Inside my work bag, before the Friday reset...
What stays, what I’m testing, and the lip glosses that somehow multiply throughout the week.
A woman’s purse is an intimate thing—and I might even argue that a work bag is even more sacred. I practically live my life out of mine as I run between my apartment, the Glossier office, events, and cafés (anything to avoid working at an actual desk two days in a row). By the end of the week, it’s less of a bag and more of a holding place. There are the things that always live in it—the just-in-case essentials I rely on before a meeting or an event—and then there’s everything else: the rotating cast of products I’m testing, plus however many lip glosses I’ve tossed in without removing the last few.
I don’t edit as I go. I let it build, and then on Friday, I empty everything out: Lip glosses go back into the bowl by my door, samples are returned to their piles, the rest is tucked back into their usual spots. A look at this week’s decant below—and yes, my bag is heavy. Why do you ask?
The mainstays…
A pair of Heaven Mayhem sunglasses: They replaced my all-time favorite pair that I lost (RIP).
Olive & June cuticle oil: The key to not biting my nails is keeping my cuticles hydrated.
Wired headphones: At this point I should allot a certain percentage of my yearly budget to buying new pairs from Apple. I love making phone calls when I’m walking around NYC and the sound quality is so much better—people (my mom) would constantly complain about my Airpods picking up any and all street sounds but she’s never complained when I used my wired pair.
Ourself lip filler: Not actually lip filler, but a peptide and hyaluronic acid formula that plumps, smooths texture, and defines the vermilion border. It’s the first thing I swipe on in the morning before heading out the door.
Dior le baume: A genuinely excellent hand cream that’s light but perfectly hydrated. I’m precious about it because it’s expensive, but if I could use it on my whole body, I would.
Eadem sunsuede SPF 50+ stick: I’m game for anything that makes sunscreen reapplication easier. This one’s slightly mattifying so I use it more on my hands than my face, but in a pinch, I’ll run it over my face, too.
A Loveseen compact: RIP to Jenna Lyons’s eyelash brand. I keep its memory alive every time I pull this out.
And just in case…
A few Cora tampons: If you asked me for a tampon right now, I’d hand you one of Cora’s applicator-free tampons—I obviously carry them for myself, but I always keep extras because I never want to be the girl who can’t help someone out in a bathroom; I’ve been there, and it’s the worst. I used to think applicator-free meant inconvenient, but Cora’s tapered design actually makes them easy to insert—and less plastic is always a win in my book. They’re made with 100% organic cotton and without chlorine, pesticides, fragrance, dyes, or rayon, which matters to me when it comes to anything that close to my body. In partnership with Cora.
Crown affair dry shampoo: The brand finally made a travel-size version of the original brush-on format, which is genius at home but not always the easiest on the go.
Oribe wax stick: For when my hair won’t cooperate and I need to slick it back into a bun for an evening thing.
Crown affair mini brush: The perfect size to carry around.
The rotating lip cast…
Dr. Dennis Gross derminfusions treatment: I’ve loved this lip-plumping formula since the original version came out in 2023. Now they finally come in tinted versions. I’m nothing if not consistent in my lip shades so predictably my go-tos are Beige and Pink.
Rhode peptide lip glaze: Pretzel is now tied with my longtime favorite Lemontini, but where Lemontini is a clear gloss with a little shimmer, Pretzel is an opaque warm mauve. Together on my lips? Pretzeltini.
Ole Henriksen pout preserve: I’ve tried a few Ole Henriksen products in the past, but I mostly see it in influencers’ hands so I sort of forgot about it until Kiara Blanchette included the Vanilla Bonbon version in one of her Tastemaker Agency gifting suites last fall. I genuinely look forward to using it.
What I’ve been testing…
A lab sample of OneSkin’s OS-O1 lip shield: It’s the new shade Bare Blush, a semi-sheer pink with SPF 15—time to go heavy(er) on sun protection for the summer, lips included.
A sample of Miami Split by Abel Fragrance: Never in my life did I think I’d fall for a scent centered around bananas. I don’t hate the fruit, but I don’t love it either. I was surprised when I kept coming back to this—it’s sweet, but cut with white oud and resins. I can actually picture wearing it in the sticky, humid heat of Miami…or New York in the summer. Same-same.
Vacation classic whip SPF 30 lip balm: Inspired by Vacation’s viral SPF. It doesn’t come out “whipped” from the tube like the body sunscreen, but I’ve genuinely been enjoying it.
KS&CO clear brow gel: I’ve been a Glossier Boy Brow girl for ages, but I’ve been testing this one from Kristie Streicher since she did my brows in March. It holds without making them look “frozen”—and no flaking.
Samples of Rain and Sunset by Uni: The brand’s first fragrances are water-based and completely alcohol-free. I love that the sample atomizers look like little test tubes with caps.
"What's in my bag?" is always fun.