Louise McSharry: High-performing makeup staples that won’t break the bank

I popped into my local Boots recently to grab a click-and-collect order, and found myself awash with nostalgia. I was with my youngest son, who is nearly four, and suddenly had a flashback to when his older brother was a baby. It was a very difficult time. I struggled intensely to adjust to motherhood, and felt more alone than any other time I can remember. I had been led to believe motherhood was a love bubble, a time when you felt overwhelmed with good fortune. Instead, I felt like a total failure. I felt like such a failure that I couldn’t even say it out loud, such was my fear of other people’s judgment. If other people knew I didn’t feel the right way, then they’d know I was a bad mother, which was too much to even think about. Instead, I felt like a bad mother all by myself.

spent my days alone with my son, doing my best to do the right things at the right times, and seeking joy in the tiniest ways. One such way was a wander around Boots. I remember thinking the staff would think I was mad, such was the regularity of my visits. I mean, I was a bit mad at the time. Still, I went back time and time again to gaze lovingly upon the shelves of beauty products, admiring the items I already knew and adored, and wondering if perhaps there might be something new to get excited about. It soothed me.