It has been rather a slow start to the year, beauty-wise; I talked at length (ish) about burnouts and brain freeze last month, but I shall recap briefly for those who missed it. In very simple terms, I suppose that I reached my limit with juggling work and moving house and trying to look after two very small children. Understandable, when I look at it from a more detached perspective (one that’s had more than three hours of sleep per night) but at the time, I felt as though the whole world was falling down around me.

And usually, in times of stress or minor crisis, I turn to beauty as my salve; tinkering with glass bottles soothes my overactive mind, swiping on lipsticks helps me to relax and tune out of the more problematic aspects of modern life. But to my great surprise, I couldn’t even bear to open a new lipstick, let alone put it on – new skincare launches lay unopened in the drawer, exciting new-fangled hair things gathered dust upon the bathroom shelf. Not only did I lack the time to be passionate about beauty (or, to be fair, anything at all other than keeping people alive), I lacked all motivation. My beauty bus, usually so reliable and punctual, ground to a halt.

But then, a shining light at the end of the tunnel, because I started to get some actual real sleep and in the mornings I was able to pay proper attention to my face and now, a few weeks later, I’ve started to delve into my beauty stash and pull out some new things to play with. My love for beauty (and this is very appropriate, it being Valentine’s Day) returns.

So brace yourselves for a run of in-depth foundation reviews and lighter-hearted lipstick features; I’m currently in a passionate, week-long embrace with my Makeup Launches Bag (huge, leopard print, weighs around six kilos) and my beauty jotter pad is almost full. If you’re wondering which delights I have upon my face in the photographs here, then the list is below. Full write-ups to follow, but I must say that it’s so far so very good with the new Dior foundation…

Lips: Tom Ford Boys & Girls in Scarlett 25. £29 here* – Max Factor Liner in Red Rush here*

Base: Dior Forever Undercover in shade 20. £34 here*

Eyes: Clarins Supra Volume Mascara in Brown. £22 here*

Bunny Ears: £10 from ASOS here*