Since this is our handbag essentials feature we thought that it would be appropriate to add the most essential item that any girl could ever want to be carrying with her, whether it’s in her handbag or not, & that is the infamous & miraculous Yves Saint Laurent touche eclat highlighter pen brush.

Now I’m guessing that pretty much every girl in the World knows & has tried this fabulous little life saver, but just in case you haven’t here’s the low down.

The YSL touche eclat pen brush is a highlighter that uses “light reflective technology,” whatever that means, but who really cares – it works! You simply click the button at the end & apply to hide tired eyes, & shadows from your lips, nose, & chin.

The pen itself looks very stylish, & although it’s quite a small sized item it goes a long, long way & it will last you a good amount of time.

It’s available from almost any shop that sells beauty products, & if you haven’t tried it yet then you really should – it will make your life a whole lot easier when you’re not feeling your best & need a quick touch up.

It normally costs around £22, but we’ve found it at feelunique.com for just £15.90 including delivery

I don’t know if diamonds really are a girls best friend, but this Armani Diamond gift set could certainly become a very good chum – especially if it found it’s way under the Christmas tree (hint, hint).

It’s always useful to have a nicely sized perfume tucked away in your handbag for those little emergencies, & the reason that I decided to choose this particular fragrance is that I really like the bottle, which is compact, very tactile, & shaped like, well, a cut diamond of course.

There are lots of perfumes that come in fancy oddly shaped bottles, which aren’t always ideal for carrying in handbags, but although this one is of course styled to look like a diamond, it is quite simple & elegant & made from clear glass, which I find quite appealing.

It is also the perfect size & shape for keeping in your handbag.

Obviously perfumes & fragrances are a very personal thing, & you really do need to smell it to see if it’s your cup of tea, but I will, in the interests of our readers, try to describe the smell to you.

The best that I can come up with is to say that it’s a kind of fruity, flowery, woody smell, which I know sounds completely horrible, but thats honestly just a result of my poor writing skills – it does have a very pleasant & sensual odour & I will be wearing it regularly.

Armani Diamonds costs around £25 for a 30ml bottle, but I’m going to recommend the Armani Diamonds gift set which comes with the 30ml bottle, plus a 30ml shower gel & 30ml body lotion. You can get it from The Fragrance Shop for £29.99, which is about the right price but it also comes with free delivery.

This is another great & really useful handbag accessory from Marks & Spencer, and at just £12 we think that the autograph compact foundation is an absolute bargain too.

Leaving the actual foundation aside for a moment, the autograph compact itself looks very neat & really rather stylish, it shouldn’t be out of place in anyones handbag. The foundation is very easy to apply, can be applied as lightly or as fully as you like, & gives a pretty smooth and even finish, its perfect to have in your bag just in case you need it.

I know that I could go & spend a lot more money on other products that would give me a finish I felt happier with, and I have, but for something to keep at hand I think that you’d be hard pressed to find anything better at this kind of price, which really does make it a definite handbag essential as far as I’m concerned.

It’s available from Marks and Spencer at £12