This is a little list of some of my favourite products in the make-up & skincare department right now. I always enjoy seeing posts like this on other blogs, so I thought, why not! 

Before I continue, let me just say that apart from being a girl, who uses make-up on a daily basis, I'm no expert when it comes to beauty, but I'm always keen to try something new and love finding new favourites to add to my daily routine.

Back to this list! These are products that I use every day or at least very regularly - needless to say, I'm very happy with them all - they wouldn't be on this list if that wasn't the case. These are also all quite budget-friendly - another feature that I look for in a product.

From left to right, top row first...

1. I love... mango & papaya super soft hand lotion - my great friend, Linda, gave this to me for Christmas, along some other wonderful products. Linda is like a walking encyclopedia on all things beauty - she's the best with this kind of thing! I'm trying to convince her to start up a beauty blog... watch this space.... like all the products Linda has recommended to me, this is amazing. It smells delicious, seriously, and does a great job of moisturising my often-dry and tired fingers. I keep in my handbag and often slap some on while working away.

2. Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Pink Frosting - I bought this a couple of months ago and have been using it just about every day since! It feels like a marshmallow and adds a lovely shade of pink to the cheeks.

3. Nivea Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream - I started noticing fine lines around my eyes late last year - I think they're a due to a combination of allergies (too much eye-rubbing) and stress / late nights. So I looked for a solution and found this... I've been using it morning & evening and although I still have dark circles, the fine lines seem much better. But let's face it, I think I'm probably destined to permanent dark circles, but I can live with that!

4. Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Elusive - I bought this one last week and am so glad I did - long lasting, pretty colour - the only thing that bothers me is that it can dry out your lips a bit, but nothing major. I'm not a big fan of lipgloss, so this is a great alternative - I feel very "grown-up" when wearing it - definitely will be buying some other colours in the range.

5. Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes Mascara - another Maybelline product! I'm really impressed with this one. Use it every day - no flaking or clumping and the "heart-shaped" brush is easy to use - even for a clumsy hand like mine!

6. Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E - a firm favourite with beauty editors everywhere - and I can totally see why! Another recent purchase, I bought the travel size just to test it out and needless to say, I'll be buying the full size soon. Smells like chocolate!

7. Garnier Minerals BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector for Combination to Oily Skin - this was another one of Linda's recommendations - and a winner in my book! I'd tried the original Garnier BB Cream previously and wasn't too thrilled - it made my skin way too oily and I didn't feel that it provided enough coverage - so I went back to using a normal foundation - until I tried this. I now use this every day and my skin has never felt better!

Phew! That was a long post! But I'm definitely going to so another soon - this is definitely not the full list of my favourite beauty items... watch this space!