#FestivalFun | What's in my Bag

Ok so you have your general luggage all packed up and ready to go, but of course when you're actually in the festival, you'll be leaving most things in your tent, so below I've included what I have in my day to day bag, the essentials that I need to keep me going all day and night! I have a little paragraph on each, but for quick reference I have also included some bullet points. I would definitely keep it small and light.

I also usually prefer a small over the shoulder bag, since then when you're in a crowd of people, your belongings are in front of you, as opposed to in a backpack behind you!

This small satchel would be perfect 

(New Look, €13, Autumn 2013 collection)

Valuables
Of course you don't want to leave your phone, money or camera behind in the tent. Most obviously as you'll need all of them throughout the day, but also I wouldn't recommend leaving anything of value in the tent, ever. I've never had a single problem to date with things being stolen, but that's no reason to be too lax. As with any other situation, do not leave anything valuable sitting unattended in a field!

- Phone
- Money
- Camera

Hygiene
A mini hand sanitizer is an absolute must. Portaloos are bad enough without coming out of one to realise all the sanitiser is gone, be safe, bring your own. In the very same vein, be sure to bring some toilet roll in case of an emergency. All the loos are being re-stocked and cleaned on an ongoing basis yes, but when you have hundreds of people using them every hour, it's inevitable you'll need your own supplies at some point.

- Hand Sanitiser
- Toilet Paper

Skin / Hair / Make Up Basics
Some sun cream and a lip balm with SPF are a great staple for your bag. Then depending on your preferences you might like to keep a lipstick, concealer or powder on you to freshen up throughout the day. You know best what you'll need to re-apply. If you're pretty easy going about your makeup, leave everything behind! Definitely don't carry around anything you know you're not going to use. I wouldn't imagine you would need to bring any hair care products out and about. However there is certainly no harm in having a few hair ties and hair clips at the bottom of your bag should disaster strike!

- Sun Cream
- Lipstick
- Powder
- Hair Ties / Clips

Miscellaneous
After that you might want to ensure you have on your persons, your sunglasses or a hat to keep the sun out of your eyes, to save on space, just wearing these, means you don't need to fit them in your bag. You might want to bring along a bottle of water, but be sure to check the rules of the specific festival you're attending. For Electric Picnic specifically you are allowed to bring 500ml sealed bottles of minerals into the arena from the campsite, so you could save a little money by bringing a six pack from home. But as per my first post, bare in mind that's now three extra litres of weight when travelling from the car to the campsite on day 1. You may prefer to just pick some up inside the arena.

- Sunglasses / Hat
- Water (optional)
- Jacket/Hoody for when it gets cooler (you can just tie it around the strap of the bag)

BeautyBaggage Competition | Mega Lip Giveaway

Ok so I've been trying to think of a way I could say thanks to everyone who has supported me and my blogging endeavours. After some thought, I've decided to go with a Mega Lip Giveaway. So all the prizes are (as you've probably guessed) lip related. They're all products I have owned and loved, so I hope you will feel the same about them. So let's get straight to the point, one lucky winner can win:

• 3 x MAC Lipsticks
• 2 x Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers
• 2 x Bourjois Shine Edition Lipsticks
• 1 x Lush Lip Balm
• 1 x Lush Lip Scrub

That's over €100 worth of products for your lovely lips. You have all the products you need to look after your lips and make them fabulous. What's better, you'll notice I didn't mention any shades (or in the case of Lush, flavours), that's because the winner can choose ANY shades/flavours they want. So do you have any colours you wanted to try out, but have been too afraid or perhaps you just need a couple more colours to finish off your collection? Now's your chance!

Terms & Conditions
1. This competition is open internationally
2. Winner will get to choose the shade for each prize (I am happy to offer recommendations)
3. The closing date of the competition is Sunday 30th March 2014
4. The winner will be announced on BeautyBaggage Twitter & Facebook pages later that day, so make sure to check back.

To make it fair, I am using Rafflecopter. The more ways you enter, the better the chance you have of winning.

Good luck everyone!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is no way sponsored, or in connection with, any of the above brands

Best of Beauty Blog Challenge | Make Up Must Haves

Week 3 of the #BOBBlogChallenge already? This week the focus is Make Up Must Haves, those essential items you just can't live without! I also recommend heading over to All The Buzz to check out Samantha's post and to see all the participants in the Challenge!

So I've rounded up the troops and I think I'm left with the following essentials...

First up is the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, not to be confused with the foundation, the serum has a nice light, velvety feel to it. I have mentioned this foundation time and time again on my blog, so instead of boring you, here is a full review. I wear it day and night, I love it!

Next up is the Bobbi Brown Corrector. It's perfect for on the go, it covers under your eyes well, with a tiny hint of highlight. I have my one quite a long time now and I still haven't hit pan, so while it's not super cheap, it definitely is lasting a lot longer than any concealer I have ever owned. To top it all off, it has a little mirror in, which saves me carrying around an extra item in my makeup bag, perfect!

