Drugstores are like a treasure trove for make up and beauty addicts, so much to see, so much to try, so much too buy. I’ve lost count of the amount of times these (often impulse) purchases turned out to be big time busts, but sometimes, every once in a blue moon, some of the products really rock.

Christmas is over, time to watch the pennies now, so forget Armani, Chanel, NARS and  Charlotte Tilbury, here are my latest drugstore delights. Bourjois is offering some serious lip power these days, and the Rouge Edition Velvet in Personne Ne Rouge and Peach Club have been gracing my lips most days. Velvet-y matte,  deliciously pigmented and glides on like a gloss but longlasting as only a lipstick can be (thoroughly tested on cocktail night with the ladies!). Framboise, Ole Flamingo and Nude-Ist, I’m coming for you! On those days that a softer slick of shine with not too much colour is wat I’m looking for, the Bourjois Shine Edition Lipstick in Grenade-in is just perfect! A deeper, darker red without being too berry or purple tinted, and not too dark so that I don’t look like Lorde doing her best rendition of Royals.

Lips covered, over to the eyes! I have more eyeshadows than you can shake a stick at, but Maybelline did a cracker job with the Color Tattoo Eyeshadows Leather! I scored Creamy Beige and Chocolate Suede and many of my higher end cream stick shadows have been gathering dust in their drawer  ever since. Creamy to the touch, easily blendable and buildable, extremely combinable and longer lasting power than Leonardo DiCaprio on the Titanic, is there such a thing as a quadruple win? To top it off, I also got the L’Oréal Color Riche in Little Beige Dress for those days where I just don’t have the energy to create an eyelook so complicated it’s the equivalent of a 5 course meal. So high tech it’s a gel eyeshadow combusted in a powder, so pigmented a single wash will suffice for an entire day. My kind of lazy-day make up!

Last discovery was not really a discover, I must admit. The moment it was announced that the Real Techniques brushes were finally available in a Belgian drugstore,  a lot of What’s App-ing took place with some fellow beauty bloggers, and recommendations were exchanged. The Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge was the one that stood out most, so next free moment, I went hunting for this orange miracle worker. I haven’t regretted it for a moment, once you get over the 70’s kind of colour, you’ll find that it applies almost any kind of foundation without traces, and with a very natural finish. When spritzed with a little bit of thermal water, even the most stubborn face coverage can’t resist (looking at you Erno Laszlo Absolute Finish Foundation!)

What are your drugstore delights? Anything I should give a try?