Decluttering My Handbag: Minimalist Beauty Essentials

I used to be one of those women who carried everything in their handbag, especially when it came to beauty stuff. In fact, some of my most popular blog posts from a few years ago were 'What's In My Bag' features, and I love seeing the contents of other bloggers handbags (I don't know why, but I know I'm definitely not alone!). 

These days though, I'm much more of a minimalist and I've really scaled back on the number of beauty products that I keep in my handbag, carrying only what I'd consider being the 'bare essentials'. Why? Well, I've realised that a lot of the beauty stuff that I used to haul around in my bag simply wasn't getting used and that I honestly didn't need to have 12 different lip products rolling around at the bottom of it all amongst the receipts and pen lids.  

It was time for a declutter! Below is what I now keep in my bag (beauty-wise at least...!):-

 Handbag Beauty Essential No 1: The Hand Sanitiser

Hand sanitiser is a big essential for most people, and I'm really happy that I've found a natural one that I like, as I'm not much of a fan of the artificially perfumed ones. The Botanicals Organic Sanitiser* (50ml, £5.95, link) is 100% natural and contains essential oils of Lavender and Tea Tree to provide anti-bacterial protection without the need for petrochemicals. The alcohol in this formula is derived from Sugar Beet as well, and I don't find that it dries out my hands like some mainstream brands do. To use it, I just spray it all over my hands and rub them together  - it dries quickly and smells so lovely and fresh! You can also use this to refresh your feet, and it's available in a larger size bottle if you're carrying it around for the whole family to use on the go.

 Handbag Beauty Essential No. 2: The Aromatherapy Rollerball

As many of my regular readers will know, I'm very much into aromatherapy and mindfulness, so I like to carry a handy aromatherapy rollerball in my bag to help me feel calm when I'm feeling anxious or stressed, or to keep me feeling energised during a long day. Tisserand Aromatherapy Rollerball in Happy* (10ml, £5.95, link) mainly does the latter, but I do feel it helps to relax me as well which is a nice added bonus! It features a blend of Lemon Tea Tree, Bergamot and Nutmeg essential oils to balance, uplift and comfort, and it works very well for me.

 Handbag Beauty Essential No. 3: The Lipbalm

When I was decluttering my handbag, I was shocked to find that I had six lip balms in there. SIX! Nobody needs six lip balms in their bag! Even more annoying was the fact that most of these lip balms had expired, bar this one which I remember buying last year. I binned all of the others and now I can get to work using this one up as it's already half done. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this Our Tiny Bees Lip Balm (13g, £4.95, link) before, but it's basically just a really great simple lip balm that's made up of three ingredients; Honey, Beeswax and Almond Oil - that's it. I've actually gone through a tin of it in the past which goes to show how much I love it!

Handbag Beauty Essential No. 4: The 2-in-1 Makeup Compact

Makeup is something that I've had to be very ruthless with as I used to have a lot of makeup products in my bag. I used to pack at least three lipsticks, a foundation, a concealer or two, a powder, a mascara, an eyeliner, a couple of lip liners and glosses, and I even had a set of false eyelashes in there (you know, 'just in case'!). Evidently, I soon realised that I was hardly using any of this as I very rarely touched up my makeup during the day. When I did, I pretty much only ever used a lipstick and a powder blush or bronzer as this often started to fade first as the day went on.

So I cleared out everything, and now I'm sticking with a simple 2-in-1 makeup compact. I have a few of these from various brands, but I'm currently enjoying using this one from Joan Collins which is her Summer Kiss Compact Duo* (£30, link). The gold packaging is beautiful with a sturdy magnetic closure, and inside the compact is a flattering, neutral toned bronzing powder with SPF 15, a mirror, a mini brush, and a full-size lipstick. I have the lipstick in the shade Suzy Starr which is a gorgeous coral pink that's perfect for Spring & Summer, and that's it - all the makeup that I need in my bag!

What are your Handbag Beauty Essentials?

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What's in my bag?

The bag: this was purchased second-hand for a bargain price, originally from Warehouse. It's pretty huge and goes with everything. I'm boring and tend to stick with black for day-to-day.



What's inside?
- Glasses & glasses case
- Handmade notepad (maybe from Etsy? I forget) & two pens. I always carry two pens in case one runs out and they're always black ink ones.
- Two fold-up shopping bags - I try to not use plastic ones anymore.
- Book - always, always try to carry a book with me. I picked this up yesterday because my friend was telling me off for never having read anything by Lovecraft.
- Bottle of water - random fact, I have a serious phobia of choking to death so I panic if I don't have some water with me. I generally buy one bottle and then fill it up with filtered tap water. Trust me, you save a LOT of money and it's much better for the environment.
- Healthy snack - usually a Graze punnet of some sort or an apple/banana. Or maybe a chocolate bar...
- Packet of tissues.
- Keys.
- Girly essentials (see below) - in this cute handmade skull pansies cotton pouch.
- Coin purse and wallet - both vintage, I've had these for years and years. Never buy highstreet wallets, they seem to fall apart in seconds.
- Ipod shuffle - had this for ages too, it still works so why change?
- Notebook that I converted into a diary.
- Sunglasses case - think this was from H&M.
- (not pictured) Mobile phone - forgot to include my ancient and therefore cool, retro BlackBerry, these may have come out in the late 90s. It works and doesn't constantly glitch like everyone else's 'new' phone does. (You can see how I save a lot of money here)



Girly essentials pouch:
- Blotting tissues - my face turns into an oily mess in Summer so these work well. They're the tea tree ones from The Body Shop but do the same job as every other brand I've tried.
- Burts Bees lip balm - probably my all-time favourite lip balm ever.
- Lip gloss - this one's from Barry M and goes on a nice sheer colour.
- Kirby grip & toothpicks.
- Mirror - this was a little gift from a friend, another item that I've had for years.

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That's it!

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