contour with! I just find that Taupe gives me the most natural shadow under my cheekbone, creating the illusion of more defined features and slimming my face - I use the Real Techniques Blush brush to apply it in the hollows of my cheeks, or the contour brush for a more defined look. The shade doesn't look at look orange, it's not too dark, it can be sheered out or build up so if you want it for a daytime look or you're going all out for a night look then it'll work brilliantly and it lasts a long time. Another thing that I give a massive thumbs up to is the fact is fades so evenly, some bronzers I used to use for contouring faded quite patchy or moved around on the skin - very annoying! This blush shade doesn't do that at all, the colour will just naturally fade away.
The packaging isn't my favourite…I always wish they had little mirrors in, or weren't that quite cheap feeling plastic, however at the price of £6 (NYX website, not including shipping - or try Amazon) I don't expect the packaging to be really fancy, especially since the product inside is of such a high quality.

So, if you're a pale skinned girl I'd definitely recommend trying this product. You'll never have to worry about being too heavy handed, looking too orange or like you have a massive streak down your face.

Spring Blushes - NYX

Officially Spring doesn't begin for another couple of weeks, but the weather is getting a bit sunnier and there's a definite feeling of Spring in the air. I feel like Spring is the season for pink blush, I tend to go for more coral or peach in the summer but pink is the perfect transition for Spring.
NYX do some really brilliant and affordable blushes in a huge shade range, I thought I'd share two of them with you that I'll be using this season.

Cream blush in Natural

Powder blush in Peach

The first is a cream blush in the shade 'Natural' (£5.50). I nearly always opt for powder blushes, I just prefer them a lot more but this blush is really gorgeous. It's a really natural colour like the name suggests, it looks darker in the pan than it is when it's all blended into the skin, and it gives a beautiful glow. I thought this might be difficult to apply but I found it surprisingly easy - the best way is to blend it in with your fingers. As it's a cream formula it isn't super long lasting, I'd say it lasts for around 4 hours on it's on, but if you powder a bit over the top it'll last that bit longer.
The second blush is a powder in the shade 'Peach' (£6)….I have no idea what NYX were thinking when they named this product as it's not a peach shade at all, it's a cool toned medium baby pink. Normally cool toned blushes don't look good on me at all, but I find Peach really suits me and gives me a natural glow without any shimmer. It can be sheered out for a subtle wash of colour, or built up for a more intense look. The formulation of this blush is amazing, very pigmented, easy to blend, feels nice and silky and lasts a good 7 hours on the cheeks.
Both blushes are packaged well, nothing outstanding but for the price I didn't expect anything fancy.

Cream blush in Natural (LEFT)
Powder blush in Peach (RIGHT)

I'd highly recommend checking NYX blushes out! They're brilliant quality for the money and the shade range is so vast there'll be something for everyone.
Unfortunately they're a US brand but you can buy them from their UK website or Amazon.

What's your favourite Spring blush?

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