I don't know about you, but I love to take a peek in other people's makeup bag. Out of pure curiosity, and also in the hope of discovering a gem I didn't know about. Today I'll let you take a look inside the travel makeup bag that I brought on my recent trip to New York City!

If you read about my capsule makeup experiment last year, you'll notice that I didn't follow such strict rules this time. Still, for practical purposes, I made sure that every single product would work with most others, and I tried to think about full looks when selecting each item. Some of them didn't get used at all, and I basically wore the same look every day, only changing the cheek and lip products.

It was a pretty intense trip (I think we visited every single neighborhood in Manhattan, except for the Upper West Side, in 5 days) so I put very little energy into doing my makeup - after the very first day my feet and legs were already sore! We had one night out, a dinner with friends that ended at a rave party in a popup club in an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn (don't ask), and that's the only time I really did a full face that required a little effort. It was also quite warm there, especially inside the subway (NYC girls I don't know how you stop your foundation from melting on your way to work!) so I went for very light makeup. Without further ado, let's take open that bag!



The Bag



I bought this bag at Walgreens a few months ago, maybe half a year. I love it not only because the vintage Maleficent is my favorite Disney character, but also because it's large enough to house a LOT of makeup. It doesn't have any pockets or dividers inside, that's the only thing I don't like about it. This is the Soho Weekender bag, and although the Maleficent one seems to be sold out, you can find a few others here.


Eyes



1- I got this mini Dior palette a good while ago in a gift-with-purchase. It's called Incognito and it's the perfect nude palette for light skintones. I like it a lot so I was planning to buy the full-size version, but I waited and waited... and of course it ended up being discontinued when Dior reformulated their 5 Couleurs palettes. Sigh. The closest palette in Dior's current range might be the Eye Reviver. I only used it once during my trip, to do my party look.

2- I also brought two Coastal Scents Shadow Pots singles in a mini magnetic palette: Elven Gold on the left and Cherry Chocolate on the right. I only used the latter once with my party look to darken the outer corner of my eyes a bit more.

3- ck One Brow Pencil + Gel Duo. I quite like this pencil, but now that the brand isn't sold at Ulta anymore, I'm not sure where you can find it! I use it when I want a more defined brow, so again I only used it once with my party look.

4- Mini Too Faced Shadow Insurance: this is not my favorite eye primer in general, but the mini size is great for travel. It comes in a new packaging nowadays! I only used it under powder eyeshadows.

5- Essence Make Me Brow: I just bought this brow gel containing fibers to replace the much pricier Benefit Gimme Brow. So far it seems fine but I think it contains a bit of shimmer?? Not 100% sure about that, I'll do a review after a month or so of use. I used it every single day as a quick brow fix.

6- An oooold eyeshadow by Bobbi Brown, from those days when they came in round compacts! This is Black Plum, which still exists in the current range, and I brought it to use as a tightlining powder for my upper waterline. I only took the time to use it twice. It's actually not as good for that purpose as Espresso, also from Bobbi Brown, because it's less intense and requires a bit of layering.

7- A metallic pencil eyeliner from Bourjois in Brun Inoxydable - this is also old and I don't think Bourjois still makes these liners. I love the the copper shade, and it's one of my most used eyeliners ever, but I didn't use it during this trip! I also forgot to include Sephora Contour Eye Pencil in Tiramisu in this roundup: it's a much more recent addition but my second most used eyeliner, particularly for the waterline. I used it almost every day while in New York.

8- Kiko Moon Shadow in shade 02, from last year's Midnight Siren collection. I used it once to add a bit of smokyness to my lower lash line. Unfortunately this great shadow stick formula was limited edition, but you can find similar shades by Laura Mercier or Bobbi Brown.

9- bareMinerals BB Cream Eyeshadow in Soft Linen and Elegant Taupe. These are my go-to cream shadows for quick eye looks, and I wore one or the other every single day during my trip. Check out my review of shade Candlelit Peach for more details about the formula.

10- A travel-size tube of YSL Effet Faux Cils Shocking mascara. I don't find it to give shocking volume at all... but I love that it's a natural-looking mascara that lifts the lashes and never clumps. I may buy the full-size one day!

Swatches of the eyeshadows and pencils. Nice shade combo, don't you think?

