Handbag Heroes

First of all, please excuse the beaten up look of most of these products. As you can see from the title, these trusty essentials spend a lot of time knocking around in the depths of my normally huge handbags. I do usually try to keep what I fill those bags with to a minimum, which doesn't involve bringing my whole make up bag with me so here are the the products that I nearly always have a place for, be it for their multitasking abilities or wearable colour.
Starting with one of my most used lip products ever - a M.A.C Lipstick in the shade Honey Love. I can't remember if this has been mentioned on here before, but its a slightly warm toned, matte nude. Which really doesn't sound all that special, but it is. The thick creaminess of the formula seems to have the ability to make your lips look full and flawless, and the shade has proven wearable with any make up look.
Annoyingly, all my favourite foundations seem to be housed in beautiful, but impractical glass packaging. For this reason I don't often bring them out with me, so this Maybelline The Eraser Concealer fills in when I'm on the go. The medium, radiant coverage is just enough to top up those dark circles throughout the day or to take the edge off a bright red blemish.
The By Terry Cellularose Blush Glacé's are beautiful, glowing gel blushers that I find also work well on the lips. The shade Frozen Petal is the best at perking up tired, dull looking skin when your out and about and creating a moisturised sheen of colour for the lips.
I always carry perfume with me, as I like to smell the fragrance on myself so I do tend to top up through the day. Stella by Stella McCartney is a floral scent with a top note of Rose, but still smells really fresh and light. I love this tiny little 30ml as its perfect to throw in your handbag.

5 things to buy at the Drugstore

While I love my high end products, my bank balance most certainly does not so its great when I find affordable products that I really, really love. Some cosmetics, such as Mascara make far more sense to get cheaply, especially as they dry out within a couple of weeks. I love Maybelline's Mascara offerings, they have such a huge range now and while I'm not one for excessive marketing and brightly coloured, garish packaging - they really do get the job done. My pick would be the Volum' Express The Collossal Mascara, although targeted at volumizing the lashes this formula is a great all rounder, lenghening lashes and holding curl. I currently have the waterproof version, which really doesn't budge until it meets a balm cleanser or oil based make up remover.

The Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation has been a solid favourite of mine since its release years ago, I love a glowy finish and the light reflecting particles in this base lift your complexion creating the look of really healthy skin. I find this quite comparable to my much loved Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer, it offers the same sort of finish but with a little more coverage.
One thing that I hate spending money on is expensive hair styling products especially as I get through them so quickly. The Charles Worthington Texturising Spray is a pretty good dupe for the renowned Oribe Dry Texturising Spray, but for a fraction of the price. This adds volume and texture to freshly washed, uncooperative hair and helps to keep your style in place as well.
I love my Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils but the Maybelline Colour Drama Lip Pencils are a great alternative. These pencils are creamy, pigmented and long lasting and come in some lovely shades. I can't live without Fab Orange - a bright orange red, or Nude Perfection which is a Tawny Nude shade.
Great skincare can be difficult to find on a budget, but one brand that has always impressed me has been the Superfacialist by Una Brennan range at boots. I have been using the Vitamin C+ Glow Boost Serum every morning for the last few months and my skin looks noticeably brighter and happier. I've tried a few other bits from the range as well like the Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil which is a lovely first cleanse, and my Mum swears by the Super Lift Night Cream.

Favourite Discoveries Of 2014

While it seems that 2014 has been the quickest year ever, I feel that I have made some great discoveries this year and there have been some products that I have been using pretty consistently throughout. Doing Christmas on a student budget doesn't exactly leave much to spare, so I haven't tried many new products through the month of December and so I thought it might be more appropriate to show some of my stand out finds from 2014, instead of my December favourites.

Xen Tan's Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe is a product that I had tried before the beginning of the year but as much as I loved the moisturising finish and olive toned colour, I just didn't feel that the tan it left behind was as dark as what I was used to. It was this year I discovered that applying this on two consecutive days, leaves you with the most perfect dark tan that lasts almost a full week. For me thats pretty amazing, as my incredibly dry skin seems to just repel tan after a couple of days, leaving me patchy with the urge to run home and scrub myself. I do think that this tan is very pricey, and for that reason I do have some others on rotation, but nothing else quite measures up. 

