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!