What’s In My Spring Travel Makeup Bag?

I’m currently at my parents’ house for the two week Easter holiday, so I thought what better time than to show you what’s in my spring travel makeup bag! I have to say, it wasn’t until I started to write this post that I realised I’ve gone a little overboard in some areas – lip products in particular! Some of the things I threw in at the last minute, having forgotten I’d already packed something similar/that does the same job. Some of these were things I threw in at 4am in the morning when I suddenly thought of them while trying to get to sleep – stupid painsomnia! I’ve packed most of these things into my Muji cosmetics case, which unfortunately you can’t get any more. I love this case because it has a separate area to keep (most) of your brushes, reducing the chance that they’ll get damaged in transit. It’s also got a firm form so you’re not going to crush your makeup against other things in your suitcase. Having been a serial over packer for many years, I’ve managed to work out a strategy for packing light (most of the time!) & am I’m going to write a post on this closer to the summer, so keep an eye out for that.

Eyes: Eyeshadow

For my eyes, I’ve tried to pare things down. I wanted to focus mostly on my lips, which probably why I went a little overboard in this area, so that people saw me rather than my wheelchair. I’m not sure if this strategy works, but it makes me feel better that I’m trying to make it a little easier for family & friends to get used to my chair. For eyeshadow, I chose to take the Naked 1 & 2 palettes for their neutral tones. I use the Naked 2 every day for Foxy, which I use on my brow bone. I’m not keen on Virgin from the Original Naked palette for this because it has a shimmer to it.

Eyes: Primer/Base

For my base, I brought down my MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ocre. This is in my project 10 pan & I’m desperately trying to get as much use out of it as possible before the weather gets too hot for me to use it, as it creases on me in hot weather.

Eyes: Mascara

For mascara, I’m currently using the Smashbox Full Exposure mascara on my top lashes & the Urban Decay Perversion mascara on my bottom lashes.

Eyes: Liner

For liners I’ve bought the Urban Decay eyeliner in Zero, which is in my project pan & the Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner in Perversion, for if I’m going out in he evening & want a more polished eye look. I haven’t used the liquid liner yet & don’t think I will, but I’m glad I packed it so I have the option. I also packed my GOSH eyeliner. This is in a shimmery white shade that you can’t get any more. I’ve had it since I was a teenager so really need to use it up. I started using it in last years project pan until I lost it. I’m glad to have found it & use it every day in the inner corner of my eyes.

Brows

I’m currently using the Tom Ford Brow Perfector & the Maybelline Brow Drama, both of which I’m trying to use up in my project pan. The Tom Ford Brow Perfector broke the first day I was down & I thought I was going to have to make do with Buck from the Original Naked palette fro my brows, which I wasn’t happy with as it’s way too warm for this on me. Luckily, I found the product that had fallen out & all is well.

Face

I decided to go quick & natural for my face. I packed the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer, which I’m panning this year, the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder in 1 to set my concealer & the MAC MSF Natural in Light Plus, which you can read more about in my Favourite MAC products post.

Cheeks: Blusher

Since hitting pan on my Rimmel Cream Blush in 001 Baby Kiss in my project pan, which was my goal for this blusher for the whole year, I’ve decided to allow myself to use some other blushes as well as continuing to make progress on this one. As well as packing my Rimmel Cream blush, I thought I would bring a few other cream options, so I’m still making progress on the products that have a shorter shelf life. I chose my Bourjois Cream Blush in 02 & the Urban Decay cream blusher in Bang for my warmer options. These are both lovely & I used the Urban Decay with my Coral Queen lipstick, which worked nicely. For a more natural pink, I chose my Bobbi Brown blusher in Power Pink 6, which was my wedding day blusher. My nude option was NARS cream blush in Penny Lane, which really does go with everything! If I were packing super light I would just take this one. I chose to pack the Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick in 16, which I absolutely love & a blusher I love to pare it with is NARS Orgasm, so I decided to pack my NARS Foreplay Orgasm cheek palette, the only powder blusher I brought with me.

Cheeks: Bronzer

As it’s now spring, I thought it a good idea to pack a bronzer. I love the Rimmel Sun Shimmer Bronzer  in Light Matte, which I’m going to put in a project pan at some point. This bronzer is really subtle, so it’s perfect for the beginning of the warmer months.

Check: Highlighter

Keeping with my need to use up cream products, I decided to pack my Nars Multiple in Copacabana as my highlighter. I don’t use this as often as I should. I bought it because the NARS makeup artist told me it would change my life. It didn’t & I think that lack of a wow factor put me off. I like it, so want to make good use of it before it goes bad.

Lips: Glosses

As I’ve already said, I went a little over board on the lip products front! I packed my Urban Decay lipgloss in Naked, which was part of my project pan last year. This was to try & make a little more progress on it over lip liners or lipsticks. I also packed the L’Oreal lipgloss in 101 Rose Melody & 500 Molto Mauve for relaxed days where I didn’t want to wear much makeup.  really only needed to bring one of these, but I couldn’t decide which so threw both into my makeup bag. I can’t remember the name of the gloss & can’t find them on the Boots, Superdrug or L’Oreal websites so they may have been discontinued.