Cheeks



1- MAC Mineralize Blush in Solar Ray: this is a few years old and powdery as hell, but I love the luminous sheen on my cheeks. This particular shade was a limited edition part of the Heavenly Creature collection, but you can get the same finish with other colors in the range. I actually reviewed it 4 years ago (vintage post!). I used it 2 or 3 times during my trip.

2- Lancôme Star Bronzer in 02 Solaire. This is a travel-size received in a recent gift-with-purchase. It's a pretty nice, luminous bronzer and I used it a couple times.

3- Lancôme My Parisian Blush in Corail de Ville: this cute cream blush has been a staple in my makeup looks ever since I reviewed it earlier this year. It's a perfect nudish coral that goes with everything, but the tin is still hard to pop open!

4- Lancôme Blush Subtil Crème in Corail Alizé: I'm still in love with this cream blush from last year's summer collection. Just look at the swatch below, isn't it a gorgeous coral red?? I reviewed it if you want to see more pictures.

Swatches of the cheek products. In a different order, because I'm like that...

Lips



1- The most nourishing lip balm I own, Nivea Lip Butter in a tin box. I've had it for a while now and I'm trying to finish it. You need very little so it takes AGES. It's actually a really good balm and since I get horribly dry lips during and after flights it was very helpful. The Caramel flavor is nice, but I'd love to try the Coconut one they have in Europe!

2- Another oldie but goldie from the the MAC Heavenly Creature collection, the Cremesheen Glass in Meteoric. I know the formula isn't for everyone but I personally adore Cremesheen Glasses with their milky effect, particularly the ones with shimmer. Also reviewed years ago.

3- And another travel-size I got in a gift-with-purchase! Short trips are the best times to use those makeup minis, right? Anyways, this is Shiseido Perfect Rouge in RD142 and I was quite impressed by the formula. It's fully opaque yet light and very smooth, and the shade is a brick red with pink undertones. I wore it for our night out.

4- Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Sheer Liar. You probably know that this lipstick has now been discontinued but shade Sheer Liar still exists in the brand new Vice lipstick range. It's a great everyday shade of nude pink. I think I wore it once during our trip.

5- Lancome Juicy Shaker in Bohemian Raspberry. This is one of the two lip products that I kept in my purse during the whole trip for touchups during the day, and I really enjoyed using it all the time! It gives a nice pop of color and keeps my lips moisturized and soft. Read my review for all the details!

6- Clarins Lip Comfort Oil in Red Berry: the other lip product I kept with me all the time. This is so comfortable, and the high shine gives a nice finishing touch to a very simple no-makeup look, what I went for during my entire stay. I have a full review if you want to learn more.

Swatches of the lip products

Base



1- I brought a little bit of my favorite foundation, YSL Touche Eclat Le Teint, in a small jar. I had also brought my go-to brush to apply it (MAC 187). I'm still using the "old" formula, not the newly reformulated version - you can see a comparison between the two.

2- My pressed Blot Powder by MAC, the reliable, no-frills mattifying powder that I keep repurchasing. With the warm temperatures I used it every day, and it's as good as it's ever been!

3- Yet another gift-with-purchase, the Estée Edit Pore Vanishing Stick. I used it once and wasn't very impressed. I'll give it proper testing in the coming weeks.

4- A deluxe sample of MAC Prep + Prime Skin. I totally forgot I brought this base so I never used it!

5- Smashbox CC Cream, in a deluxe sample size. Luckily shade Light was a good match (I often receive samples that are too dark for my complexion), so I used it almost every day during my vacation. Funny thing is I thought it looked pretty good, but I used it again when I got back home and didn't like it. With my good makeup mirror and lighting I could see that it emphasizes my skin texture and makes my face look a bit dryer. It's not terrible, but I don't see the point of using something that makes me look older... It could work well for people with very smooth and/or oily skin. The wear time in the New York subway heat was great actually!

6- Dior Hydra Life BB Eye Creme: this is my daily concealer when I don't have time to work with a higher coverage product. It blends well with fingertips, and it's really brightening. I heard my favorite Dior MUA say that it was discontinued, so I might grab another one while I still can at a store that has it in stock.




The product featured in this post were all purchased by Lulle. I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links.