My Travel Makeup Bag!

Recently I went on a mini vacation and as I promised, here is my post on the beauty products I packed! I actually had to make some changes to what I was packing because my skin had a horrible reaction to a homemade facial mask I made (thankfully my skin has calmed down significantly, so I am sure the mask was the problem). To be honest, the changes were not so significant that I packed half of my makeup collection, but I did bring an extra item or two (including extra skin care items).

Storage:

I purchased my makeup bag from Target for $20-25. The reason I chose it is because it has two compartments - the top one holds brushes and smaller items and the bottom compartment can easily hold nearly every thing else for a trip. Now, since I changed around what I took on my trip at the last minute, I ended up taking a separate bag for toiletries and then this bag for makeup and my extra skin care items. The inside is made of a material that is probably very easy to clean if your makeup happens to spill. The problem I have with this bag is that the bottom section can't hold its shape properly if it is empty, but that is just a random complaint I have (and it certainly would not keep me from recommending this bag if you are looking for a new one).

Brushes:

I ended up packing more brushes than there is technically space for, but they all still fit comfortably and I felt like I packed the right brushes for a variety of different looks. I will be listing the brushes I took with me below. I did not pack a foundation brush because with the foundation I packed, I feel as if I can get a nice look with or without a brush.

1. E.L.F. Powder Brush: I cannot wear foundation without setting it with powder, so I brought this brush for that purpose. It also applied powder foundation nicely, which was something I did not expect.
2. Sonia Kashuk Blush Brush: I got this in a travel set, but it is sold separately as well (and I think it has a longer handle if you buy it separately). It looks scratchy, but it is very soft. It's quite a small blush brush in comparison to the others I own, but I think I like this the best.
3. E.L.F. Contour Brush: I use this to add definition to my eyelids. The bristles are soft and the brush is the right size for my eyes.
4. Sonia Kashuk Eye Shadow Brush: This is from a set that was available last year, but this is one of my go-to eye shadow brushes. I would say the one I brought is comparable to the fluffy eye shadow brush in the Sonia Kashuk line.
5. Essence of Beauty Dual-Ended Brushes: I have a travel set from Essence of Beauty and I figured it would be easiest to just list every one I brought from that set here: Smokey/Angle, Touch up/Conceal, and Smudge/Brow.
6. Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Pointed Eye Liner Brush: this is the one brush I never used on my trip. It's great with gel eyeliners.
7. Maybelline Master Shape by Eyestudio: I don't typically use anything on my brows, but this one has a spoolie at the end and for some reason I decided it made more sense to take this than my other spoolie.

Products:

I took a minimalist approach when I packed my makeup. Originally I was only going to pack the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream and top it off with powder foundation, but my skin was a disaster and so I decided to add my current favorite foundation into the mix: Almay Clear Complexion. I also packed my Too Faced Glamour to Go Palette because it had enough eye shadows for unique looks and a blush and bronzer if I wanted. I have decided that I don't care for the lip gloss in the palette because it's just frosty and goopy, but I still use it. I also acquired a sample sized tube of the Neutrogena Healthy Volume mascara and I used it every day. I still have a little left, but if I ever do purchase the full size, it will be a while. I also brought the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Demolition since it gives my eyes a soft and natural look. I forgot to include this in the photograph, but I also brought my Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze. I also packed more than the vanilla Lip Smacker, but it is among some of the Lip Smackers I packed. I still have quite a lot of product in the deluxe sample of my tube of Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Candlelight - it's a beautiful color and I will be sad to see it go. The final two makeup items I took with me are the E.L.F. eyelash curler and the Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation. I also squeezed a few skin care items into my bag (Clearasil pads - I've been using them for a while and I'm not sure how I feel about them. I also packed my Neutrogena sunscreen for acne-prone skin - it is very lightweight and it doesn't have an offensive smell. I also managed to fit my Clean and Clear Dual Action Moisturizer into my bag... I know I won't be repurchasing this moisturizer once I am done with it... I feel like I could find a better moisturizer from the drugstore).

That is everything I packed in my travel makeup bag! As I mentioned before, I ended up having a separate bag for toiletries, but in the future I will try to plan out what I pack more cleverly. Hopefully this was somewhat helpful. I'd honestly say that this is probably not enough for a longer trip (if I only took this on an extended vacation I'd probably end up buying makeup for the sake of variety). I'm not an expert on packing by any means, but I've slowly learned a few tricks along the way.

My apologies for taking so long on this post. I have no idea why I couldn't just sit down and finish it, but now I can move on to my Back to School series!