My All-Time Favourite Products for Trichotillomania

The 5 Products That I Just Can't Live Without

It used to be a regular question thrown about in Twitter chats amongst beauty bloggers; if you were stranded on a desert island, which beauty product would you take with you? For most (including myself), it would be extremely difficult to narrow it down to just one product. However, while I'm a sucker for buying into all the new make-up launches under the sun, I still have my set few products which I always end up returning to. It's these products, the ones that you find yourself re-purchasing over and over again, which are the ones you'll find that you just cannot live without. Here are the five products that I never want to see leaving my side...

Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner: The First Eyeliner I Ever Used (And Still Love To This Day)

I have acquired quite a collection of eyeliners over the years as I've relentlessly splashed my cash in search for the best product to give me that faultless, bold, dark cat flick look. From felt tip liners, to gel formulas such as Benefit's They're Real, while many have become dearly loved, none have surpassed my adoration for this budget, basic eyeliner. Collection are fantastic for dupes, trying out something a bit different without burning a hole in your pocket, and just discovering some bloody good bargain products. Their Fast Stroke liquid eyeliner definitely falls into this last category; despite searching high and low for another product to rival it, I always come running back to this beautiful work of art.

Dupe Alert! Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner

Everyone loves a dupe! Collection is a great brand for finding inexpensive versions of cult products, without the price tag reflecting the quality. I have been a religious user of their Fast Stroke liner since I started wearing liquid eyeliner- it's one of the only products I've ever totally sworn by. When I was browsing the aisles of Superdrug the other day, I saw this felt tip style eyeliner, and given my love for their other liquid counterpart, thought I'd give it a whirl. It was love at first use, and rivals my beloved Soap and Glory Supercat eyeliner!

Get Glowing! 3 Must-Have Highlighters That'll Leave You Looking Radiant (Without Breaking The Bank)

Highlighters can often provide those finishing touches to a make-up look. Much like a slick of red lipstick or a dusting of blusher, highlighter can make the world of difference to your face. A touch of the shimmery goodness along the tops of your cheekbones, down the bridge of your nose, the inner corners of your eye and underneath the brow bone can help your features stand out and make your face look a bit more 3D. Using highlighter during the summer months can provide that extra sheen to add to your natural radiance, giving a little bit of glow to your complexion. I love the benefits of using highlighters so much that I never feel like my make-up is complete without one, so I've compiled my three must-have high-street highlighters to get you looking fabulous.

Winging It: Four Best High-Street Eyeliners For The Perfect Cat Flick

It's that timeless look that exudes chic, but one of the most difficult make-up skills to master. Winged liner takes a lot of practise, but when you get it right can bring together a whole beauty look with a simple flick. To make the classic look far easier to conquer, I've picked out my top 4 best liquid and gel liners which will get you looking fantastically feline in a flash.

Over-hyped Products #1: Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

I recently purchased the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer after every beauty blogger and their dog/cat told me how great it was. Naturally, I was dying to try it out. After finally hunting it down in the fairest shade possible (just call me Casper the ghost), I was certain this was going to change my life and become an essential in my daily beauty routine. But did it live up to the hoo-ha that was created around it?

Collection 2000 Gel Eyeliner

Having tried, loved, and then lost my Maybelline black gel eyeliner, I was desperate to try another one. My usual make-up routine consists of subtly winged liquid eyeliner, and when I'm feeling lazy, a little bit of kohl does the trick. However, I often find liquid eyeliner wings flake away, while kohl is far too easy to smudge off for my liking. I picked up this Collection 2000 Lasting Colour gel liner as part of a 3 for 2 offer in Boots recently, and it has since revolutionised my eye make-up routine.

The bashed up Collection 2000 box

Sweet As A Strawberry

Despite the sun's last minute appearance, it's nearing the end of the summer holidays. People will be coming back from their holidays, waving goodbye to most things Olympic and trotting back to school or university. This summer has been a rather patriotic one, from the Jubilee, London hosting the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics to the usual Wimbledon fun, and the nation has got to celebrate all things British.

Whether it be the Union Jack, cups of tea or strawberries and cream, this summer has been one of celebrating and embracing all those British stereotypes- even the 19th century top hat and monocle combination made an appearance in the Olympic opening ceremony!

In a last grasp attempt to relive this summer before I carry my many boxes full of stuff down to the University of Sussex and up the massive hill on which I will be living (hurrah!), I tried out this bit of nail art in correspondence to the great Wimbledon stereotype- strawberries and cream. But without the cream.

Creampuff Lippy

As a self-confessed lipgloss/lipstick addict, I couldn't help stumbling across these beauties in the Collection [2000] (what do I call them now?!) stand. Although I promised myself not to buy any more as I have more than plenty at home, these lovely little Creampuff 'glosses magically appeared in my hand and I trotted off to the till.

Eye Sparkle

My make-up routine always consists of flicked liquid eyeliner, whether I'm just popping to the shops or going on a night out. I love the way it instantly makes your eyes stand out (especially when I'm wearing glasses), but have become a bit bored of the same look. Looking through my make-up draw, I found this glittery bottle of 2True Eyeliner Dazzlers in black that I'd never used, and seeing as I was going out with some friends that night, thought I'd try it out to cure my 'same-old-make-up' boredom.

Wild Thing

I *finally* bought a nail art pen recently, and with a girly holiday to Malia looming, I thought I needed a set of snazzy nails to jet off with so put it to good use. I've never been massively convinced by animal print nails, but attempted this gradient zebra print design just to try something new. I actually ended up loving it, maybe because the gradient effect of the blues underneath meant that I could tell myself it didn't look as tacky as it possibly could, but either way it's a really cool, vibrant design, making your nails dramatically stand out without being too over-the-top. Here's the how-to...