My holiday makeup bagI love reading ‘What’s in my makeup bag?’ articles from other bloggers so I thought “why not do one of my own?”

If you follow me on Facebook you’ll know that I just can’t pack light  in the makeup department. I try: But I really struggle….Well, I’ll have you know: I dug really deep packing for my holiday to Rarotonga and challenged myself to be sensible! Here’s what I packed.   Note:  I’m mindful that whilst I may have packed light for me, the makeup I’m taking on holiday is probably still the contents of a lot of people’s entire makeup collection! Oh well, a girl has to have a passion in life.

what's in my makeup bag

Base (from left):

  • Benefit’s Pore Professional (travel size) as a primer. My skin is very uneven and I have huge pores. This fills my pores in nicely and I find my base i.e. foundation or CC/BB cream has a nicer finish and it lasts longer. It’ll be very warm in Raro and a primer is a no-brainer for me. With the combo of my oily skin and warm weather my base will have slid off by my first cocktail of the day without primer (lunchtime).
  • ELF Blotting Sheets. I love these! $5 each from Kmart. If you ‘oil up’ during the day these are the perfect touch up product. I wittered on about these in this blog post. Push one on your oily bits (like your forehead), BAM: Oil is absorbed. 
  • Mary Kay CC Cream:  Also mentioned here. This is essentially like a tinted moisturiser. It’s SPF 15, gives me minimal coverage and a healthy glow. Perfect for holiday.
  • Maybelline FIT Me Stick (colour is 330 Toffee). I need to do a seperate blog post on this. I use this as a contour stick to get quick and easy shape and definition (as well as a little colour) to my face. Genius and best still, I got it from New World.
  • NARS Duo: Orgasm blush and Laguna bronzer. I raved about this back in October!
  • Rimmel Stay Matte Powder (Translucent): I apply a touch of this with a powder puff after my CC Cream – it locks my base into place and removes any excess shine.
  • Base brushes:  Contour brush and Buffing Brush from Real Techniques. I use the Contour brush to blend in the Maybelline FIT Me Stick; The Buffing Brush is to blend and buff the heck out of my CC Cream. The third brush is a blush brush from Eco Tools.
  • Lasting Perfection Concealer (front row) from Collection (at Countdown!). Can’t be without this! This is brilliant for use both in the under eye area as well as covering up scars/zits.  Previously mentioned in this blog post.
  • Deluxe Crease Brush from Real Techniques  (front row). I use this to blend in the concealer. It’s supposedly an eyeshadow crease brush (but I don’t like it for that!).

what's in my makeup bagEyes (from left)

  • Loreal’s Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara: This is so awesome it got it’s own blog post
  • Mini sized Urban Decay Primer Potion (eyeshadow primer): If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll already know how I feel about eyeshadow primer… 
  • Z Palette: Filled with my favourite neutral eyeshadows from Makeup Geek and one from Inglot. I can pull off a heap of different looks with these.
  • Inglot Gel Eyeliner: This dark brown gel liner is waterproof, smudge proof and the perfect product for summer as it doesn’t budge. Perfect for mucking around by the pool all day and working up a sweat!
  • Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade (eyebrow gel): This is a new product I’m obsessed with. It’s waterproof and lasts all day, unlike my brow powders which I find don’t last quite all day in summer.
  • Eyelash curler: How cool is this green eyelash curler? This is from Sephora in the USA. 
  • Two eyeliners: A gorgeous mineral teal/peacock coloured eyeliner from Art Deco which brings a gorgeous pop of colour to my brown eyes and my 24/7 Urban Decay Glide on eyeliner (which I’ve already mentioned this week!) I picked both of these eyeliners as: You guessed it: They are waterproof and smudge proof. There’s a theme emerging!  I can’t wait to hit the beach. Sigh.

what's in my makeup bag

Lips (from left)

  • Clarins Natural Light Lip Perfector: Half lip gloss, half balm. A hint of colour. Love. Details here.
  • Two of my favourite (ever) lippies: Maybelline’s Make Me Pink (a cool-toned medium pink shade and my most worn lippy). The MAC lipstick (on the right) is a light purple shade called ‘Up The Amp’. This looks gorgeous paired with my teal Art Deco eyeliner or a bronze eyeshadow look: Perfect for night time.
  • Eyeshadow brushes:  All the essentials!  From the top: A spoolie to comb my brows into place; One stiff flat brush to pack eyeshadow on my eyelid (Bdellium 777); A fine detailed brush to blend out eyeliner or apply shadow under the lower lash line (Bdellium 716); Makeup Geek’s Soft Dome Brush which is one of the best fluffy crease brushes I’ve used; Eco Tools angled brush for eyebrows; Inglot Bent Liner Brush (for gel eyeliner).

Good news: It all fits in my makeup bag (which was a freebie with a Strawberry Net order a few years ago).

what's in my makeup bag
The bag zips up. Result.