Weekend Beauty Bag

I made a rather quick jaunt down to London last weekend in order to apply for and pick up my visa for Japan (which did go a little pear-shaped, as seen here), and of course I couldn't leave my home without taking a little bit of makeup with me, could I?! So in this post I will show you the insides of the beauty bag I brought with me.

Base: I ended up bringing two bases with me - a lighter one (Skin 79 BB Cream) and a higher coverage one (Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation). Funnily enough, I've probably been using my Estee Lauder one more than the Skin 79 BB cream - I don't know, I've just fallen back in love with it again. I know some people really don't like it because it's 'cakey' and matte, but I find that on my skin it isn't matte at all really - it still leaves me with a subtle glow, just without any imperfections. I do go very light handed with it though - I use my Double Wear concealer before to hide any really awful blemishes.

Blush: I was debating whether to just bring my trusty Bourjois cream blush with me on my trip, but in the end I opted for an Estee Lauder palette (received in their annual Christmas gift set) that contains three blushes and one bronzer, for variety's sake. I'm actually glad I did now, because I can switch between a pink and a peach cheek, plus I can add a little contouring when I feel like it.

Eyes: I can't go anywhere without my trusty Lime Crime Eyeshadow Helper, which is a primer to end all primers, so of course that was brought along with me. I also brought my Undress Me Two palette, because it contains such pretty neutrals that will cover any occasion that could possibly occur. Added to that, I popped in my Rimmel Scandal Eyes creme shadow in Rich Russet - a product I've really been loving since I bought it! One of the surprise additions to my bag is probably the Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara in place of my much-loved Masterpiece Max mascara. I've really been enjoying using the Estee Lauder one, though the brush does sometimes annoy me because it's so large. Overall though, it is a brilliant mascara. As for eyeliner, I brought two - the Dolly Wink liquid liner pen (if you see one, buy it! You will not regret it) and a 17 Photo Flawless one in Copper (beautiful smudged out on its own). Finally, I added my GOSH Eyebrow Pencil in Soft Black (a colour I am just coming to realise might be slightly too dark for me) because I love a good statement brow.

Lips: I ended up bringing a crap load of lip products with me (see this video for evidence) but I would say my top three are my pot of Vaseline (used every night and patted over lipsticks to create a balm), Estee Lauders Pure Colour lipstick in Nectarine (a lush reddy-orange colour) and the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 01 (I urge you to go to your nearest Clarins counter to look at these now).

Looking back on this list, I realise that I probably did not need to bring this many products, but do you know what? It's always good to be prepared ;)