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

Review: Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme Makeup

Usually I'm terrified of full-on foundations; shade-matching, blending techniques, does it match, does it not, I bought the wrong shade and can't return it now it's useless, etc.  That's why I've always stuck to tinted moisturizers or B.B. creams; two or three different shades to choose from, slap it on, rub it in and you're done.  However, I wanted to give this foundation a try after I saw rave reviews of it on Youtube and for some reason it looked pretty easy to apply.  It is a mousse makeup and claims to wear up to 24 hours (I wouldn't recommend leaving your make-up on that long....), and its "bouncy, whipped formula feels ultra light and silky smooth".  Here are some pros and cons:

Pros: This is a drugstore foundation, although I bought mine at Ulta for $13.99 (it was my birthday, ok?).  It's probably a few dollars cheaper at Wal-Mart and Target, etc.  There are 12 shades (not a whole lot, but I was able to find one that matched my skin tone and when blended, looks natural).  It is talc and paraben-free!  It blends nicely into my skin and doesn't feel heavy or cakey; I would say it has a semi-matte finish, and my skin actually stays semi-matte almost all day (with a setting powder), unlike any other foundation/tinted moisturizer I've ever tried.  I like to wear this foundation to work because I actually don't look like a shiny, hot mess when I get to my hotel room at night.  When you swipe the foundation with your finger out of the container, it does have a cool, mousse-y feel, almost like pudding.  (Is that weird?)  It says it is buildable to full coverage; when I put one layer on it's definitely medium coverage, but you can still see my actual skin, so it still looks natural.  Kind of like my skin but better.  It comes with 0.8 fluid ounces, which is not a whole lot (most liquid foundations contain 1.0 fluid ounces), but if you only use a little bit each time (which I recommend) it should still last for quite a while.      

Cons: I like the way this foundation looks on my skin, however, I hate the way it feels on my skin; kind of tacky, not quite sticky.  I try not to touch my face as much as possible though, so unless I deliberately touch my face I don't notice it.  It's also difficult to wash off at night; it totally kills any soap suds on your wash cloth or hands when you're washing your face; I have to wash my face twice when I use this.  It does only come in 12 shades, and the range of darker shades is limited.  As I said, the one I have (240 Natural Beige) doesn't match me exactly, but when I blend it in it looks fine.  The packaging could use some work.  It looks nice, but it's basically a big pot that you have to dip your finger or your brush into every time you go to use it, so it's not the most sanitary thing ever.  The container is also HEAVY.  The packaging is glass with a plastic lid, and it could seriously be used as a weapon.  I would not look forward to traveling with this; it might put your suitcase over the baggage weight limit.  It looks nice, but isn't exactly practical.  One of the biggest no-no's for me, is it doesn't have SPF.  My two big deciding factors in buying face products and face makeup are they have to be paraben-free and preferably with SPF.  This product has one but not the other, so I made an exception. 

Conclusion: I like this makeup because it's paraben-free and keeps my face semi-matte throughout the day, and I like the shade I chose, however I hate that it doesn't have SPF.  Would I buy this product again?  Yes, I'll just have to be careful about my sun exposure.        

--Shine bright