Having A Snoop At Another Beauty Blogger's Handbag Essentials - Emma of Ol' Green Eyes

Blogging isn't the friendliest scene in Dublin. I've never, personally, had a bad experience and get along with everyone but I have witnessed nastiness and I had never made any close friends that are bloggers. I'm friendly with lots of people but there wasn't anyone that I had clicked with or knew well and that was partly my own fault for being too shy to put myself out there more.

And then, one event, I ended up talking to Emma of Ol' Green Eyes. We had often hung out at events before and I genuinely really liked her and whatever got into me that day, I did put myself out there: I asked her if she wanted to hang out sometime. This doesn't seem like that big a deal but making new friends as an adult isn't easy! She agreed, we went for coffee and I put forward the idea of doing a collab, which is how we ended up in Dublin's trendiest new eatery and bar with both of our makeup bags spilled out across the table.

Both curious about Roberta's, we headed there last week to grab a cocktail and some fries (Lesson learned: they may give you fries to snack on with your drinks so hold off on ordering unless you want to end up with three portions, like us. If you do want that, go ahead.) and compare our handbag essentials. I mean, who doesn't enjoy a creep at what others deem must-haves, right?

Once we had our food and drinks and had chatted a bit, Emma started unpacking her products and spreading them out before us in an aesthetically pleasing manner, much to the amusement of our very friendly waitress. I immediately spotted Escentric's Molecule 01 perfume and had many questions. Did it really smell different on different people? (A little, apparently) Could you really not smell it on yourself? (Only immediately after application for a while) And most importantly: Is it worth the hype? According to Emma, her whole office had it first and she kept asking what they were wearing, loving it. Then she gave in and bought the (much more reasonable/affordable) refillable 30ml bottle, only to be met by others grabbing her wrist and wondering what she, too, was wearing. So, not hype without fire then. While it is one of her go-to scents now, she does admit that it is partially only in her bag atm because of its handy size.

Another non-makeup essential that Emma totes around is Rituals' Indian Rose and Sweet Almond hand cream. Ritual is one of her favourite bodycare brands as it stands but this is an essential. Not only does it smell delicious (and it does) but she swears by its effectiveness. In fact, after flying to New York recently and washing her hands with the harsh soap on the plane multiple times, they were in need of some TLC and her first stop upon landing was the Rituals store.

If we're talking lifesavers and skincare rescues, then YSL's Lip Perfector needs a mention as it is another item Emma swears by. In fact, in the slew of lip products (why does every beauty blogger always have, like, ten lip products on them at any given time - this coming from someone who doesn't wear much makeup very often and who still does the same?), this was the key item. Under matte lip products, it is a lifesaver and as a lip balm, it is perfect. Plus, Emma says she uses it at least twice a day and has been using the same tube since last year - that's some long-lasting product!

Emma is a woman after my own heart in many ways and doesn't like to have to re-do her whole face on the go. Instead, she tries to ease the process of makeup wearing off over the course of the day. As such, many of her must-haves were key to preserving and cleaning up makeup. For sorting out oiliness, she swears by Essence's oil paper that may come in a tatty little cardboard box but does exactly what it needs to and for just over a euro. After stealing it from her sister constantly, she began to carry some around all the time and has yet to be swayed by any more expensive alternatives. A bargain and effective? The dream, right? Finally, Emma has only recently discovered Mac's iconic Fix + and has fallen in love. She uses it to revive her face and makeup throughout the day and says she totally gets the hype now.

There was plenty of other stuff in Emma's makeup bag to rummage through - Mac's Lady Danger and a genius lip brush from Sephora, among other things - but the above items were the ones that seemed really to be her ride or die products. And once we had adequately made a show of ourselves photographing the place and endless beauty products we had covering the table, we finished all of the fries and swanned out of there, a little bit closer for having revealed our deepest, not-so-darkest beauty secrets.

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Non-make-up handbag make-up essentials

The make-up bag that I carry on the daily has no real make-up in it. But I still consider the items my essentials for seeming put-together. They're basically the things for being caught out - having to go to an event without advance notice, appearance disasters, hygiene, weather. 

