What's in my travel (work) makeup bag

Since I basically travel for work, this is the bag I take with me that is also my work makeup.  Most of the makeup in here is neutral and is not what I would take with me when I travel for fun (which would actually be a much smaller makeup bag) or what I would wear on a day off.  Keep in mind that I don't use every single one of these products every day, but I like to have options (you can't wear the same makeup look every day for a four-day trip, right?).  Also notice that there are no lip products in here; I keep my lip products in a seperate little bag that I keep with me on the plane, unlike this bag which I leave in my suitcase (I'll do another post with what's in my mini lip-product bag).  I bought this bag at a resale shop for about $4 or 5.00:

Here's what it looks like when I open it:

In the top compartments I have Q-tips to clean up any boo-boos, a mascara wand from an old tube of mascara that I washed and use to comb my eyebrows, a Bare Escentuals "max coverage concealer brush" that I use to re-apply foundation after I clean up boo-boos, and two Sonia Kashuk blush brushes (don't ask me why I have two, one would be plenty). 

The bottom compartment is where I keep all of the actual makeup:

In the white bin I keep blushes, a few eyeshadows, some smaller brushes, and other eye products:



Left to right: Chanel eyelash curler, Revlon Photoready concealer, small brush to dust powder on top of concealer, Covergirl Lashblast Volume mascara, random brush to sweep away fall-outs, Urban Decay Primer Potion, L'Oreal Lineur Intense Carbon Black liquid eyeliner, InColor Fabuliner liquid eyeliner in Black (my all-time, holy grail liquid eyeliner; this is the only eyeliner I use to make wings), Revlon Makup Eraser Pen (which I'm pretty sure is dried up, but I could make it work in a pinch), InColor Fabuliner in Brown, and tweezers. 

The blushes and random eyeshadows in the white bin:

Top row left to right: (All Covergirl Cheekers blushes) in True Plum, Rock 'n Rose, Pretty Peach (my favorite!) and Brick Rose.
Middle row left to right: Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso, MAC Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul, Chanel Ombre Essentielle (French for eyeshadow single) in Sillage, and NARS eyeshadow duo in Kalahari.
Bottom row left to right: Philosophy eyeshadow duo in heaven/earth-01 (which I got from Big Lots!) and Revlon Luxurious Color satin eyeshadow in Nude Slip (I just realized that the glare in the photo prevents you from seeing the actual color of the eyeshadow-oops!  Sorry!).

The eyeshadows, etc. in the rest of the compartment:

Top row left to right: Covergirl Eye Enhancers eyeshadow trio in Shimmering Sands, Maybelline Expertwear eyeshadow duo in Indian Summer, and an ELF single eyeshadow in Saddle.
Middle row left to right: MAC eyeshadows in All That Glitters, Woodwinked, and Naked Lunch, and an Ulta eyeshadow in Twilight.
Bottom row left to right: The Body Shop eyeshadows in #32, #07, and #30 (I hate that they don't have names!), my giant Maybelline Shine Free loose powder in Medium-02 that I use to set my foundation, and the kabuki brush I use to apply it that I got from Rite Aid.



This is the other stuff I keep in my makeup bag:

Left to right: a random eyeshadow brush from Big Lots, two eyeshadow brushes from Target, my Japonesque Dual Sided brush #110 that I use to apply my foundation, and my dual-sided mirror that I've probably had since junior high. 

These are some other makeup-related items that I just keep in my suitcase, mostly because they won't fit in my makeup bag:

Left to right: Nivea Eye Make-up Remover that I use on the Q-tips to clean up boo-boos, my Revlon Colorstay Whipped foundation, and the Argan Oil that I use as a moisturizer. 

Sorry this was such a long post, but those are the makeup items that I keep in my bag for work/travel! 

--Shine bright

Stuff I Like

So, if you haven't already noticed, I'm pretty bad at monthly favorites.  This is going to be a bunch of products I've really enjoyed over the past couple of months but never found the time to put into their respective monthly posts.  Stuff I like:

1.  Revlon Colorburst lipglosses in Bellini and Papaya- I love these Revlon lipglosses to begin with, but the colors they came out with for spring/summer are phenom-bomb (yes, I made that word up).  I'm obsessed with this Papaya color for summer; make-up, clothes, jewelry, I must have everything in this color!  This color is particularly flattering for my skin tone; I wear it to work all the time and always get questions and compliments on it.  The Bellini color looks better (on me, anyway) if I put it over a lipstick; it adds just the right amount of shine and is good for lightening up a dark lipstick.  Worn alone, it can tend to wash me out.  I don't own NARS' Turkish Delight lipgloss, but they look similar to me. 

Top: Bellini  Bottom: Papaya

2.  Zebra kabuki brush- I found this brush at T.J. Maxx for around $6.00 (I forgot what the brand was, sorry!)  I was looking for a different foundation brush other than the duo-fibre I had been using to apply my B.B. cream, which left it looking streaky and shedded like CRAZY.  I got this brush because it's super dense and leaves my B.B. cream looking seamless and finished, rather than streaky and....unfinished.  The denseness of it blends the foundation flawlessly and it's much less work to apply.  Plus it's zebra-print, my favorite!  I dot the B.B. cream all over my face, then use the zebra brush to stipple it everywhere, then use circular motions to blend it all in.  It doesn't shed and is super-soft.  The only bad thing about it is that it takes FOREVER to dry after being washed.  Otherwise it's perfect! 

3.  MAC mineralize blush in Warm Soul- this is my first MAC blush and I'm pretty pleased with it.  It's a good neutral blush with flecks of gold.  I know it's a cult favorite, but I didn't like NARS' Orgasm blush because of the sketchy gold shimmer it left on my face; this MAC blush leaves no visible shimmer (I actually returned my Orgasm blush!  Gasp!).  It blends into my skin well and is almost a peachy/pinky-enough brown that I can get away with wearing it with neutral eye looks for work, although it also looks good with colorful eye looks as well. 

4.  L'Oreal Color Riche lipstick in #176 Sunset Angora- this is another favorite coraly-pink lipstick of mine.  Straight-up pink lipsticks don't look good on me (or I haven't found one that does yet....), but lipsticks like this one that also have coral in them look phenom-bomb on me.  It's a cream color (no shimmers) and is smooth and creamy and stays moisturizing for longer than most lipsticks.  The color is not very long-lasting, so you do have to re-apply throughout the day.  But the color is worth it!  You can find this in drugstores for around $7-8.00. 

5.  Sally Hansen Salon Manicure nailpolish in Barely Bluebell- this is another color I'm obsessed with for summer.  This is a beautiful, cream-finish robin's egg/turquoise blue polish.  Unfortunately I can't wear this color to work, but I painted my nails with it during my week of vacation and I loved the way it looked.  It was very long-wearing and never chipped or even barely wore off on my nail tips.  I will definitely be purchasing more of these Salon Manicure nailpolishes (but next time in colors I can actually wear to work!).  I got this on sale from Target; I think they're usually around $5-6.00.

I'm probably going to think of 10 more things I wanted to add to this list after I publish it, but those are all of the ones I can think of for now!  Enjoy! 

--Shine bright