My Spring Makeup Bag

Spring is in the air! Or at least, I'm pretending it is, regardless of what it's like outside and ignoring what that silly groundhog said back in February.

I almost always carry a bag o' makeup with me. In some ways this is a touch-up bag: if I do my makeup at home and my brows start to rub off or my nose gets shiny, the products within will save the day. But to be perfectly honest, it's mostly my emergency "oh Hell I didn't have time to get ready this morning" bag, the kind of thing you take to your boyfriend's house for an overnight visit, or to your office in case you keep hitting the snooze button. (Totally not guilty of that, nope!) While some of the products from my cold-weather bag are still here, I've made a number of changes to address the season.

And like last time, I'm going to do some math and figure out how much this bag is worth. Hold me.

1. MAC Pressed Blot Powder ($25.00) in Light. It provides zero coverage, but that's fine, because I really only need it for oil control and touch-ups. The compact is also super-nice and sturdy, and it comes with a great mirror.

2. RMS Beauty Living Luminizer ($38.00) and Lip2Cheek ($36.00) in Modest. I actually didn't buy either of these products from RMS--they were given to me at a mega-discount by a fellow beauty blogger--but to be fair, I'm adding in the prices. These products are super-portable and not too emollient for my skin in the wet, humid Pennsylvania spring. The Living Luminizer is an all-purpose highlighter, while the Lip2Cheek can be used on--you guessed it!--my lips and cheeks for when I want a slightly bolder, brighter look.

3. Bare Minerals Lash Domination sample (free). It's the teeniest mascara sample I've ever seen, and yet it's remarkably effective: lengthening, thickening, and black as night. The brush is a bit hard to control, but I think that's because the lid you use to hold it is...well, miniscule.

4. Tarte BB Tinted Treatment ($34.00) in Fair. One of the only products that's sheer enough to work on me year-round, but also pigmented enough to even out my skintone and soften my blemishes. The SPF30 is an added bonus for days when I'm too rushed to put on my usual sunscreens.

5. Becca Eye Tint ($24.00) in Vicuna. This is essentially some sparkle immersed in a super-sheer platinum base. I tend to skip eyeshadow most days, especially when I'm in a hurry, but it's good to have this product for mornings-after that leave me with dull, baggy eyes. The extra brightness is much-appreciated!

6. The Tool Kit, revamped for 2014! This container used to hold my Bite Beauty pencils; now it contains bobby pins, spin pins, q-tips, hair ties, and a small pack of Shiseido facial cottons. This box keeps everything from getting dirty or lost at the bottom of my makeup bag.

7. Lipstick Queen Jean Queen ($18.00). A semi-sheer watermelon pink with a touch of warmth that works with just about every outfit and eyeshadow I own.

8. Jack Black Lip Balm ($7.50), my favorite "traditional" lip balm and a regular purchase at Sephora. I always switch to a balm with SPF when warmer weather rolls around because I'm outside more often and my lips are prone to burning.

9. Anastasia Clear Brow Gel sample (free). I've received 4 (!!!) unused sample-sized tubes of this Holy Grail from swaps, so I'll never run out. I actually prefer the sample size to the full size, because for whatever reason, these littler tubes are always easier to open; my full-size tube tends to get "glued shut" after every other use.

10. Becca Beach Tint ($25.00) in Grapefruit, Guava's more pigmented cousin. I will laud the portability and ease of Beach Tints until the day I die, so expect one of these guys to be in my makeup bag year-round. This shade is a sheer peachy-pink, making it the perfect companion for LQ Jean Queen.

11. Clinique Airbrush Concealer ($19.50) in Fair, a concealer I've had for going on 3 years now. I'm working on using it up.

12. MAC Eye Brow pencil ($16.00) in Fling. This has replaced the Clinique pencil because the shade is slightly less blond and a hair darker/more taupe, but it's just as tiny and as easy to use. My only complaint? There's very little product in here, so if you use it on the daily, you'll run out in a month or two. For my once-in-a-while-on-the-run purposes, though, it's perfect. The Fling shade is a tad light/golden for my tastes, so I'm going to give Lingering a try.

13. Skindinavia Setting Spray, mini-size (free). Always carried, always a life saver.

The total:

$219.00

I was assuming that the total would actually be lower here, seeing as I have fewer eye and lip products than in my winter bag...but I also include a powder to deal with the warmer weather and use skincare/base products that are double the cost of those in the winter bag, sooooo. Not really a surprise. Still, kind of scary to think that I carry around over $200 worth of makeup and consider that my "back up collection," yeah?