What's In My Bag - The Road Trip Edit.
Photos taken on my road trip to Derby 27th-28th May 2016.
I am a fan of what's in my bag edits, I am generally a nosey person and I like reading blog posts on them....so long as they are real. I just can't be bothered reading edits that are from a mulberry bag and full of makeup I can't afford and you can just TELL they haven't included everything.
So with that in mind, here's what I took on a road trip to Derby a few weeks ago (and the only thing I omitted was some crumbs from a sandwich I ate before I took the photos.)
The Bag;
The bag itself is not my every day handbag. Normally I use a smaller bag that just fits my keys, my wallet, my phone and a few essentials and I just chuck it in my car when I'm going out. For road trips or if I'm on a day out that includes a train ride maybe, I'll take a bigger bag to fit things like my iPad in and currently this one is my fav. All my bags are black or tan and I essentially choose which colour to go for based on my shoes.... #thuglife. This bag is from Primark so I don't have a link but I bought it about 2 months ago so it's likely to still be in stores. It was 9 quid I believe and it's pretty big, fits a lot but isn't too massive to be unwieldy. It's got inside zips and pockets as normal and a zip to close which I think is essential but doesn't always happen (HOW, how do you keep your possessions safe with a popper close????). It doesn't have a detachable shoulder strap which I ummed and ahhed over as it kinda put me off not having that option but actually, I haven't needed it so far.
The Essentials;
These beauties make it into my littler every day bag because they really are the essentials. I didn't have my house keys or my car keys on me on this road trip because my Dad was driving and we'd left my Mum at home so she was taking good care of them otherwise they'd have made it to the edit too. My wallet is a Cath Kidston one from about 2 years ago and is one of the only slightly designer things I have ever paid full price for (the other being Jack Wills trackies because god damn so comfortable). They don't have the same design on their website any more but you can find very similar ones here. I used to have a knock off one from Camden Market that I bought when I was about 19 but when that one broke, I tried Primark wallets, I tried New Look but none beat a CK and so I invested and I still love it. My sunglasses are a Primark bargain and are actually mirrored but I post edited them because there were some seriously dodgy reflections in them of me in my pjs and it just wasn't flattering for anyone. My iPod comes everywhere with me and is a Touch from a few generations back, I got it when I was 17 and it's 32GB so I"m hoping it'll stay with me for a little while yet. Also an essential - bullet journaling pencils, a OO5 fine liner of which I have multiple, god forbid I ran out.
The Stationery;
Every road trip requires some trashy magazines full of fake celeb stories and bizarre real life tales for the hotel room no? I went for Heat for my trashy tales and Look for my fashion fix and they fitted snuggly into my handbag with room to close the zip nicely, not catching all the pages or squashing the mag which I find in so many handbags. I also took my diary and address book and my bullet journal, 3 notebooks that fit in my everyday bag and come everywhere with me for obvious reasons. You can read some more about my bullet journal in this post (which conveniently links back to my other two posts on the matter.)
The Beauty;
I actually have a beauty post going up on the blog later this week (I know, who have I become?) so I won't talk too much about the makeup itself. Obviously I had an overnight bag for the weekend but makeup always creeps its way into my handbag. I always carry a pocket mirror (mine has a moustache on and was bought for me as a present years ago) and I have a teeny tiny manicure kit with teeny tiny scissors and nail clippers and the like. I also always have a spare tin of original Vaseline in every bag and coat pocket and jeans pocket because gurl can't have chapped lips, nuh uh. For this weekend I was wearing fake nails painted in a Barry M shade of grey so I was also carrying nail glue and the varnish for any manicure related mishaps. Never be too careful yo. I also carry a mascara and a lippy in my bag on days out, the ones featured are from Avon.
The Bathroom;
You know that stuff that always worms it's way into your handbags and suitcases and overnight bags and first aid kits when you're out and about but lives in a draw or under the sink in your bathroom at home? That's what this stuff is. It's all essential in the way that its just haphazardly chucked in there 'just in case'. On a day out (i.e not the super market run) I have this little pile of creams for my eczema, plasters, eyedrops for my hayfever, tissues, hand sanitizer and deodorant, always in my possession. The watermelon purse is 1. adorable and 2. filled with paracetamol and ibuprofen and tablets for my allergies. Essentially, this section is just combatting my list of things I am allergic to.
The Bits & Bobs;
You know the things you just find lurking at the bottom of your handbag and you don't remember when you put them in there and you never really need them until that one time you do and then they aren't in there? This is that stuff. At the bottom of my handbag (along with the sandwich crumbs) is always a stack of pens, most of which don't have lids on, and always a pile of receipts from X amount of months back. Nothing like the memory of that snack pot of fruit you bought in Tesco in March. The wallet is my card/ticket wallet mainly used for train tickets and 99% of the time left empty. It's actually men's from Paperchase but I thought it was cute. Also making the cut are a variety of hairbrushes in varying sizes, some suncream I will sure as hell take out of the sunniest day and some travel bands because lol I get travel sick which is always attractive.
The Electrics;
Is this not just THE sign of a blogger or social media addict? As well as my phone and my ipod I carry not one, not two, but three chargers with me at all times, plus an assortment of leads as spares. As well as my phone charger I also carry a charging case for my phone and then just in case that runs out AS WELL, I also have a charging dock which is why I need the assortment of leads because it can charge all my devices.
The Snacks;
The most important part of any road trip handbag no? I do have a confession to make, I did have more snacks and drinks in my handbag but, well, I ate them on the 4 hour journey up before I took the photos so a bottle of coke and a half full bag of Malteasers is all you have. Makes quite a nice theme though right? I am one of those people that always has a Twix bar or an apple or something in my handbag because I get hungry very quickly and a road trip requires 10x the snacks.
If you've written a real honest what's in my bag edit link me in the comments!
If you liked this you might also like 'How To Tell You're Turning Into Your Parents.'