LV cosmetic pouch review + What’s in my makeup bag 2018?

Happy belated New Year everyone and apologies for being MIA for the past 3 months. Enjoyed the time off and the holidays, but now feeling recharged and back for a brand new year.

Just a small update: you will probably see a slight change in my blog as I have a newfound passion (or addiction if you want to call it) for luxury goods – bags in particular – so I’d love to talk about them more and share this with readers on my blog. My content isn’t completely changing so I will still have my regular beauty and skincare posts and reviews but you will see more varied content. (For anyone interested, I have a separate Instagram account at ‘luxe_tastic’ for all the random indulgent pictures I take of them).

So with that, I decided my first post for the new year would be a good combination of both – a quick review of the Louis Vuitton cosmetic pouch and a look at what I carry inside it on a daily basis.

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LOUIS VUITTON COSMETIC POUCH

Straight off the bat I can say I absolutely love this cosmetic pouch. I’ve not had it for long so I can’t comment on its wear and tear but I love it for its compact size, functionality and style.

I have a few other makeup/toiletry bags that I own (mostly received free with beauty purchases, and an awesome one-of-a-kind minion one that was handmade for me by my bf’s mum), but I typically use these at home to store and compartmentalise my skincare/makeup products like small beauty samples and lip products. For differing reasons, I don’t carry them around in my daily handbag as they’re either too small, too big (and mainly for travel), too bulky or have material that I don’t want to get dirty easily etc.

I had my eye on the Louis Vuitton cosmetic pouch after I bought my Speedy 30 bag, and realised how durable and carefree the canvas material was. When I saw the cosmetic pouch in monogram at the LV boutique and had a feel of it, I knew it’d be perfect for my needs.

SIZE AND STYLE:

 

First off, this comes in two sizes – mine is officially just called the cosmetic pouch (although most people refer to it as the PM size) and then there is the cosmetic pouch GM, which is a larger size that would be more suitable for travel. The PM is smaller, thus more suitable for carrying in your handbag and can even fit in the LV pochette metis.

Its official measurements are listed as L x H x W – 17 x 12 x 6 cm.

As I’ve said before I love the damier ebene print and it was really a no-brainer choice for me. This comes in a few other versions. Monogram with the vachetta leather that I usually avoid, especially so if makeup and liquids are involved; damier azur where the white exterior would get dirty pretty quick and epi leather/vernis which is heavier and less pliable than canvas.

THOUGHTS:

I really like the style and rounded shape of this cosmetic pouch and think it looks so cute. It’s fairly lightweight as canvas material usually is on LV products, but I was initially surprised at the weight of the base because it feels thicker and more reinforced than the sides. This is a good thing because you don’t get any sag at the bottom when you fill it up and it won’t stretch out as much over time.

It’s made entirely of one piece of coated canvas with the exception of the two leather tabs on each side. This is treated dark brown leather as opposed to vachetta so no need to worry about getting it dirty. My one concern is that I do need to be careful with how I place it in my bag because if you don’t place it strategically, the leather tabs may pull upwards over time which ruins the look of the pouch in my opinion. I almost wish they had decided to glue the tabs in place completely flat.

However, I love the interior pop of red that accompanies most damier ebene pieces and this has the added bonus of being a washable textile lining so if your products leak or spill inside, you can easily wipe it clean and it won’t soak or stain into the material (just be sure to clean it asap). It also has a flat little side pocket on one side to put a mirror or smaller bits and pieces you don’t want getting lost in the main compartment.

The golden brass zipper is very shiny and opens and closes very smoothly. I appreciate how wide the opening of the mouth is and that the zipper extends right down the sides because you can access your stuff much easier and clearly see where everything is. (This is one of the main reasons why I opted for this rather than the Louis Vuitton Toiletry Pouch because the latter has a more limited opening).

I feel like the tapered shape of the pouch really helps me organise my things nicely because small things can line the wide base and then you can build on top of it which makes it feel very sturdy when you zip it up because the narrow top of the pouch doesn’t allow for things to move and fall around (provided you’ve sufficiently filled it up with stuff). On the flip side, some people may not like it because the way it tapers at the top can limit how much you can put it in, plus if you have lots of small things its harder to organise by layers and things will just fall to the bottom and look messy. Also, if you tend to carry lots of bulky makeup products like compact powers and blusher, then I would recommend the LV toiletry pouches instead as you wouldn’t be maximising the full potential space of this cosmetic pouch with these items. For my needs though, it’s a great design.

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WHAT’S IN MY COSMETIC POUCH?

I wouldn’t really call this my makeup bag because I don’t carry around much makeup everyday; rather it’s more of a toiletry bag for my necessities. This basically holds all the bits and bobs that I typically need on a daily basis when I go to work or head out for the day, but I don’t want it all rolling around at the bottom of my bag. It also makes it so much easier to move my essentials out when I want to swap the bag I’m using, something I’ve really come to appreciate recently.

