What's In My Handbag

I haven't done one of these types of posts before but I do enjoy reading them! I have to admit that I did forget to include my iPhone in the above picture and I usually also always lug my blogging camera around with me but I was using it to take the photo… so you're going to just have to use your imagination and pretend I've included them.

My handbag is one of Topshop's studded clutch bags (but I wear it with a strap) which I picked up off Ebay for just under £10. I'm so over Topshop's pricing but there are sometimes pieces that I just can't live without, so I usually try my best to pick them up the next season when everyone puts them on ebay! My purse is from Osprey and this was a similar "bargain" as I picked it up from TK Maxx just over a year ago. I didn't realise how battered it looked until I came to photograph this post! I'll have to look into getting a new one soon.

As a Londoner I'm obliged to carry around an oyster card wherever I go and I currently have mine housed in a Lipcote travel card holder that I got at an event a looong time ago. Again, this is something I need to upgrade in the new year! If you have any suggestions on where to find stylish card holders then I'd love to hear them. I also always carry around a pen and a little notebook - I'm a list writer and I much prefer hand writing notes than putting them onto my phone. 

Beauty-wise, I always have at least a couple of bits in my handbag, although not as many as you might think. I deliberately carry a small bag so I have to limit what I use on a regular basis. I always carry a hairbrush, and at the moment I'm loving my Compact Styler TangleTeezer*. I usually also carry a hairspray to add volume or tame my hair if I end up looking a bit windswept. At the moment I'm loving Umberto Giannini's Backcomb in A Bottle* which is honestly the best volumising aerosol spray that I've ever tried - and the dinky bottle is perfect for carrying around with me!

In terms of makeup I really don't ever carry around much! I usually carry a mirror - in the form of either RMK's Kaleidoscope Nuance Colour* or Stila's Convertible Colour Blush Palette, or on this occasion I found both in my bag! I also usually carry a lip balm, at the moment I'm keeping EOS's Blueberry and Acai* lip balm in my bag. When I apply this in public I get so many funny looks, but it's a nice one to use on-the-go. I'd then usually throw in whatever lipstick or gloss I'd put on that morning and carry that around with me too. But apart from these items I'm not someone to lug a big makeup bag around with me. I'd rather apply long lasting makeup that I can trust, or add a little bit of powder if I know I'm going to be wearing cream blushes (in which case I'd just throw a clean Real Techniques face brush into the inner pocket of my bag and powder using my RMK Nuance Colour).

What are your handbag essentials?