My Tatcha rice paper sheets are probably the closest thing to make-up. The idea is to have something that would serve to "powder my nose" if I'm wearing a full face and don't want to have to add layer upon layer of powder over the course of a long day. Or to merely blot out oiliness or shininess if I'm going without make-up but my skin's misbehaving. I've bought cheaper blotting paper in the past but never really saw any results - there's a reason these are considered the best.

Winter was not kind to my hands this year and I'm still recovering so I pop my travel size Laura Mercier Hand Créme in Ambre Vanillé in my bag for moments of quiet. Commutes are a great time to moisturise your hands as you can sit there and let it soak in. This also smells amazing and perks me up after a long day.

Also for hands is my Hand Maid Cleansing Gel from Soap and Glory. I don't really believe in hand sanitiser as I try to keep my immune system strong but there's nothing worse than being in a situation where you can't wash your hands and feel the need to. I try to use it sparingly. Especially as I find the scent a wee bit over-powering.

I wear SPF on a daily basis and this little moisturiser from Sanctuary Spa is cheap, handy to pop in a bag as it's travel size and is super-lightweight - so while the SPF is low, you can top it up and add lots of layers without feeling sticky and gross.

I like to keep my travel size Avéne in my bag to set make-up and also to refresh myself over the course of longer days. It's seriously good stuff.

My trusty Eve Lom Kiss Mix always comes along. It is, without a doubt, my favourite lip balm. I swear by it and now realise it's well worth the extra spend.

Additionally, I keep some chewing gum and a sample of whatever perfume I'm currently wearing to ensure I never get stinky - something I worry about a lot. You can never be too careful.

So, what are your non-make-up essentials?

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What's in my makeup bag?

So, until rather recently, I didn't carry a makeup bag around with me. I don't really tend to do touch-ups during the day as I always feel weird doing my makeup if it's either in front of others or in a public restroom or both. I just don't really want to spend more time than necessary in most bathrooms. I also have been dying to pee in a queue for the loos enough times to find it morally objectionable to add to the traffic in a bathroom. (What do women do in restrooms? Why are the lines always so long?)

*end mini rant*

But, as anyone who carries bags on the reg knows, it's always a pain to swap things to a new bag. It's also annoying to be unable to find anything you need in your bag. I normally only need my lip balm, perfume, blotting paper, compact mirror and sun cream during the day and decided to put them into a pouch to make them easier to find. Then I added in my other major essentials so I'm good to go if I end up crashing somewhere, some disaster befalls the makeup on my face and I feel the need to redo it all instead of just washing it off for some reason and to simply keep the stuff I use most together.

These essentials include my Dream Pure BB and Baby Lips in Peach Kiss from Maybelline,  17's Superlash mascara and eyeliner, Primark's Volume Boost mascara, Benefit's The Porefessional primer, TONYMOLY's Bunny Gloss Bar in Cherry, Topshop's Gloss Lipgloss in Long Time No See, Clinique's Eyeliner in Brown Sugar, a sample of Chloe (because it's easier than carrying the bottle), Dr Bronner Organic Lip Balm in Peppermint, L'Occitane's Cherry Blossom solid perfume, Catrice's Blotting paper, my compact which is from the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork with an image from Harry Clarke's Eve of St Agnes and my Nivea Sun Kids Pocket Size sunscreen SPF 50. The bag is from Lulu Guinness and I use it as a makeup bag and clutch intermittently. I do think it's too gorgeous to be forever given the supporting role of makeup bag, non?

What's key in your makeup bag? Anyone interested in me doing a post on my daily makeup routine, comment below!

(Everything I've talked about has been linked where possible and something similar in some cases)

What's in my bag/Wide-Eyed and Bargain.

This is a two-for and a combo of some signature Colette-posts - a bargain and a bag post! I think I initially promised a What's In My Bag every week but I came to realise that that got repetitive real fast. So, instead, I'll only be doing them when I buy/have interesting things with me.

