Much to the delight of beauty junkies across the toon, NYX Cosmetics counters opened in Boots Eldon Square and Boots Metrocentre last month. You’ve probably heard about it already. I think I’ve done pretty well to hold out until now if I’m honest. I was in town for The Botanist event last week and got there early so I spent a good 30 minutes at the huge counter in Boots Eldon Square. After much deliberation I decided to get three items (I could have bought about 10 things).

I’ve never used anything from the NYX collection until now so I was excited to see what all the hype was about.  I picked the Angel Veil Skin Perfecting Primer, Soft Matte Lip Creme in shade ‘Stockholm’ and the Color Correcting Powder in shade ‘Banana’. I had originally picked up the compact version of the Color Correcting Powder but the sales assistant recommended I get the loose powder instead.

First, I’ll tell you about the primer. I’ve read that Angel Veil is meant to be a dupe for the Hourglasss Veil Mineral Primer but as I’ve not used either of these products before, I’m not going to be able to tell you any more about that. I’ve used primers in the past, I used to love Benefit’s Dr Feelgood but haven’t had one in my routine for absolutely ages. Angel Veil went on really nicely, it was instantly mattifying, I concentrated on my t-zone as that’s where I tend to get oily during the day.  I enjoyed the way my foundation looked once I’d applied it on top of the primer but a few hours in, I could definitely see a bit of oiliness around the nose although nowhere near as much as normal. My concealer didn’t crease at all and my foundation stayed in place nicely all day as did my blush. So all in all, for the price it’s pretty good. I’ll carry on using it, not entirely sure if I’ll repurchase.

Next up, the Soft Matte Lip Creme in shade Stockholm – I’d heard so many good things about these and I spent AGES picking this gorgeous peachy nude shade. I have a lot of mauvey pinks and I’m Velvet Teddy obsessed right now, so thought this would be a nice addition to my nude lip collection. The first time I applied it, it made my lips look really dry, which is a shame because I loved the shade, texture and how it smells.  The next time I used it, I prepped my lips first with a Lush Lip scrub then dabbed on my Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm. This application went a lot better, I liked how natural the shade was on my lips and it faded really well as the day went on – what I mean is, it didn’t look weird once it had started to wear off. I wish I loved it as much as I thought I would, I’d rather use the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet or the Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Colour (which I think these are similar to) as they’re much easier to wear.

The Color Correcting Powders come in three shades, Banana, Lavender and Green. The Banana shade is for brightening and diminishing redness, winner! The sales assistant also told me the Banana was great for Asian skin tones. I’ve always wanted to try the Ben Nye Banana Powder after learning it was a Kim K staple and this looks really similar in terms of shade and how I imagine the texture to be (I’ve seen them swatched side by side). I applied the powder once I’d finished applying and blending my foundation and concealer, it really did brighten my skin, I like how lightweight and fine it is too.

Here’s a picture of me wearing allll of the makeup. I tried to take the picture using my big camera but couldn’t locate the tripod so here’s a selfie!

Other makeup I’m wearing: Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, Nars Creamy Concealer, Max Factor Masterpiece Transform Mascara, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette, Benefit High Beam.

Have you tried anything from the NYX collection? What are your must-haves?