I thought I would show you what I took with me on my recent trip to Scotland. I went to visit my family & stayed almost 3 weeks. I tried not to limit what I took but really thought about what I was using daily & tried not to take products I knew I wouldn’t use. So here are the contents of my makeup bag. Oh & I won this cute makeup bag last year in a blog giveaway, it’s so cute don’t you think? It fits a lot in & as you can see I barely filled it (very proud of myself for not overpacking).

For eyes, I took my MUA Palette & Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes Kit & one Mac single shadow in Naked Lunch. I rarely do anything other than a neutral eye & the MUA Undress Me Too Palette is ideal for travel as it is slim & you get 12 wearable shadows to pick from. I like that it’s affordable too so I’m not worried about it getting damaged and I have taken it away with me quite a few times this year & I’m still loving it. The Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes Kit has a small Boiing Concealer & 3 gorgeous quite neutral shadows. I love this for a night time look & the shadows are so creamy and long wearing its a Kit I have had for years & I love rediscovering it.

I took 2 Mascaras both are firm favourites of mine one is the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara which is a jet black long-wearing mascara which gives my lashes volume. They look so long & fluttery after a few coats of this. The brush is quite thick but I like that you can coat each individual lash & get right to the root to get that extra volume. Love this Mascara. The other one in my makeup bag is the Seventeen Back Lash, I love this mascara for making my lashes look thick and long without being OTT for daytime and it also holds a curl really well. This is one of if not the best budget mascara I have tried.

I took two concealers with me (well three if you count boiing in the Benefit Kit). The Garnier Caffeine Anti Dark Circles Roll On this has lasted me so long, every time I use it I think it must be due to run out soon but still the product keeps coming out. I like to use this under my eyes as the rollerball is cooling, the product it quite liquid in consistency and I find it is easy to blend and it gives a nice amount of coverage. I like it as a base on which to apply my second concealer. That being the Rimmel Wake Me Up I like to apply this over the Garnier one as it gives a little more coverage which in some places I really need and it also makes my under eye area look a little more radiant.

I knew I wouldn’t need a full coverage foundation whilst in Scotland and so I opted for two lighter bases, the Seventeen CC Cream and the Mavalia Moisturising Tinted Cream. I like that the Seventeen CC Cream has SPF 25 and it gives me a light but even coverage, this lasts quite well on my skin but I do like to wear the Clarins Instant Light Complexion Base under it just as a brightening primer and they make a great duo for healthy looking skin. Not heavy but very good for fresh glowing skin. The Mavalia Moisturising Tinted Cream* gives better coverage but the shade I have is a little dark for me however I blend it out & make it work. This tinted moisturiser gives you a lovely even finish and wears well throughout the day, I do have to apply powder to my t zone with this but that means I get an extra few hours wear. Who knew Mavalia did makeup as well as fab nail polish?

The L’Oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream is a product I’m on the fence about. It does smooth out imperfections and reduces the appearance of pores but after a few hours, it makes my skin look a little greasy. I wish it didn’t do this because if not this would be such a brilliant product, my makeup applies so well on top of it & the initial results are great. So if you don’t have an oily complexion this might just work very well for you. I’m going to continue to use it & see if I can find a way to make it work. Let me know if you use it & how you find it works best for you.

Let’s talk cheek products. As you can see I bought a few options. I will start with my favourite which is the Soap & Glory Solar Powder which is a two-toned bronzer. I like to swirl my brush around both shades, sweep it across my forehead & down on to my cheeks which adds a little colour & glow to my very pale skin. The lighter shade has a little sheen to it & the slightly darker brown is matte. Very handy having 2 shades. I think this bronzer gives me a sun-kissed glow & a touch of natural colour. I think I have used it every day since I bought it back in May.

My Mac MSF in Natural is what I use as a powder most days. It leaves my skin looking smooth and keeps my makeup in place. It’s hit pan & I know any day now it’s going to crumble into nothing so I need to repurchase it ASAP. Mac MSF in Soft & Gentle Its adds so much radiance to my face & when I do wear it I fall in love with it all over again. I find this also wears a really long time on my skin no touch ups necessary. So glad I have this in my collection.

The two smaller baked cheek products are from e.l.f and I had totally forgotten about these, rediscovering them just before I went to Scotland, so I thought I would take them with me to show them a little love. These are both finely milled and give your cheeks a pretty highlight. Maui is the bronzer and this looks gorgeous in the winter to give the skin a little colour & a warm glow. Pinctastic is a highlighting blush with pink and beige marbling, mixed together it brightens up your cheeks and leaves them looking flushed and glowing. The shimmer isn’t too OTT but looks fresh and is a beautiful highlight. These elf baked blushers are great value for money.

Wet n Wild blush in Pearlescent Pink this reminds me of NARS Orgasm its beautiful on & the subtle shimmer gives your cheek a lovely healthy glow. The pigmentation & quality of this wet n wild blush is incredible considering the purse-friendly price tag. The last cheek product I took with me to Scotland was the Sleek blush in Sunrise this is the perfect colour for Autumn / Winter as its a pink toned brown with gold shimmer. It really warms up your complexion and gives you a little colour. I love the quality of Sleek Blushes & need to get a couple more.

So that’s what I took with me. I did take my Clinique Chubby Stick in Roundest Raspberry & a couple of lip balms. Oh & I thought I took my DHC liquid Eyeliner but when I got to Scotland I realised I’d packed the Eyeko Skinny Liner. I hate that liner so was gutted & spent the whole time with no eyeliner.

Products that are marked with a * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However, if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.