What's in my Makeup Bag: Travel Edition

Hello again blog friends!

Have I got a treat in store for you today?! It's no secret that when my boyfriend is not visiting me in Bristol for the weekend I am usually up visiting him which is a whopping five hour journey. The things we do... but he's an alright lad so I suppose it's OK. Anyhow, as you can imagine this does create a bit of a packing palaver, especially when you're as into your makeup as I am! I have, however, over this year learned to condense the amount that I bring to something a little more reasonable (well, by my definition anyway). So my lovelies, I thought that I would give you a sneak peek into what I brought along with me to Edinburgh when we went away the other weekend. Please bear in mind that these are purely the makeup bits and pieces - no haircare, skincare or makeup brushes here. Anyhoo, away we go!

First thing's first, the makeup bag. This was a gift from my parents after my very first few GCSEs four years ago (what??!). In case you hadn't guessed I can be a little ditsy sometimes which is why they picked it for me, but it's my most used makeup bag because it's got a fair old bit of space in there with a couple of pockets for smaller bits and pieces like hair ties. There's also a zip pocket on the side with some slots for brushes which is perfect, but I'm afraid I couldn't tell you where you could buy this as I got it so long ago! The second thing that I tend to take with me on almost every trip is my Z Palette. Z Palettes are really nifty magnetic cases with a clear top that you can use to make your own custom palettes, I love them because you can mix and match any magnetised panned product, be it a blush or an eyeshadow. I picked this one up at IMATs a couple of years ago and plan to give it a post of it's own later this year when I've picked up a few more! As you can see, I had a range of Mac eyeshadows with me and I even popped a cheeky bright blush in there.

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in 'Mont Blanc' • Nars Illuminator in 'Copacabana' • Benefit Hula Bronzer • Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in 'Fair 1' • Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in 'Peach' • Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in '100 Ivory' • Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in 'Rose' • Mac Mineralise Skinfinish Natural in 'Light'

I always have to pick my face products very carefully when I travel - I took my two favourite foundations: the Rimmel for daytime and Nars for a special evening out. Both are medium coverage but the perfect glow that Nars Sheer glow gives me means I only really pull it out on special occasions. Cheap it most certainly is not. My blushes/highlighters etc. that I take away with me always depend on what I'm loving at the time. I picked the Maybelline creme blush (full review here) for the lovely sheen and peachy flush of colour that it gives me. It's the perfect minimalist product for daytime. Although both are also gorgeous for daytime too, I only used my Nars Illuminator (full review here) and the Shimmer Brick in the evening time for a candlelight-glow sort of look. I usually reserve my bronzer for night time use too - I don't like to use too much powder on my skin, so I tend to use this just for a bit of contour after slightly setting my makeup with a bit of my Mac powder if I'm going out. I'm sure that my Collection 2000 concealer does not need much introduction - I go on about it enough! It's perfect for blemishes and/or under-eye circles.

Nivea Pearl and Shine Lip-balm • YSL Rouge Volupte in '1 Nude Beige' • Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Pencil • Inglot Lipstick in 173 • Mac Lipstick in Patisserie • Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in 'Intense Black' • Lancome Juicy Tube in 'Lychee 19' • Benefit They're Real Mascara • Mac Paint Pot in 'Painterly' • Stila Lipglaze in 'Jingle CX'

As I had a few eyeshadow options in my Z Palette I didn't take too many other eye products. I always take my gel liner in case we go somewhere special in the evening and I fancy doing my makeup nicely, I can hardly ever be bothered to do any liner during the daytime. The only exception to this is my Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes pencil. Mine is in a bronzey/gold colour which really brings out blue eyes, but to be honest would suit any eye colour. It's not too harsh for daytime so I often wear this on my lower lash line, or even in my waterline. It also compliments the sort of smokey gold makeup I like to wear at nighttime and can even be used like a crayon to create a base. It really is a great all-round product and I take it with me almost anywhere I travel. I also took along my Painterly Paint Pot for when I wanted a more natural base, although I've had it for so long that you can see it's starting to dry up a bit. I'm sure that you've all read plenty about the mascara, it was my favourite at the time but it's starting to get clumpy. I hate how quickly you have to change up your mascara!

I brought a few lip products along with me: the Nivea lip balm has a pink tint to it that I really enjoy wearing when I want to feel fresh-faced and as if I'm not wearing any makeup at all. Patisserie by Mac is another great shade for this which you can read more about here. I didn't really wear either lipglosses over the weekend as I'm not often in the mood for them, but I wanted a range of options for colour while I was there. The top lip products of the weekend would have to be my YSL Rouge Volupte and Inglot lipstick both of which I fell back in love with while I was in Edinburgh. I wore the YSL lipstick on a night out and I just love the creamy texture and how it looked on me alongside the rest of my makeup, even in pictures. The Inglot is more of a golden pink than the beigey tone of the YSL and I felt like it really brightened up my makeup. I think the gold in it looked really great with my tan that weekend.

I suppose then, folks, that that's about it. I hope that you have enjoyed this and if you have any questions or want to see more posts like this then leave us a cheeky comment. I love reading them :)

Ciao!


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