Starting with the small pocket on the side of the pouch, I use this to hold a spare pair of daily contact lenses. I typically wear glasses at work but if I’m going somewhere after I like to be able to switch to contacts. It would also be handy if I lost a contact lens from my eye (which rarely happens), or I forget to bring my glasses.

I don’t tend to use oil blotting sheets everyday as my sebum production depends on my skin condition or what makeup base I’m wearing. I’m using the ones from Jolse because they always give a free packet when you order with them. This is mainly for blotting my t-zone and these are great for removing the oil without disturbing the rest of your makeup.

Then I have my little pocket mirror which I got for free with a makeup purchase from Missha’s special edition Line friends collaboration and a spare hair tie.

In the main compartment, the two main makeup products I take with me are my cushion compact and concealer.

I don’t really feel the need to retouch most of my makeup during the day and hardly ever do this but I always carry around 1 cushion foundation just in case. It has a handy mirror and if my foundation ever does look bad or wipes off, its easy to have a cushion for a quick touch up. It also contains SPF which is a good way to reapply sunscreen on a particularly sunny day. At the moment I’m using the Urban Decay Naked Skin Glow cushion compact.

Having concealer is a must for me. This is really the only makeup re-application I do during the day if I breakout with a spot or two. I always default to The Saem Cover Perfection Tip Concealer because of its great coverage and smooth application. Not too creamy or liquid. (Luckily I’ve not had to use this at all in the past few months).

I have 3 different lip products. My staple that never leaves my bag is the Blistex Daily Lip Conditioner that contains vitamins A & E, aloe vera and collagen. This is super useful when my lips are feeling cracked and sore. I generally have quite dry lips but even more so in Winter and Blistex is so effective at soothing with a nice cooling/tingly effect from the menthol.

I have also recently started carrying the camellia lip balms from Tatcha. I have 3 tinted versions and this gold spun one and tend to rotate between them. I like to use camellia oil when my lips are slightly dry but feeling ok, and not in the sore peeling stage. Camellia oil doesn’t repair cracked lips like the Blistex but it reconditions them and helps add and retain the moisture.

I also usually carry 1 lipstick or lip balm and this is the one product that changes most frequently in my cosmetic pouch. In winter I tend not to wear lipstick because it sinks into my dry lines and accentuates everything so I like to carry a tinted lip balm. At the moment I’m using the Dior Addict Lip Glow in 001 Pink. It is a nice subtle pale pink for the lips which looks very natural.

Of course I find it essential to carry spare ladies toiletries and it has come in handy a few times to help friends or colleagues out too. I used to just drop them into the bottom of my bag which can get a bit awkward sometimes if other people are looking through your bag, so its nice to be able to store them a bit more discreetly.

Next I have my face mist. The 30ml travel size version of the Amore Pacific mist is the perfect bottle because it’s small and light enough to carry around in my bag, has the best nozzle spray that releases a fine mist, and is also refillable. I transfer all my facial mists into this bottle but at the moment I am using the exact Amore Pacific Skin Energy Mist and have been refilling it with the larger size bottles that I bought in my previous haul here. I like to use this at least once a day during work because the heating/air conditioning can tend to dry my skin out.

Finally, I have my eye drops. I need these on a daily basis because I get dry, sore eyes a lot, especially when my blepharitis flares up being in front of a computer for a long time. I have two different ones because they serve different purposes. Systane Balance was recommended by my opticians to treat blepharitis and it works better than normal eye drops because it’s not purely adding water hydration to your eye – which is only short, temporary relief. This contains an oil substance which mimics what your naturally healthy eye produces, that coats the surface of your eyeball and stops it drying out. Since I have a lack of this oil production, I use Systane Balance to artificially add this to my eye which lasts for a few hours and gives me really good relief from the dryness.

Systane Hydration which is the green bottle, is basically as it says. It just adds normal hydration to your eyes but the main difference to the Balance version is that it can be used when wearing contact lenses. Since contact lenses are known to dry your eyes out further because it blocks moisture under the surface of the contacts, these eye drops help my eyes feel more comfortable if I’m going to be wearing them for long hours.

That is basically all my daily essentials that I carry around in my handbag most of the time. It’s a nice comfortable fit that things don’t roll around inside but it also isn’t full to bursting that it warps and stretches the zip and canvas. (Note that if you have pointed things poking at the sides, the canvas will tend to mould into the shape and you can see it from the outside.)

I generally keep hand gel in a pocket of my handbag or somewhere where it can be easily accessed, and not in my cosmetic pouch, because it is something I reach for more often than other things and I don’t want to fumble around for it in my bag when my hands are dirty. Occasionally I will swap my cushion compact out for my hand gel when I’ll be out the whole day on a weekend or out shopping  and don’t feel the need for a cushion. Other than that, the types of products don’t change except to swap out for a different lipstick, cushion etc.

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Hope you enjoyed a look inside my ‘makeup bag’! For tips on how you can organise your makeup bag, check out this great article on One Pampered Life here.

Would be interested to know what things you carry inside yours. 🙂