Something that’s quite trendy among the makeup artist community right now has become a new obsession of mine – de-potting, re-pressing, and resizing my professional and personal makeup bag. De-potting my professional bag has saved so much weight and space. It’s protecting my back, wrists and hand from carrying around too heavy of bags to gigs. I’m able to customize my bag for each unique client’s needs. I’m able to bring more products, in much less space. The benefits are endless!

Most consumer focused brands like to make cute, appealing-looking packaging to hook you in. But it’s usually so bulky, super wasteful for the environment, and straight up heavy. Much of the price you’re paying for the product is for the fancy packaging and marketing. It’s my DREAM that brands will start to offer loose pigments in baggies BEFORE they’re pressed, sold by weight, to people like me who will just put them into my own custom pallet. Or at least more brands need to start sell refillable product in magnetic pans. Some brands are starting to step up and offer this, such as Charlotte Tilbury, Jane Iredale, among others.

Enter: My smallest travel makeup bag ever!

I’m in my minimalist era – where especially when I travel, I just want to bring the basics along. It helps to clear my head space to make more important decisions than what color of eyeshadow to wear for the day. That’s what led me to create the perfect makeup travel bag and palette – that literally fits all my makeup into a tiny IPSY bag! I honestly use this on the daily at home too. Saves so much space on my makeup vanity!

In this custom Artist Kit Company palette, every product can be used on any part of the face (except the lips as they’re all powders) I custom press each product into a new magnetic to fit. Most of the magnetic pans are from Kit Pak, with a few small ones from Artist Kit Company as well.

The brands/products include:

  • Jane Iredale Pure Pressed foundation in Warm Silk
  • All Natural Face loose powder blush in Dusky Rose and bronzer in Suntan, both mixed with some magnesium stearate to help them stick.
  • Essential Wholesale loose setting powder (not sure if they have this anymore, I bought bulk-love that it’s aloe based)
  • Smaller eyeshadows/highlighters include:
  • Danessa Myricks from her highlighter palette, shade “Like DUHH”
  • Random pink shimmer, honestly can’t remember the brand or where it’s from but it’s pretty!
  • Tarte highlight from their old Pro Glow palette in strobe
  • Black cake liner from Mob Beauty
  • Brow powder from a Viseart palette
  • Deep brown eyeshadow also from a Viseart palette
  • Orangey pink shade I love using on my eyes occasionally is a Jane Iredale blush: Copper Wind

Other products outside of the palette were:

  • SPF/foundation: mix of fair AND medium from Colorescience SUNFORGETTABLE total protection face shield flex in the tiny squeeze bottle. This formula blends fabulouly with the fingers – spread on and then tapped in. I’d swap this for Face Atelier foundation if I had some fancier events to attend and needed more formal coverage.
  • Concealer: Trestique concealer crayon in Bone. I also LOVE hourglass beauty and IT cosmetics concealers so I’d easily swap for any of those.
  • Mascara: Blinc Ultra Volume tubing mascara Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm In Red Dahlia As you can see I have a variety of favorites across the board and love that I can mix and match in a custom palette.
  • Eyeshadow primer: Love me the classic Urban Decay primer potion. Super important step to ensure shadow stays on my oily lids and doesn’t crease throughout the day.

Throw in a couple brushes and lash curler and my travel bag has never been smaller 😍😍😍😍

This is one look I’m able to achieve with this tiny makeup bag, but I could go more dramatic or softer too if I choose to. Depending on the trip, I might throw in a liquid liner pen (LOVE Stila micro-tip), a couple other lip options and perhaps false lashes. But for a basic trip or day to day living, this is all I need.

In Conclusion:

The specific brand doesn’t necessarily matter as long as the product performs, preferably good for my skin and the colors are right. Having a mix of light to dark neutrals, a pop of color, and some shimmers is all I need. There are a million of the same product with a different brand name thrown on top so use what ya got, what you like and shop based on your morals! Finding your staple products is always trial and error, and I know with time, mine will evolve. For me having these basic essentials is all that matters for my “clean girl” era but I’d swap out any of these for something that works just as well. All that said, if you need recommendations, these are fab brands and I love every single product!

If you need help with your personal makeup bag, I’d be happy to consult you in a makeup lesson! Feel free to inquire for more information.

**None of these products are sponsored. At least yet. I’m excited to have affiliate links soon to support this blogging journey – but for now, this is all free info on what I love! You’re welcome 😀