Carrying a small bag is a challenge. I used to carry a LOT of stuff in my bag. The bags alone can weigh quite substantially. Adding a wallet, keys, charger, myriad of lipsticks.. I got myself a potato sack.
Earlier this year, I change things up by getting a small bag, Céline Trio. For the better, because I didn’t regret it at all and actually should’ve done it sooner. Alas, I was picky about which bag to choose. A smaller bag means downsizing and prioritizing, something that I was very excited about.
This post will cover beauty products I carry on a daily basis and when I go to a special occasion.
The good news is, it turns out that it’s not that hard to downsize.
As a preface, I never really carried that much (though it might be questionable to some). The load was saturated by lipsticks. I used to carry 5, 6, 7 or more lipsticks at any given time. I was just that indecisive. On the bright side, I almost never bring a powder, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, etc. The reason why is because I make sure I finished my complexion and eye makeup first. Basically, I get things done at home.
As I had said previously, prepping the skin properly will help the makeup looking prime, and stay put better.
Then what do I carry in my small bag?
The goods took 1/3 of the Céline Trio.
■ Jack Black Lip Balm – must have all the time. Dry lips is never an option for me.
■ SUQQU Eyebrow Liquid Pen 02 Brown – I first started carrying it when I was in a hurry for a quick errand and couldn’t bother to do any makeup. I brought this so I can at least fix my brows (makes a whole lot of difference y’all). It does take a little bit of time filling my brows with this, but the result is very natural. Of course, I can always use it for touching up my brows if I need it (which is rarely).
■ YSL Touche Éclat – yes, without a doubt, my HG for quick anything; under eye brightener (NOT a concealer), subtle highlight here and there, and perfects the edges of my lips when I need my lipstick to look extra neat. I also like to apply this underneath my lower lash line whenever my eye makeup get a little smudgy. Blame the watery eyes.
■ Hakuhodo Retractable Push Up Lip Brush – I never use a lip brush until one day I feel the need to because of my broken Burberry Military Red. The flat tip of this brush sure does help creating a clean edge around the lips and enhances the cupid’s bow effortlessly.
■ TATCHA Aburatorigami Japanese Beauty Papers – to keep me looking petal fresh without absorbing too much (hence producing more oil). It doesn’t disrupt my makeup underneath and it’s definitely better than using a tissue paper (although I still do that too).
■ Dual Compact Mirror – that I got for about 10 bucks at Forever 21 years ago. It has different magnification on each side. From applying my lipstick to checking out my teeth to see if I have anything stuck in them. Needless to say, always need a mirror.
■ Lip colors – well, I try to bring maximum of three. I still definitely can fit more, but hey, restraining to do so will benefit my shoulder and make the bag less bulky. That being said, I usually cheat by bringing one of my ADDICTION Lip Crayons *HA* The current ones in my rotation are THREE Velvet Lust Lipstick 05, ADDICTION Cheek Stick Rose Bar and Lipstick Queen Sinner Scarlet Red.
That’s it.. ish. I can be the biggest cheater and put more on the other thirds of the bag.
I rarely do so though *pats myself on the back*
Now, let’s check out the stuff I bring when I go to a special occasion, say wedding receptions.
Wedding receptions means even smaller, inefficient bag to carry. Even LESS stuff to fit in.
Again, I completed my makeup at home and just bring the absolute essentials.
■ YSL Touche Éclat – for all the reasons I have mentioned above.
■ Hakuhodo Retractable Push Up Lip Brush – even more crucial to bring especially when my hand isn’t cooperating well (read: shaky).
■ Guerlain Meteorites Illuminating & Mattifying Pressed Powder – this powder is perfect for touch ups and it does what it says. It mattifies the complexion but doesn’t make the skin look flat. The illuminating quality (that is from the o’ magical meteorites) will keep the complexion looking alive.
■ Eyelash Adhesive – usually in occasions like these, I will wear falsies and it’s important to bring the adhesive as well, because God knows how many times I need it when things go down. Especially when the event is outdoor and the wind is blowing a little too excessively.
■ Tweezerman Mini Slant Tweezer – to help me apply the falsies in a jiffy.
