I don’t know about you but I find taking my make-up brushes anywhere is a right pain in the arse. The handles are so long…unless I organise my cosmetics bag in a certain way they will be poking out and I can’t zip the ruddy thing up.

I’ve not been living under a rock or anything, I know there are some shorter handled more portable sets around, I used to have a travel collection from MAC myself a few years ago. But they were spendy. And limited edition. The handles were not actually that short and I only ever used 3 out of the 5 pieces which seemed a waste.

You’ve probably read my reviews on brushes by Real Techniques before – they are amazing quality and super value, I have several…surprise! But I only discovered this mini mini set a few weeks ago. They are so portable and so useable I could throw a party simply to celebrate their existence. The actual “brush head” aspect are smaller than usual but I have found this actually offers more precision, I use the “foundation” brush to apply concealer, the “face” brush to apply blusher (I “pull” it across my cheekbone and blend – it’s the perfect size/shape) and the eyeshadow brush for um…eyeshadow! I use it to apply colour to the upper lid and highlight underneath the lower lid too.

Well you said you wanted bargain beauty recommendations so here’s my latest folks, three amazing perfectly travel friendly brushes for under a tenner. You can buy yours at Boots.

What are your travel favourites?

Have you noticed you can purchase mini versions of more high end mascaras recently? I think it’s a fab idea, a much smaller investment to make to ensure you actually like something.

Also if anyone can recommend a smallish but with pockets/well designed make-up bag that is easy-ish to keep clean I will love you forever!