What's in my Beauty Bag? Holiday Edition!

Hi, everyone! If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I'm currently setting up shop at my parents' house for the holidays. I'm in town for just over a week, which so far has been (and will continue to be) filled with food, friends, and family. The perfect trifecta! Travelling over Christmas also means rounding up my must-have beauty products and toting them along with me. I thought I'd give you a peek at all of the goodies that made the cut! As you'll see, I'm definitely not a minimalist when it comes to packing, but I was able to whittle it down to a semi-reasonable amount ;)

First up is skin care! I brought a couple of staples and the rest are a bunch of minis and samples to road test over the holiday. I'm sampling two luxe makeup removers, Pai Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser and Sarah Chapman's Perfect Cleanse. I also have a go-to cleanser in Kiehl's Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash, which is the gentlest foaming wash I've tried! I packed my brand new First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads, which have been giving me a serious glow, and La Roche Posay's Effaclar A.I., which has been working wonders to shrink down my spots. The rest are a mix of goodies from Vichy, Pai, Sarah Chapman, and Aesop. My skin has been behaving well so far!

Next up are my  hair care staples. I packed a ton of Aesop shampoo and conditioner packets, which were given to me by an extremely generous sales associate at Holt Renfrew. I have to say that they smell amazing! I also toted my favourite styling cream, Bumble and Bumble Brilliantine, the best ever mousse, Oribe Surfcomber, and a serious source of volume, Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray. And for when my roots get greasy, I have a sprinkle of Lush No Drought dry shampoo. 

Then we have the goodies that work to create a flawless base. I packed my favourite primer, Laura Mercier Oil-Free, my go-to full coverage foundation, Revlon Colourstay, and one helluva mattifying powder, Soap & Gory One Heck of a Blot. To add some holiday glow to my complexion, I brought Inglot HD Illuminizing Powder #504, Essence Beach Cruisers Bronzing Powder (which *almost* makes me feel like I'm somewhere tropical), and BeneFit Watts Up. I also have my staple concealers from BeneFit and MAC and my go-to Anastasia goodies to keep my arches in shape. 

Next up are the products that are keeping my cheeks and eyes looking festive. I packed my Inglot Freedom Palette with three colourful blushes and an ultra soft sculpting powder. I couldn't pick just one shadow palette, so I tucked in three: Clinique's A Black Honey Affair, Too Faced's Natural Eyes, and my Yaby Pearl Paint palette. I also packed my Clarins Ombre Matte in Rosewood and my Flower Beauty Flirty Floret cream shadow for good measure. I brought a variety of liners from NudeStix and Annabelle, as well as my two favourite mascaras, Clinique High Impact and BeneFit They're Real! And for a touch of fragrance, my go-to rollerball perfume, Elizabeth & James Nirvana Black. 

I also packed a selection of my favourite makeup brushes for face and eyes. You can see that Real Techniques is well represented, joined by some goodies from Shu Uemura, Quo, Sigma, and Sephora. 

And finally, the piece to resistance- my lip bag! Narrowing down my lip colour options was ridiculously difficult, so I think I lugged about 15 shades with me. I decided to pull out about half of these to feature here. I packed a few ultra festive reds, including Tom Ford Crimson Noir, Illamasqua Maneater, MAC Lady Danger, Revlon Standout, and Revlon Red Velvet. I also have one of my favourite nudes, MAC Modesty, and a few vibrant pinks for good measure! I also packed two awesome lip liners, my Annabelle Stay Sharps in Glam Red and Java. 

So there you have it! My not so edited holiday makeup bag edit! This post has clearly reinforced that I cannot be brutally selective when it comes to packing my beauty items. I hope it's also tempted you with a few pretty goodies!

What's in your holiday beauty bag this year? Are you a minimalist when it comes to packing, or do you go all out like me?

Happy Holidays! xo