Product of the day!

I think eyes serums should be used when you turn 30.

There's no point in whacking it on with a trowel when you are 45 and expect beautiful, bright, crease-free eyes.

So, I have tried loads over the years and this is one I love because it is potent!

It is Darphin Lifting et Anti Rides Contour Des Yeux. Really fabulous and this eye seurm does give very quick results.

The area around the eye appears firmer and smoother within a week or so and the skin seems somehow brighter.

So, voila! get yourself one now!

Product of the day!

Sleek Fish High Gloss Serum is my current favourite hair product. It is great for dry or damaged hair and makes your hair really shiny and yes, sleek.

I really love it and it is perfect if you blow dry your hair a fair bit, because you really need the extra gloss and protection from the heat.

Fish is a well-established and well-loved London salon and their products are fabulous - but I find them especially good for hair that needs a bit of extra loving.

Get yourself a bottle now!

Crowning Glory

Women are obsessed with hair.

It's what makes us feel good, or feel bad.

It's one of the first things another woman notices and one of the last things blokes notice about us.

When your hair is not in tip-top nick, it often means that something is not right in your life; health, stress, nutrition and happiness are all reflected in our hair.

I know of women who spend a lot of money keeping their tresses in a state of perpetual perfection.

One friend spends £100 every six weeks on a trim, £250 every eight weeks on a colour, has a professional blow-dry once a week, takes load of vitamins to keep her hair strong and uses only Phyto, Kerastase and Philip Kinglsey products in her hair. All that adds up to about four grand a year by my reckoning. She is very well off and is very lucky. But who of us can actually do that?

So do you have to be minted to keep your barnet in mint condition?

Of course you don't!

Here are a few of my favourite, and inexpensive, products:

Hair heroes

Pure Coconut are a great and very good value brand that are mainly available in Superdrug and Savers.

I have tried the shampoo and conditioner and I have to say I was impressed. the fragrance is not too strong but does last. Every so often during the day you'll get a hint the scent when you swish your hair about. The hair is shiny and tangle-free, but my hair can get a little bit oily at the crown and this is a bit too heavy formy hair. However, if you have slightly drier hair, I would honestly say this is a really great purchase and as products in the range are priced from £2 you can't really argue!

I like the range as whole though - the serum is great and they have a love little Glossing Spray which is perfect for finishing off a DIY blow-dry.

Colour me beautiful

Home hair colour is a tricky blighter for some. For a start there are masses of brands and loads of different ranges within each brand. Do you go permanent or semi or what? And how much should you spend?

Well, I can honestly say that one of my favourite home hair colour kits is from Avon. I cannot tell you enough how brilliant Avon is as a brand. Good value, good technology, good trends - love's!

So, I decided to give Avon Advance Techniques Professional Hair Colour, £2, a crack. I am really pleased I did.

The colour takes well and leaves hair very soft and glossy. It also lasts a good old while - of course it depends on how quickly your hair grows - the colour didn't fade for more than six weeks which I think is really great.

Masqued beauty

I know I have mentioned this before, but honestly, TreSemme Restructuring Deep Conditioning Masque is brilliant. if you hair is lacklustre and needs some extra loving, go out and buy your self a pot of this. It is extremely hydrating but not heavy so your hair has bounce and shone all at the same time. It styles a treat after using it too!

I don't use it every wash but I'm sure you could if your hair was very brittle and damaged, but I use mine once a week or if I have really out my hair throughout it I'll use it the morning after to give it a little mid-week boost. At £4.99 it is unquestionable value and is as good as a lot of the pricier products on the shelves.

So, they are a few of my budget beauty buys. Lots more to come over the next fee weeks!

Let me know your favourites! Get in touch at

editormybeautybagsecrets@gmail.com

or on Twitter

@beautybagsecret

Product of the day

I know I have told you this lots of times but I have sensitive skin.

It is prone to redness and very easily imbalanced. So I am always super careful with what I out on and also very curious as to what's out there that can keep it looking and feeling as good as possible.

So, when I tried Darphin Intral I was cautious but excited to see the results.

The serum is ideal for easily irritated skin or skin which can be red or blotchy. But anyone can use it as a skin booster and it is really superb on ageing skin.

I use it according to the instructions - quite sparingly. It feels very intense actually so three pumps is all you need.

I then apply it to my face, neck and décolletage (girls, always apply serums and moisturisers to this area as it is one of the first places we age) in upwards sweeping movements.

Skin feels better virtually immediately, but takes about a fortnight to actually look significantly better. I have a friend who has rosacea and after using this she says she's finally found some relief.

Now, this ain't cheap. It is £47 in from Darphin, Space NK or House of Fraser but you will be able to find it cheaper online. And really, if you have very dry skin or are really worried about ageing, this is a cracking product!

Product of the day!

