Prepared to be jealous, beauty lovers — Kandee Johnson was hanging out with us all weekend at Re:Make and we got to pick up some pretty killer beauty tips from the YouTube sensation. This pretty lady is known for her bubbly tutorials but she also has another video segment we’re kind of obsessed with: What’s In My Purse. Because who wouldn’t want to sneak a peek inside one of the world wide web’s most glamorous ladies? Since she was here we thought we’d ask if we could take a look-see inside her giant fringed bag for ourselves. Thankfully she obliged. Spoiler alert: This girl has lip liner for days! Here is what we found and what she says every woman should always have in her bag.
1. Concealer: The reason is simple: it makes your skin look good. We’ve all fallen victim to a blackhead or two. “If you have a blemish or you didn’t sleep it helps you look awake instantly.”
2. Black Eyeliner: “Rim your waterline for a quick look that’s instantly more glamorous,” Kandee tells us. For those of you who aren’t yet makeup mavens, “rimming you waterline” simply means outlining that little line of skin in between your lashes and eyeball.
3. Red lipstick and (lots o’) lip liner: “You can always do a clean winged liner but if you pump up your lips to a hot pink or red, it makes it so much more fun!” You need a good lip liner to keep your pucker color going all day or night and if you need one in a pinch, Kandee has every color imaginable stashed in her bag to help a sister out.
4. Skip the primer. This is going against all the beauty rules we’ve been told. But considering Kandee always looks like she jumped right out of a magazine, if she wants us to skip the primer, we’ll skip the primer! Here’s a little DIY trick she suggests instead for before you leave the house: use milk of magnesia – yup, the kind you can get at the drugstore! Apply it with a cotton ball all over your face so that it looks dry and chalky and then apply your foundation right on top of that.
5. Organic Lip Balm: Kandee uses an organic coconut oil lip balm as a dual duty product: for her lips (obvs) and also as an eye cream at night. Genius!
6. Gum: We can’t really top how Kandee summed this one up: “Gum should be considered a beauty product because beautiful breath is a nice gift.” We couldn’t agree more.
7. Snacks: Kandee tell us you’ll always find a granola bar or a packet of almond butter in her bag for those hunger emergencies. “It saved me from digging into a cupcake so many times.”
8. Sunglasses: Don’t think this qualifies as a beauty essential? Think again. Come on, what makes you feel like more of a beach babe/super starlette 24/7 than slipping on a sick pair of shades to run errands in? Kandee had about three or four pairs in her own bag. Maybe one of those was broken ;) #canrelate
9. A Fab Palette: Stash a makeup palette in your bag and you have a treasure trove of makeup options at the ready and a mirror for quick checkups. Kandee and our very own makeup mama Misty Spinney are both big fans of Urban Decay’s Naked palettes.
10. Your phone, duh: But, really. Budding beauty bloggers and any gal out there needs to have her phone accessible at all times for snapping pics of inspo wherever you may stumble across it. If you’re an on-the-go #girlboss like Kandee, find a case like hers that doubles as its own purse so you can ditch your bag, stay connected and be able to take that “do I have lipstick on my teeth?” selfie on the fly.
What are your beauty must haves? Do use any of the same products as Kandee?