I’ve always been bad at keeping my bag in good order – I’m the girl that has old receipts from months previous, stray pieces of gum (uneaten!) and all manner of bits and bobs floating around the bottom. Over the years I’ve come to recognise that the bigger the handbag the greater the mess I create – so not only have I scaled the size of my bag down dramatically, but also the contents.
My current bag of choice is this adorable blush pink bucket bag from MINISO which is basically a dupe for the Mansur Gavriel classic and has served me well through the Australian summer. It’s roomier than it looks so allows me to easily carry my essentials without going overboard with the real unnecessary extras that I think I’ll need, but rarely do.
Required slightly less frequently now that Melbourne is heading into winter, but I rarely go anywhere without my sunglasses. I wear the Ray-Ban Clubmasters in Tortoiseshell which I find are flattering against my skin tone and a little softer than a harsh black. Since moving to Australia, paying for good quality sunglasses is more of a priority than it was in the UK as the rays are just so strong here.
When carrying a smaller bag, I find bringing my entire purse a bit of a bore. I rarely carry cash and bringing all my various loyalty cards is unnecessary so I typically just take a bank card and a travel card with me. I love this little ‘A’ card holder I picked up from Oliver Bonas when I was in the UK at the beginning of the year.
Carrying some sort of perfume or fragrance to freshen up is always nice, but often big bottles or aerosols can take up unnecessary room (and weight). I love saving the Jo Malone mini fragrances (that you often get when purchasing their larger products) up to use as handbag fragrances as they are just the perfect size to carry around with you daily. Their sample sizes are also ideal and worth nipping into the store and asking for a few for this exact sneaky purpose!
In terms of the other mini essentials: some mints, a lip balm and hand cream are also must haves. The Lucas Paw Paw (an Australian cult classic) is my balm of choice, whilst the & Other Stories hand creams are the most beautiful I’ve used and something I dearly miss from the UK.
It also goes without saying that my iPhone is also the most essential handbag companion of all. Since taking these photos, I am now the proud owner of a pair of Apple Airpods and these haven’t left my side since I bought them. Wireless headphones are perfect for me as I was notorious for having knotted headphones, I’m not sure I could ever go back!
What are your handbag essentials?
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