This is definitely my "go to" lipstick. I think it's great for everyday wear, while also having enough colour for nights out too! I'm rarely without this Bourjois Shine Edition Lipstick. So much so, it's almost finished at this stage. Would you believe it'll be the first EVER lipstick I completely used? I usually lose a lipstick or grow bored of it before I could ever possibly reach the end. So I don't think it could come with a stronger endorsement from me! 

I have five of these Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24hr Cream Shadows in total and I love them all. They're great as an eyeshadow themselves, but even more commonly I use them as a base for other shades. I find using these stops all other shadows from budging, even after hours of wear. I also find whenever there is some wear, it's great to have a lasting shade underneath (which is why I have 5 shades, I will try to match the cream shadow base with the colour I am actually wearing).

Finally I have the Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless. I love this mascara for really separating and lengthening my lashes. Then if I want dramatic eyes I will usually layer it with another volumising mascara. It's perfect on its own for everyday wear as well as for nights out!


So that's it for another week, do you own any of these products, what do you think of them?
What are your make up must haves?

Mini Haul | MAC, Chanel, Bourjois...

Ok so I couldn't entirely resist the shops this weekend. I might have no money, but that didn't seem to stop me last week. Sure isn't that what credit cards are for? So I thought I'd share with you the few bits I picked up....

So I made a quick lunch time trip down Henry street and somehow within 30 minutes managed to drop into MAC, Arnotts and Boots. So from MAC I picked up Plumful from the Lustre range. Which I've been meaning to pick up ever since I heard Estée from Essie Button mention it in one of her videos a few months back. It's such a pretty shade and it feels so nice on the lips.

Next it was into Chanel where I initially went in to pick up their pressed powder, as I heard great things about it for someone like me with dry skin. I had a good chat with the lady in Chanel about dry skin, dehydrated skin and the difference between the two. She was fairly confident my skin was just dehydrated. So instead I left the powder and picked up the hydrating serum (the price tag is not for the faint of heart). But after using it for a couple of days, my skin feels much softer and all the breakouts I've had for the last few months seem to finally be clearing (breakouts are apparently a by-product of dehydrated skin I'm told). I will definitely do a proper review, once I've been using it for a few weeks...

Next up I went to boots and picked up a moisturiser, if I'm being totally honest I have yet to land on a specific brand here. I swap and change all the time. I'm completely committed to my cleanser, but I jump from moisturiser to moisturiser. It's one area, I need to give a little more care and attention. So I've tried this one before and it seemed okay, so I'm back again to No7 Protect & Perfect Day Cream.

Then I picked up one of all time favourite foundations, Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum. If you want a full review of this foundation, you can look back to a previous post here. Although now I use the Real Techniques buffing brush to apply it for a much more even, flawless, finish.

I also then picked up these two sprays from V05 which I've heard a bit about through the blogging world, I have never tried any texturising sprays before ever, so I look forward to reporting back on how I find them. I have heard a lot of buzz about the Oribe texturising spray, but I wasn't ready to part with €50 for a type of product I've never used before. I will however give this pair a try at only €7 for the 2 of them, what a bargain!

And the final product is a cult favourite, which needs no introduction, the Batiste dry shampoo. I always get the original one as I am not a big fan of scented hair products. But of course you couldn't fault it and I need not go into any detail here, as everyone is fully up to speed and obsessed with Batiste!

So guys and gals, do you have any of these products?
Or have you been hitting the shops lately?

Wish List | Spring Make Up Essentials

Okay okay, so they might not be "essentials" per se, but I've managed to pick out some of my favourite items that are out at the moment or being released for Spring/Summer 2014. We've managed to make it through dreary January (almost) and it's time to look forward! What better way to pick yourself up than creating your very own Spring 2014 wishlist. Essentially I am looking for justification for these purchases and if I put them "out there", no one can be surprised or shocked when I come home, bags full. You've been warned!

MAC Viva Glam Rihanna Lipstick         NARS Guy Bourd Cinematic Lip (Full Frontal)

            WetnWild - Trio - Cool as a Cucumber               MAC Veluxe Brow Liner

Urban Decay - Naked 3 Palette

       

Barry M NP318 - Bourjois Violet Couture - NARS Wind Dancer

Have you already got any of these products, what do you think of them?

What is on your Wishlist for Spring 2014?

Blogtober #15 | Favourite Lipstick

Welcome to Blogtober Day 15, apologies for missing the last two days I have been quite unwell. Feeling much better now and ready to get back into it! So this is a look at some of my favourite lipsticks which are perfect for Autumn/Winter. I have included a mixture of high street and high end brands, with a price range from approx €6 to €36, so something for all budgets.

In addition to above I couldn't find my MAC lipstick (shade: lustering) for this picture, but here are some of my favourites at the moment. I've mentioned the Bourjois lipstick on more than one occasion, so it's no surprise it's here yet again! The Make Up For Ever nude shade is great for everyday wear, where as the Rimmel Kate, Topshop & YSL lipsticks are definitely reserved for nights out or whenever a bold lip is acceptable.

I just think lipstick is amazing, you can have the most minimal of make up on, pop on some lipstick and you've transformed any look (especially if you go for bold colours).


What lipsticks are you loving right now?
What are you favourite shades for Autumn/Winter?