I have fairly sensitive skin, so never got on very well with typical 'gritty' exfoliators, but this year I have loved using chemical exfoliants on my skin. The Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Brightening Toner is lovely, I use this every other evening and it helps to keep my skin looking bright, feeling smooth and tackling any dry patches. 

I won't go on about this one too much as I know I have already mentioned it multiple times on here, but the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation is what has been on my face for the majority of the year. The coverage can be taken from a natural wash of colour to a full coverage foundation that really does make you look healthy and glowing, and the lack of SPF and great lasting power make it perfect for evenings too.

I have never been happy with my naturally sparse, thin brows and always felt that Brow Pencil and Powder start to look un natural when you are wanting to actually alter the shape of your brow. Discovering the Anastasia DipBrow Pomade has made me so much happier with the look of my eyebrows, as with a little angled brush (MAC's 208 does it for me) you can draw on tiny individual hairs and create the look of a thicker, defined brow. The product is also waterproof so you don't have to worry about it going anywhere, or touching up throughout the day. 

The By Terry Celluarose Blush Glacés are one of the most unique products I have tried this year, and they are the blushes that I turn to whenever my skin is looking dull or lacklustre. These have a watery consistency that once blended in look like a natural flush, and the glowy finish makes you look instantly healthy. 

2014 has been the year that I have really gotten into bold lipsticks, and have been loving matte liquid lipsticks in particular. I love the formula of the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets, and 01 is the red lip choice that I have reached for most over the year. Its a very flattering, slightly darkened red on me and the lasting power makes it perfect for dinner or a night out. 

The Maybelline Forever Strong Super Stay Gel Colours are in my opinion the best nail varnishes available in the drugstore, these things combine some serious staying power power with a beautiful formula and shade range, meaning I have built up quite a collection over the year. 

Lastly, a bit of a strange one thrown in - but I have been using the Rapidlash Eyelash Enhancing Serum on and off throughout 2014, and I really can see a difference in the appearance of my lashes and brows. After consistent use for a month or two my lashes look longer, thicker and healthier and I am certain my brows have slightly more going on than they used too. I think this may have gone up in price from when I purchased it a year ago but it is definitely something thats worth looking at if you are unhappy with your lashes, or possibly need to get them back in a better condition following lash extensions. 

I hope you enjoyed this little round up of my top picks from the year, I chose to do this over a full 2014 Favourites as I wanted to just show the bits that have really stood out, and for some categories such as Mascara I have chopped and changed so much throughout the year that I don't feel I could pick just one! What are your some of your favourites from this year? Let me know! 

Current Nail Picks

Apart from a good old Coral or Orangey red shade, I much prefer Autumn/Winters colour palette. I've noticed there are some lovely nail colours around in the drugstore at the moment and the formulas are pretty great too. Starting off with the Maybelline Super Stay 7 days Gel Colour in Nude Rose. 

The Super Stay Polishes are one of my all time favourite nail colours, they really do last a week and have a great range of pretty, wearable colours. This shade in particular is a gorgeous muted rose shade, perfect if you want to wear colour but are not a fan of brights.

 Next up is the Rimmel Lasting Finish Nail Polish in Get in While its Hot. I applied this when I had just done my weekly tan routine, and fell in love. It really is a 'tan' beige colour so it looks like the perfect nude on a tanned complexion. I think this is a really original shade as it is a much darker nude than many you see available. I know it is as long lasting as its name suggests, as it was still my nails at the end of the week when my tan was fading away. I did remove it at this point though as this shade is not nearly as flattering when your pale!

 The Maybelline Colour Show Polishes really are a steal at just £2.99. They have loads of lovely shades including 'Downtown Red' which is a pretty darkened red that I have been wearing non stop recently!

 And finally, the most expensive of these offerings is 'Sole Mate' by Essie. A gorgeous deep Plum, I love the vampy, wintery look this creates. This varnish also has an amazing shine to it, so you could go without a top coat if you wanted.