So, yeah, here's what I had.

My trusty Longchamp Le Pliage avec my Mulberry wallet, diary, passport, Topshop sunglasses, keys, my Tangle Attack, my Andy Warhol pencil case, some snackage in the form of a Wispa, a Pink Lady apple and a travel mug of tea.

I also had this room freshening spray in Tangerine and Vanilla that I picked up in a random shop. It's from a brand called Pan Aroma and they're often in gift shops, DIY stores etc. It is, indeed, as it says on the tin (/label) - blissful. Both fruity and warm! 

I had this egg box in there as well. It originally had little cakes in it (so cute!) that our course director brought along to a meeting that day. Not sure how I ended up with the box....too lazy to walk to the bin? Most probably. 

Above are the Dexter's Laboratory pens I found in a pound shop kind of place - I'm pretty damn excited about them.

Here are some badges I had floating around in there - for the National Gallery of Ireland's 150th Anniversary and for the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI). Also pictured are the makeup essentials and only products I carry around on the reg - L'Oréal's Collection Privée Color Riche in Freida, Soap and Glory's Thick & Fast Super Volume mascara and Dr Bronner's Organic Lip Balm in Peppermint. 

And this is the point at which the bargain aspect comes in! In Style UK is giving away Eyeko eyelash curlers with this months issue. Worth £12, the magazine only costs around €5...a magazine and a really good eyelash curler for under a tenner? Em, yeah, I'll be having that.

Anyone else purchase In Style this month? Pleased with the freebie too?

What Crazy Crap is in Colette's Bag? - The experimental one.

A lot of the stuff you've probably all become accustomed to plus some Fruit-tella I've never tried before (truly juicier than the original!) as well as an eyelash curler, "Eyebrow Shapers", a hairband from Topshop, my trusty Topman beanie and a plastic bracelet from a Christmas cracker.

Beanies are standard attire for me but the hairband is part of why this collection of objects is labelled "experimental". I've a weird-shaped head so hairbands tend to slip off when I wear them. Sigh. Life is so friggin' difficult. Also, this is a somewhat striking piece - a little anime-esque. For both reasons I've worn it very little but I want to figure out how to style it right so I can wear it more. I really do like it.

The Fruit-tella were a new (and great) tastebud adventure.

And another adventure in the two euro shop saw me purchase the eyebrow shapers and eyelash curlers. The former wasn't very effective but the latter is quite good. I've heard spending more on eyelash curlers actually pays off but they were an experiment after all! So, a euro was quite enough to spend. I'm eventually gonna post a video of my first use of them - rather hilarious - but I'd been wanting to try some out for a while as I was irrationally terrified of them. Not actually so scary after all!

Yes, what an exciting group of adventures. *hangs head in shame* I'm so terribly uncool.

What Crazy Crap is in my Bag? - The bookish one.

So, a lot of the usual stuff plus a beer and a candle and lots of books. 

1. The candle is in Vanilla Pod from Dunnes and is really good value at €1.50

2. Yes, that's Pabst. Don't judge me, it was a euro and I just wanted a single beer with my dinner one night and not to have to spend loads.

3. I'm researching my thesis...ergo lots of books.

4. I also reread one of my favourite books as a teen, Sarra Manning's Guitar Girl and my uncle just gave me Edmund de Waal's The Hare with Amber Eyes to read.

5. Yea, my bag was really effing heavy that day.

What crazy crap is in my bag? - The one with a delivery and a lack of self-control.

I've been terrible at posting this week, I can only apologise. I have no excuse, I just didn't feel into it and that's the worst time to do it, it makes posting feel not genuine and forced. 

Tuesday saw me making dinner for one of my best friends and when I went to buy my groceries for a veggie moussaka, I also popped in to pick up a package from the post office. Finally, my Korean beauty products have arrived! Yayyyy!!1 

So, my bag contained my notebooks, wallet etc as per, alongside a courgette, two potatoes, garlic, some cherries, an aubergine, some organic eggs, grissini (breaksticks), a tin of tomatoes, my Tangle Attack, a beer and the package.

