Beauty On The Go | What’s In My Mini Makeup Bag?

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done one of these types of post, so I felt like it was high time to welcome back a series of ‘What’s in my….’ 

Why? Simply because these are the posts and videos that I enjoy looking at myself the most. I honestly never seem to get bored of seeing what people carry around with them. 

I hope you feel the same way, and if you clicked on this post, it’s a fairly safe bet that you do!

We’re kicking off with a peek at my out-and-about makeup edit. Not that there’s currently all that much leaving the house, but I still keep the same makeup bag in my handbag, and then if I need to pop to the shops or on the school run quickly, there’s everything that I need to touch up. 

Some people are at one end of the spectrum where they only really carry a lip balm and a hand cream, others seem to take a huge amount  of product with them, including quite a few lipsticks!

I like to think I’m somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.

As one of life’s planners, I want to know that I have everything I need for a touch-up or even a full make-over with me, but I also don’t want to carry round lots of stuff. 

So I have what, to me, is quite a focused little edit of minis that travel around with me.

I keep it all in this quite small zipped pouch from Stella & Dot. It’s the perfect size for my ‘daily kit’ and can even slip into one of my smaller handbags.

Essential Tools

I keep a little selection of travel-sized makeup tools in here to help me get ready on the go. 

Firstly, a travel size of the BareMinerals Full Flawless Face Brush. I sort of use this one as a multipurpose brush to blend things in, because a lot of the products I carry are cream textures. 

I also carry a small curved brush, a mini angled liner brush, and a compact mirror all from Chanel. 

The curved brush is useful for applying blush and bronzer, while the angled brush can fill in my brows or wing out my liner. 

And of course the compact is an essential in case I’m doing my make-up somewhere without a mirror!

I also pack my Nano glass file from Precision Nail -  it's ideal because it comes in a little carry case to stop it damaging anything  - and one of my favourite Slip silk hair ties. 

As my fellow long-haired lovelies will know,  sometimes you just need it out of your face quickly. I really rate the Slip scrunchies as they hold in place perfectly but don’t damage the hair.  

My favourite Velour lash glue also comes with me, because I am that high maintenance bitch who wears eyelash extensions and you never know when you might need to do a bit of an emergency repair job! 

The On The Go Makeup

My on the go makeup bag has everything I need to do a complete look, so if for some reason I’m bare faced and I decide I need to put some warpaint on, I can do it all. 

I subscribe to a lot of beauty boxes, and it’s a great way to get mini versions of your favourite products. I’ve noticed that Boots has also started selling minis from Mac, Benefit, Smashbox and others by the till, so you can easily have a small version of whatever you need to hand.

I always carry a concealer because I often don’t wear foundation on a normal day, but I just need a little touch of something to cover my dark circles! 

Beauty Pie The Unbeatable Concealer Camouflage cover is pigmented enough to give coverage in a hurry, and thankfully doesn’t crease. I dot it wherever I need a little bit of help and blend it out with a brush.

Then I have a little travel pot, filled with the Trinny London Miracle Blur. This is an amazing product that acts like a powder to take down shine, disguise pores and fine lines, and just give a perfected appearance to the skin. 

You can pop it on top of foundation, but often I just wear it on bare skin with a bit of concealer and it's all I really need.

I purposefully don’t carry a tonne of different eye and lip products, and I very much just pack things which are multi-tasking. 

The Bobbi Brown Longwear Cream Colour Stick in Golden Pink can give me an instant eye look, but it also works as a highlighter if I feel my cheekbones need a little extra something. I mainly use this just at the inner corners of my eyes as it's a great way to fake looking more awake. This is a travel size.

I also carry the Rodial Eye Sculpt. The name doesn’t do this justice as it can do so many things. It's a very versatile medium brown mousse-to-powder product and I can use it as a shadow, an eyeliner, to do my brows and as a contour. It honestly saves me carrying around three or four other products! 

It’s very easy to layer because of the texture so you can either go for a very light wash of shade, or have it more intense for liner or brows. I couldn’t be without this now -  a true desert island essential. 

I also carry a mini of the Marc Jacobs Fine Liner Ultra Skinny Gel Eye Crayon in ‘Blacquer’. You never know when you might need a cat eye, and if I want to look ‘done’, eyeliner is a must for me. This travel size pen is the easiest, fuss-free way to get that on the go, and can be winged out beautifully using my slanted brush.

I’m not one for carrying a lot of different lip shades with me, so I choose to take just one lipstick that goes with whatever I might have on - and I also use it as a blusher. It’s a mini size of the KVD Studded Kiss lipstick in ‘Lovecraft’, a pretty, my-lips-but-better nude pink. Sometimes I apply it with my finger for a very sheer, natural looking lip or you can go bolder with it. 

I also take a tin of Vaseline Lip Therapy - this is is the ‘Soft Red Tint’ version in the Lulu Guinness tin. Dry, flaky lips are so nasty to me, so I wouldn’t leave without this. I also use it on my cuticles or dry elbows or knees, to tame my brows, as a cheekbone highlight,  and even to smooth the ends of my hair.

Another mini I always have with me is the Bumble and Bumble Pret A Powder. It’s equal parts dry shampoo, volumiser and style extender, so it’s just useful when my hair looks flat and lifeless.

Finally, smelling good is also important, so I always have either a perfume mini or my Travalo Milano atomiser with me. Nothing changes a mood as quickly as fragrance after all. Currently, I have some of the Tom Ford Soleil Blanc in a travel size - a beautiful daytime scent that reminds me of visits to the beach.

And there you have it, my small but perfectly formed favourites! What do you carry around with you?