Party season is in full swing and last Friday saw me pop on my glad rags for my one and only festive knees up this year. I’ve never been on to splash out and invest in expensive clothes, shoes or makeup for a night out but at the same time I do want something that’ll go the distance. This year I sported a £10 playsuit and £5 jacket from Primark as well as my pewter boots from New Look (now half price). My makeup came courtesy of my friends at Essence who sent over a few new pieces for me to try out- despite their purse friendly prices the products in this post impressed me enough to make it to the top of my party makeup list and were still going strong long after I left the dance floor.

Up until the package had arrived I’d actually been struggling to find exactly the colour eyeshadow I wanted to wear so it was fortuitous that the metals eyeshadow in shade 02 frozen toffee (£2) was exactly what I’d had in mind. This is a gorgeous frosted brown that blends beautifully, the colour payoff is amazing and it didn’t crease or fade at all which is frankly amazing for the price. I used this colour as a base before blending in a smokey grey pigment and finishing off with the extreme lasting eye pencil in shade 04 nighttime in the jungle (£2). Again this shows impressive longevity for the minuscule price tag and applies like a dream- no dragging or catching at all.

I’d already decided I wanted to go with a dark lip for the party and the long lasting lipstick in shade 21 très chic (£2.30) turned out to be perfect. Once again this is an essence product that lives up to it’s claims and unlike many long lasting lip products doesn’t suck all of the moisture out of your lips by half way through the night.

Finally a product that was completely new to me was the blush ball in shade 30 cinnamon candy (£3) which I used along with highlighter to give my skin a healthy glow. I love how portable this product is although I did find it a little harsh when applied directly so used my soft blusher brush for a gentler approach. It’s a lovely way to package a product though and the colour creates a warm glow for pale winter skin.

After getting caught up in the party prep madness I didn’t actually manage to get a decent photo of the end result…but you kind of get the idea from this shameless instagram selfie right?

Are you all partied out yet? What are some of your favourite budget party makeup pieces?