And, then, as I lack self-control I wandered into Boots, intending to look into a new concealer and ended up leaving with one of Seventeen's new Cheek Stamps...hrm. Suckered in by a complete gimmick once again. However, it actually has turned out to be great. A review is on it's way!

Bonus: Some pictures of the stuff from KollectionK. Some of it will feature in later posts with reviews etc. Look out for that! 

Cute little hello from the company.

Samples!

My modest purchases - SO CUTE.

PS Would peeps be interested in me posting more recipes and stuff? I'm no expert but that was a damn fine moussaka. Sarah can vouch for me!

What crazy stuff is in my bag? - The food edition.

So, I didn't find the Holy Grail in my bag this week - BOO-URNS. I did find a lot of food...because I went grocery shopping...but also this stuff.

Once again, aside from my dayplanner, pencil case, passport, notebook and sunglasses - seen in the first post - there was:

A new notebook
My crappy old phone
House keys
An umbrella

Organic natural yogurt
Organic falafel 
Panna
Lettuce
A tomato
A carrot
Some Milka

A book about the painter Walter Osborne by Jeanne Sheehy

A "Tangle Attack" which is the two euro shop rip-off of the Tangle Teezer and is great

And a discount flyer for Frite Haus we were given when we left...yet it says nothing about a discount on it...hrm...

What (crazy stuff)'s in my bag? WEaB-style.

(WEaB - It's short for Wide-Eyed and Blind...I just thought that setting up a short-hand miiight just be easier for everyone in the long run.)

So, many of you will be familiar with What's in my bag? videos, blog posts and interviews but mine has a wee bit of a twist.

You see, when I was in first year of my undergrad degree, in the first term, very near to the start of the year, I went to a comedy gig. It was my first and I was nervous - I'd seen dvd's of live comedy gigs and it had put the fear of God into me. I knew not to sit in or near the front row. My party, however, had other plans. Horror of horror, the comedian (who I shall not name but now like to call my Arch-Nemesis just because I like the idea of having one - I'm not that bitter, I swear) spotted my shopping underneath my seat and proceeded to empty my bags on stage.

I took it better than I thought I would, I laughed along and agreed that I had a pretty weird collection of things. There was a lunchbox-grater, a season of Angel on VHS tapes, a wireless mouse, Microsoft Office something and other things that now evade memory.

The point of all this is that, traditionally, my friends have known me to be the person with weird crap in their bag. Whether it's an attempt to be prepared for anything, a shopping expedition I forgot to unpack or having spotted something bizarre that would make a particular friend smile, there's generally a reason for the weird. But it doesn't make it any less weird.

So, now, as a light-hearted take on the What's in my bag? and a fun new weekly post, I introduce what was in my bag two days ago. 

Bag: Longchamp Nylon Le Pliage in Beige. See here. 

Wallet: Mulberry. Similar here.

Sunglasses: Topshop. See here.

Random Crap:

I went into the two euro shop for one thing...and then ended up buying...
Pirate sword and mask set (so fun),
Travel mug,
Spray bottle (for a DIY coming soooon),
Hello Kitty Glow Jewellery Kit,
Knight helmets x 2 (AWESOME),
Spongebob Squarepants sweets.

I also had my passport, dayplanner, pencil case (with an Andy Warhol print, bought by my uncle in the Met), Smarties in case I got peckish and a Miro notebook.

A visit to Fallon & Byrne (a supermarket) saw me purchase Mulled Wine spice bundles for the 'rents because it may no longer be the season but they are still fans.

Nourish, a health food store, saw me pick up a new toothbrush which is biodegradable and made from sustainable materials.

And, finally, in Boots I grabbed a Real Techniques blending sponge and a SEVENTEEN SUPERlash Mascara plus free eyeliner. These are all great and I will review very, very soon.

Kinda eclectic, huh? Tune in for next week's edition!

Colette out.