the travel bag | what i took to vidcon

Is there a better way to celebrate the official start of summer than by going to California?

I think not.

So, what did I pack?

base

Fortunately, California weather means my typical light base doesn't have to change. Unsurprisingly, I took my Laura Mercier mineral primer, which I have been enjoying since January. It pairs very well with my favorite light base, the NARS Pure Radiant tinted moisturizer in Terre Neuve. My favorite under-eye concealer, the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly, is the only concealer I currently own that matches my skin, so against my preference for a separate spot concealer, it now does double duty. In case I wanted to use the Wayne Goss method for the long days of queueing, I brought my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light as I don't own a loose setting powder. Finally, I broke out my Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Gelée in Poppy Paradise, a gorgeous gel-cream blush that adds the perfect sheer summer flush to my cheeks.

eyes

No look can stay on my suddenly oily eyelids without the NARS Smudge Proof eyeshadow base, so that went into my makeup bag first. For a cream option, I packed the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Emerveillé, and for powder, I packed my Urban Decay Naked3 palette since I hadn't packed it for a trip before. For eyeliner, I brought both a pencil and a liquid option: the M.A.C. eye pencil in Coffee and the L'Oréal Infallible The Super Slim liquid eyeliner in Black. Finally, for mascara, I brought my favorite drugstore option, Maybelline's The Falsies Volum'Express Black Drama.

lips

When I travel, I usually limit myself to one natural option and one bold option. But, hey, it was VidCon, so I figured why not bring more? I started off with the Bite Beauty Line & Define lip primer and added the NARS Velvet Matte lip pencil in my favorite red, Dragon Girl. Then, I added the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Frambourjoise and the Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupté Shine in 19 Fuchsia in Rage. For my natural option, I brought the remainder of a sample size of the Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Sophia.

tools

Of course, I needed a way to apply all this, so I brought my very beat-up Sephora Collection Pro Brow Comb, my Sigma Mr. Bunny E30 pencil brush, my Zoeva 231 Petit Crease brush, two M.A.C. 217s, my Real Techniques domed eyeshadow brush, and my Real Techniques multitasking brush. I also brought two sharpeners: the Urban Decay Grind House for eye pencils and the Sephora Collection 3-in-1 sharpener for lip pencils.

Many thanks to the indomitable Hank Green for this year's VidCon. It was a truly unforgettable experience. If you're interested, I'll post my thoughts on VidCon itself later this weekend on my Tumblr.