Lips: Lipsticks

One of my oldest lipsticks is the Lancome Colour Fever lipstick in 306. As I’ve put my Colour Fever lipstick in 216 away until the colder months, I wanted to make some progress on some of my other older lipsticks. This is a lovely neutral pink shade & very easy to wear. I also chose the No.7 Stay Perfect lipstick in 08 Cherry for a bold red. This is probably my older lipstick & really needs to be used up. This was the 4am addition, as I’d forgotten that I’d packed Revlon lipstick in 720 Fire & Ice, which is a water toned red. I wanted to pack a few bright pinks for a statement lip in shades that are ideal for my spring travel makeup bag. I chose my Bell Moisturising lipstick in 08, a cool toned pink, my Rimmel Kate lipstick in 05 which is a brighter shade than the Lancome & the Rimmel Kate lipstick in 16, which is a pink with a hint of coral. I love this one & am debating writing a post on the combination of this & NARS Orgasm, so if you’d like to read that, let me know in the comments! For coral shades, I chose the Rimmel Moisture Renue Lipstick in 620 Coral Queen, which is unfortunately a discontinued shade & the Rimmel Moisture Renue Lipstick in 660 In Love With Ginger. This is an orange toned red, which I really didn’t need to bring having packed Fire & Ice! If I were to go back in time, I’d leave Fire & Ice at home.

Lips: Lip Liners

I’ve really gotten into lip liners since starting my blog. I took some photos of lipsticks on my lips quite early on in my blogs life & it was than that I realised just how uneven my lips really are! One side of my bottom lip sticks out more than the other & I have areas round my lip edge that has no or very little pigment. A liner helps me even this out & has become a necessity for me. Again, I think I over packed in this area, but not nearly as much as I did with my lipsticks! I chose to bring my MaxFactor Lip Liners in 02 Pink Petal & 04 Pink Princess. I really like these liner. They both go nicely with the Rimmel Kate lipstick in 16. Pink Princess works great with all of the warmer toned or neutral pink lipsticks & Pink Petal is fab with the coral shades. My only red lip liner is the No.7 in 15 Fire. This is as old as the Cherry lipstick, so really needs to be used up. I won’t be buying another red liner until this one is used up. I also decided to bring my Benefit Lip liner in Gabbi, Naked Ambition. I bought this for me wedding in 2011, so it’s another that needs to be used up. I thought this lip liner would go really well with the L’Oreal lipgloss in Molto Mauve. For my Bell lipstick I decided to bring my Makeup Store lipliner in Pink Soda. Makeup Store are a really under rated brand! My final lip liner is the Barry M lip liner in 9. This was a recent gift from Lisa from The Jellygoose Blog & I really wanted to bring it to have a play. After watching & trying this liner, it’s very similar to the Benefit Gabbi liner, so I won’t be using it until I’ve finished that one. I’m very glad to have found a drugstore dupe for my Benefit liner.

Nails

I thought I’d bring some nail polish on my trip, but so far haven’t used it! After planning my outfits, I decided to pack the OPI Nail Laquer in Berlin There Done That, Essie Fiji & Barry M in 349 Rose Quartz Glitter. Essie Fiji with a glitter polish was a combination I saw on from Holly from The Holly Days & loved! This gives me two combinations to go with any outfit. The No.7 Base Coat & the Orly Glosser* are my go-to products to use with any manicure.

Perfume

If you’ve read my project pan post you’ll know that I recently finished my Victoria Secret Body Spray & am now working on my The Body Shop Perfume Oil in Dewberry, so this had to come with me.

Makeup Brushes

I wanted to pack light on the makeup brush front. I could have done better with this, but I haven’t done badly either. The RealTechniques Buffing Brush from the Core Collection had to come with me. I use this with my MSF Natural to give a little more coverage. To set my under eye concealer, I use the Laura Mercier Pony Tail brush wit the Laura Mercier Secret brightening powder which works a treat! I only needed to pack one blush brush so chose my RealTechniques Blush Brush. This is a lovely brush for picking up just the right amount of product & distributing it evenly. I love the shape & wouldn’t be as upset if this one got damaged & I had to purchase another compared to my MAC 168 brush. For bronzer, I love the Real Techniques Retractable Bronzer Brush. This distributes just the right amount of product & I love it for travel because of the cap. The Sigma Blending – E25 is the brush I use to apply my brow bone colour. I don’t want anything too dense as it would pack on too much colour which would leave my eyes looking a little odd & yellowish. The Sonia Kashuk Tools No. 28 eyeshadow brush was a gift from a friend in America & I love it! The ergonomic handle makes it really easy to hold & the density of the brush is lovely for applying colour. I’d be less upset if this got damaged than my MAC 268, so it’s a great choice to pack. I’ve not come across a blending brush that I like as much or even close to my MAC 217, so I decided to pack both of these & they’ve been used loads. Finally, I packed my RealTechniques Domed Shadow Brush from the Eye Starter Set. This brush is lovely. I prefer the Sonia Kashuk, but wanted to have another option incase I don’t have time to clean my brushes between uses.

Other Tools

There are a few other tools that I can’t go anywhere without. My nail scissors are always in my makeup bag. I use these to cut the body go my brows so they don’t stick up past the natural shape. My Tweezerman Ergonomic tweezers are my go-to as they’re a lot easier for me to hold & use with my EDS. You can find out more about them & how they help me in my Hypermobility syndrome beauty hacks post. As I’d packed pencil products, I needed to bring something to sharpen them with. The No.7 sharpener is my favourite for on the go as you can use it without being near a bin. Finally, I can’t do my makeup without my eyelash curlers & my favourited are the No.7 Eyelash curlers. I’m going to have a review of these up at some point, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Are you an over packed or are you skilled in the art of packing light? What would you pack in you spring travel makeup bag?

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