I am constantly on the look-out for holy-grail products that I MUST have with me at all times. Carrying around these products just makes me feel that little bit more confident, knowing that all my beauty essentials are within reach- just in case of those little emergencies, an unscheduled dinner with the girls, date nights, surprise client meetings- we’ve all been there (most of us anyway, I can’t speak for those whose make-up stays perfect all day and night #jealous).

Naturally, my unhealthy addiction to all things beauty sometimes gets to me and I find myself lugging around a cosmetic purse that basically weighs more than my handbag! So recently I have made it my mission to cut down to the bare essentials of beauty when it comes to my everyday make-up case and I figured, why not share my findings to those who may be in the same boat?

Eyes: For me, mascara and eyeliner are the absolute essentials. I am never, ever without these two. They’re small, light and double up as multipurpose products for eyeshadow and brow grooming. Pick a softer, pencil liner in a brown or taupe shade, like Urban Decay’s 24/7 liner in ‘Bourbon’ ($19 urbandecay.com) or Prestige Kohl Blend Eye Pencil in ‘Spiced’ ($14.95 Priceline), this way it blends quicker and applies smoother when shadowing. Mascara wise, try a dry-formulated mascara (wet mascaras will smudge and weight down your eyebrows) like MAC’s Dazzlelash ($33 Myer) so you can comb it through your brows (lightly of course!) to give them that groomed look in seconds!

Lips: “Oh I’ll just grab this one, and that one just incase I need something bolder… oh wait I may as well grab that one because it’s pretty! Now I need something to match this one…” so on and so forth until you’re carrying twenty extra lip products! Stop, breath and limit yourself to 2 lip-colours, a bold and a neutral, a lipbalm for hydration and a sheer or clear gloss that goes with everything. Clinique Chubby Sticks ($35 Myer) are a great pick, this gloss/balm/stick hybrid is easily applied, has buildable coverage and is ridiculously moisturising to boot. The new YSL Glossy Stains ($50 Myer) are also quickly becoming a beauty fav, with the seemingly infinite supply of colour, flawless finish and endless wear.

Face: Powder is the best thing for touching up on the go. Great for evening out skin-tone, mattifying and, when used wet, can be surprising effective at concealing those troublesome areas, try MAC’s Studiofix Plus powder ($49 at Mac.com.au), use with a buffing brush for buildable coverage or dab on with a sponge for full coverage. The packaging is lightweight, compact and sleek, so it’s great for travelling. Cheek products, I know it’s hard but here I’d try my best to limit it to ONE cheek product, if any at all (many people just use lipstick or a lip/cheek stain like the Becca Beach tint ($42 Myer)! Bourjois Round Potted Blushes ($19.95 Priceline) are a purse favourite too because of their adorably compact size and the inclusion of a mirror and brush!

So ladies and gents, when packing your make-up cases, make sure you ask yourself before deciding that you NEED those three extra lipglosses, that concealer pot and the blue mascara. Some of the stuff that we carry with us just becomes overkill when we take a step back and really look into our cases. However, I personally know many people who carry around the entire contents of their face, from primer to multiple lipsticks to cream, powder and gel blushes, and are perfectly content to continue doing so! The bottom line is: carry what you think you’ll need and are happy to take with you everywhere!

Let me know what you like to carry around with you, your personal favourites, the products you can’t live without and the stuff that you think should be left at home!

xx Jen