With all the travelling and parties to hit during the next few weeks, I think it's sufficient to say we all need to battle the bulge -- of our makeup bags, that is.
I have a hard time with this. I'm high maintenance and darned proud of it, and I have a certain cosmetic ritual that I've developed over the years for optimal feeling-prettiness. It's my Frou Frou Formality, my Sacrament of Sexxeh, but as reassuring as it may be, it certainly isn't light on the products. There's toner, moisturizer, powered mineral foundation (BareMinerals, natch), Smashbox O-Glow on the cheeks, brow definers, eyeliners, mascara, lipstick, highlighter, and a palette of eyeshadow options to make da Vinci swoon. I don't like feeling limited, so I used to pack everything up in a case, even on overnight jaunts to a friend's house. Generally, I would only use 1/100th of the products I schlepped out, but I like the option of playing with colours and matching them to my moods. I'm pretty unpredictable, and my overfilled train case is physical proof.
I really should start a club for women with BPBD (Beauty Product Bipolar Disorder), or something.
So, I'm on a quest to lighten the load a little, and invest in a few items that will tip the scales in my favour, yet not leave me lamenting my spacial frugality. Basically, I want it all -- awesome colours, fantastic quality, and a teeny-tiny little package.
And, in the Impulse Buy section of Sephora (you know, lining the queue to the cash registers), I think I found the Holy Grail. It's a little compact by Too Faced, and it is, aptly named, Glamour to Go.
There seem to be two basic shade selections for sale: Glamour to Go II (pictured above) and Glamour to Go III, which I scooped up. Either palette is an absolutely brilliant purchase, and for under $20, you get eight dazzling eyeshadows (at lease one shade is dark enough to use as eyeliner), four delicately scented lipglosses, a nice, flattering blush, and the lid is lined with a full-sized mirror, just in case you're somewhere really awkward come morning.
One of the features I absolutely adore is the sliding lower drawer. You never notice it until it's too late, but I bought both an eyeshadow and a powder compact that have mirrors, but you have to turn the whole thing upside-down to use it. Do you have any idea how dumb it looks to try to put on powder upside-down? I do, unfortunately.
The one thing you're NOT going to find in this little gem is an applicator, which is great for me. I abhor those stupid little spongey stick-things, and would rather use my fingers any day. Luckily, though, I don't have to, because I have a couple of great double-sided brushes from Sephora that both save space and fix my face.
The only tool I have for travel that's sort of a uni-tasker is my powder brush. I used to have a really nice, natural haired one, but all the cramming into makeup bags and being stuffed into my suitcase took its toll; the poor dear got a major case of split ends and had to be retired. Now, I have a synthetic, cruelty-free, fully encapsulated brush made out of the Too Faced "Teddy Bear Hair." I love it. You could use it for bronzer, powder, shimmer, maybe even blush, but whatever you use it for, you'll love it, too. It's so soft, it's like getting your face petted lovingly with a kitten (minus the litter box situation, which technically makes this better). The whole thing gets retracted into a shiny, pink tube a little larger than a lipstick, making it a clean, mess-free tool to just toss in your bag. I heart it so much that it has replaced my other brush permanently, and I use it every single day, whether on the road or snug at home.
I'm proud to say that I progressively downsized my travel makeup from a case, down to two cosmetic bags, and now down to one. Brushes and all. Just my beloved BareMinerals, DiorShow mascara, Too Faced's Glamour to Go palette, and a few brushes. That's it. I put my makeup case on a diet and got it down to goal-weight, even before I made a single New Year's Resolution.
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