The 5 best budget beauty buys: From & Other Stories to the Bodyshop

Rebecca Gonsalves injects a bit of fun and frivolity into the glummest month of the year

Blusher in Dimity pink, £10, & Other Stories, stories.com ( )

Well that's that for another year – the fizz of the festivities has finally gone flat and the season of splurging is truly done and dusted. Pats on the back to one and all for making it through the first week back at work – only another 40-something till we get ready to do it all again. I can't be alone in feeling that anything worth getting excited about seems a long way off. As does pay day.

I'll try not to reach peak Eeyore here, but it's tricky not to feel down in the dumps at this time of year. I'm drained – physically from the social to-ing and fro-ing of the past month, and financially from the very same. Retail therapy may not always be the answer, and indeed might be the last thing you fancy after shopping till dropping in December, but, for me, the smallest of beauty buys is just enough to inject a bit of fun and frivolity into the glummest month of the year. And happily, the high street is ready and waiting to come to my rescue with cheap and cheerful choices aplenty.

Custom concealer trio

£7.99, H&M, hm.com

Hide dark circles or post-party pimples by blending these three shades of concealer in order to get the best match possible for your skin tone.

Blusher in Dimity pink

£10, & Other Stories, stories.com

My winter-worried skin looks as dull as I feel at the moment, but a sweep of colour on the cheeks can brighten my mood as well as my face.

Absolute quench intense replenishment mask

£6.99, Dove, boots.com

If you can't afford a trip to the salon, make do with this wash-out mask . Designed for curly hair, it will help tame wild and windswept locks.

Shade adjusting drops

£10, bodyshop.com

If a winter wash-out means your favourite foundation is now too dark, add a drop or two to lighten it without thinning it or changing the coverage.

Complete lasting nail polish in 167 Peach Melba

£2.99, B., superdrug.com

If you're tired of autumnal shades and need a break from the glitter, opt for a punchy pastel – the perfect pick-me-up.