■ Dual Compact Mirror – well, it seems redundant to carry another mirror while I have one from Guerlain’s powder already. But, I need ze magnification…
■ Lipstick – this is easy. I usually go for reds, deeper reds. Most of the times, I already made my decision on which red to wear with what dress. The rest of the makeup follow suit. Pictured here is Tom Ford Lip Color Matte Velvet Cherry.
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There you go. I am quite adamant about bringing as little as possible. I don’t want to fuss around with makeup too much when I’m on the go.
Of course, sometimes exceptions must be made when a sudden thing comes up and I need to get out of the house quickly. But that’s another post for another time 🙂
What do you carry? Let me know in the comments!
I usually have a standard pouch I bring everywhere, to the office, to the malls, during grocery shopping, even traveling. I fill that in almost to the brim with gastric meds, wooden hair comb, compact powder (I am using Dior now), blotting paper, chap stick, some band aids, a flash disk and a Swiss Army pocket knife. I tend to be more in tune with my girly side when going to a fancy dinner or a party. I usually bring a small clutch. Again, gastric meds, whatever lipstick I am wearing that time, blotting paper, RMK pressed powder N (this is really recommended, very tokcer) and my cell phone.
Hi 🙂 I stumbled upon your blog when looking for THREE cleansing oil review. I ended up bringing it home and it is indeed amazing! Anyway, which size of Celine Trio is yours? I need a daily bag that would fit a Meteorites compact and powder brush, CDP eye quad, Tatcha beauty paper pack (I see you’re lovin it too!) and all essential things in between. Since the compact and quad along with my wallet and pills box are a bit thick in shape, I’m worried they wouldn’t fit well in the small-size one without making it appear bulky. Hope you can help to decide which size would suit me? Thanks!
Hi!
Mine is the small one, which actually fits a lot more than I had thought originally.
Considering you still carry a separate wallet (plus an eye shadow quad), you might want to consider the Large one.
Even though it fits quite a lot, if you stuff too much items, the bag will become bulky and it’s not a good look IMO. Plus you’ll be really testing the durability of such a small bag.
If you can, you should go the Celine boutique and check out the Trios. I picked the small one from the get go because I find the size is more proportional for my 4′ 11″ height. So I really prioritize which stuff to carry in the bag. Tough, but I’m used to it by now. In fact, I’m aiming to get another one in a different color :p
Hope that helps!
Thanks for your swift response!
Say, if I give up on wallet for that card case thingy (to slip bank card, ID and some cash) and stick to compact-retractable kabuki-quad-aburatorigami-lipbalm and phone, would that work? I think I’m willing to stick with that if that lets me wear the small one.
The large size is chic and I’ve seen too many people sporting it well but they all seem to be tall while I stand at only 143cm so it might not look as good on me… 🙁 Besides, getting the large one will defy my purpose of changing bag hahah.
I plan to buy at airport DFS next month (avoiding tax – such a cheapskate), better already make a decision before going there otherwise I might end up missing the flight due to taking forever in Celine store LOL
I think.. If you really want the small one, then you have to make it work. Somehow. Re-prioritize.
As simple as that.
I had my mind set on the small one, so when I got it, I worked on it right away. Taking things in and out. Organize it in a way that the bag is easily accessible and still look good. It wasn’t that tricky because I already envisioned it.
And you’re right, getting the large one will defy the whole idea of a small bag and carrying less 😀
Thank you for pushing me to construct my determination and make up my mind. Now I’m all set to snatch the small Trio right away later. I will prolly do the same as you did, take things in and out til I eventually dump only things I actually need in there successfully. Phew…. *oh all the drama just to choose a bag* Thanks for sharing your thought!
Nice blog, BTW! It’s neat and your way of writing is interesting. 😀 Here’s hoping for more reviews of Tatcha or THREE products! *need to know how they would work exactly on skin from a place as humid and polluted as Indo…dnw expectation to be skyrocketed only to get disappointed miserably;;*
Cheers!
Yes, I think you can do it! The makeup doesn’t all have to be in one pouch. I separate them in 2 pouches so I can maintain the shape 🙂
Thank you so much for the kind words and support! 😘