Top 10 Handbag Essentials – Chatterbox.ie

Today’s Guest Post is from the ever fabulous Gemma and Anita from Chatterbox.ie . These two ladies really know their stuff .Anita is a makeup artist, while Gemma is a nail guru and they have on more than one occasion twisted my rubber arm with their reviews and Facebook posts. Chatterbox.ie is a blog I read on a daily basis and their Facebook page is a must follow. Once you have finished reading their handbag essentials don’t forget to follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

So when Sinéad asked us to write a guest post on her blog we were very excited to not only help out a fellow blogger who we have known from day one but also to reach out to new readers who have not heard of the Chatterbox ladies before (click here to see our website).

Choosing a subject to write about was pretty easy as we simply wanted to give you all something nice and easy to read but yet useful. Our handbag essentials was the perfect choice as we both swear by the goodies mentioned below and we are sure you will love them too.

We both carry around everything AND the kitchen sink in our handbags, completely normal right? However, I think we agree there are some things we have in them that are completely “essential” and we could not do without on a day to day basis. So, we thought we would compile Chatterbox’s top ten handbag essentials with both of us picking 5 straight from the depths of our bags.

Gem’s 5 Picks:

I already have a post about all the stuff I carry around in my everyday handbag here so if you want a more in depth version be sure to click on the link 🙂 For now, I’ll narrow it down to 5 essentials…no pressure.

1) Hand Sanitizer is a must for me, you need to be able to keep your hands clean on the go. I love the Soap & Glory Hand Maid Hand Cleansing Gel. It has the familiar Soap & Glory smell and it’s not too drying on the hands. It’s also really affordable from Boots. You can usually get it on 3 for 2. May I suggest trying the Hand Cream too 🙂

2) Sunglasses are a must for me, even in the winter. You should always protect your eyes and lets face it they look damn cool too 🙂 These are Ray-ban Clubmasters my glasses of choice at the minute. I am loving them.

3) You need to keep your lips hydrated on the go. I always switch and change lipsticks but there’s always a lip balm in my bag. The one in it at the minute is The Body Shop Born Lippy raspberry balm. It’s smells like sweets, keeps your lips nice and soft as-well as adding a nice shine and a hint of tint to them.

I am an oily skinned girl and get shiny throughout the day so need something to help keep it at bay. These Catrice Mattifying Oil Control Papers are brill at blotting off an excess oil without disrupting your makeup. They are also so cheap and easy to get your hands on. I have these in all of my bags and would be lost without them.

5) My last handbag essential is one of the coolest inventions ever, the Travalo. This is a refillable perfume atomiser. You take the nozzle of your perfume bottle and put this on top of it and pump your desired perfume into the Travalo. Voilà, you have your favourite perfume on the go. Mine is filled with Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb. I admit I am a bit of a Travalo junkie and have a few of them floating around different hand bags with different scents. They’re so handy and keep your bag freed up from big perfume bottles so you can fit more crap in 🙂

Anita’s 5 Picks:

1) My first pick would have to be the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray in the 30ml travel size. This is perfect for refreshing your makeup during the day when you are on the go. I spray this on in the morning and my makeup lasts great all day but when I feel my makeup is getting a little tired on my skin or if infact I am starting to hit a slump I spray this beauty on me and it not only refreshes my makeup but it also give me a well needed burst of freshness.

2) I tend to wear alot of eye makeup on a daily basis and in particular liner which on certain occasions can get a little smudged and so I like to have Q Tips on hand to clean up and perfect my makeup. These are also great for cleaning up around the lips if you are wearing a strong lip which can get smudged if you are eating and drinking during the day. These ones from Boots are my favourites as they have a sharp end which is great for cleaning up smaller areas liked winged liner. A strange thing to blog about but you would be amazed at how much you actually use these when you have them with you!

3) I constantly wear gel polish or acrylic nails and so I am obsessed with using cuticle oil to ensure my cuticles and nails look lovely and hydrated. So cuticle oil is something that I always have with me in my handbag. This one is my favourite at the moment as it smells amazing, is very inexpensive and does a fantastic job.

4) I love a good lipgloss so I always have to have one with me on the go. My favourite one for carrying around is Picnic in the Park by Tanya Burr. This is the perfect pink shade, it isn’t too neutral but not too bright either so perfect for just slapping on while on the go…I don’t even need a mirror with this one.

5) Finally, my favourite product I carry with me and one that I cannot live without is the Umberto Giannini Flirty Curls Scrunching Jelly. As I have curly hair I cannot regularly brush my hair so this product is great to control frizz and revive my curls. A little bit goes a long way so this mini size lasts ages in my bag. Any curly haired girls out there, you need to give this one a go!!!