Is there anything better than having long, white, strong beautiful nails? I don't know why but when I look down at my hands I just love that my nails always look good.

I am an obsessive nail painter (see blog post Hard as Nails 29th July 2011) and as a result your nails can suffer; yellowing, weakening, brittleness and so on, so you really need something to help them look good.

Which is where my Product of the Day comes in; Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Serum. Blimey, not only is it a mouthful, but it is also gobsmackingly good. if you want nails that grow really fast and want to see good results in a weekend, yes, a weekend, then this is the product for you too. This also seems to thicken the nail a bit too so they don't appear to be fine, see-through and weak-looking.

Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Serum is £9.95 and last a really long time. I use mine every weekend and each bottle lasts me a few months, so really good value, and given the results, I'd actually be prepared to pay more!

Dead cool!

Buying from a skincare range with the word dead in it doesn't evoke much confidence does it?

But when it comes to Ahava, you really should!

Ahava is a beauty brand from Israel and is based on the shores of the Dead Sea. We all remember from school that the Dead Sea is the saltiest stretch of water in the world which means that, yes you float and that nothing can grow in it. However, the plants which grow on the shoreline are extremely precious and unique as they are brimming with skin-enhancing minerals. Brilliant!

I've been trying out a few products in the range and have also given some to my friends to try out.

The brand has four main pillars: Time to Smooth, Time to Hydrate, Time to Clear, Time to Revitalise. So there really is something for every kind of skin-type and age. Ahava blend totally natural ingredients with some more techie scientific ingredients which together are very powerful.

I was expecting the creams to smell unpleasantly, knowing that the Dead Sea area has a strong stench of sulphur. But no, they are very light and sweet smelling, so all good there!

The Time to Hydrate range is very good indeed. it glides onto your skin effortlessly and quenches the skin. I felt that after a few days my skin seemed clearer - less tired-looking and generally healthier. I combined the Essential Day Moisturiser, £28, with the Essential Reviving Serum, £40, and my skin felt good all day long. Sometimes, my face feels like it needs a moisturising top up towards the end of the working day. not with these products!

A couple of friend tried Age Control Day Moisturiser, £42, Age Control Night Nourishment, £45, and the Age Control Intensive Serum, £45. The verdict was a resoundingly positive one! The products all contain SPF 15 which is good and the minerals in the creams can help protect against sun damage too. The serum gives the skin a real lift and helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles, while the moisturisers are very nourishing and so your skin looks fresher and more youthful.

While this isn't the most budget range on the market now, to be honest they do give your skin an extra zip, so I think well worth the money!

Old faithfuls!

Don't you just love it when you re-discover an old favourite, or a super classic that you forgot you had?

Well, that's happened to me this week. And not just once, but twice!

I stayed over at my friend's for a couple of nights last weekend, and very annoyingly forgot to bring my shampoo and conditioner.

You can't imagine how cheesed off I was.

My friend lent me her shampoo and conditioner - Herbal Essences Smooth and Soft for Dry/Damaged/Frizzy Hair, £3.36 each. I hadn't used this for an age, and we can all get a bit tied to our favourite products so wasn't sure how my hair was going to react.

Well, I needn't have worried!

First thing is the smell. Yummy. It actually made my mouth water, wrong I know, but I can't help it.

The lather was good too, and it didn't tangle up - this must be because of the botanical silk extract. The conditioner is excellent too - it is mixed with a serum so it smooths, detangles and tames. Brilliant!

I dried my hair to a silky, smooth and straight perfection. They have actually re-formulated the shampoo and conditioner and I must say I was so happy, it is now on my beauty shopping list!

The second moment of heart-stopping joy was when I was sorting out my perfume cupboard. Yes, I have a cupboard full to the brim of fragrance. My other half used to think it was quite over-the-top and slightly ridiculous that I needed an entire cupboard, but he's grown used to it now and doesn't shake his head in disbelief every time he walks in there.

Anyway, I was re-ordering it and came across a trusted friend - Chloe Eau de Toilette, £46. What a joy!

If you are not familiar with it, give it a go. It is floral, but not cloying. I think it is the mix of rose, freesia and iris that makes it soft rather than intense. I also like the hint of fruit in the scent, it's sort of summery, like your own ray of sunshine on a grim day!

Anyway, it's no longer at the back of my cupboard, no, it's now on my dressing table, ready to be spritzed on every morning!

Product of the day!

I cannot survive without Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate!

We all dream about having clear, bright, smooth and younger-looking skin don't we? Well, don't just dream about it at night, smear a dab of this on at night and you'll have it by morning!

I love this lightweight serum as your skin feels so refreshed and so luminous the next day and the feeling lasts all day.

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate is £36, which is a lot better value than most of the serums on the market and I really feel this is one the most effective and useful beauty tools.