what's in my temporary living situation (extended stay) makeup bag

almost a year ago :) i had to move out suddenly. i really want to share what makeup i brought and how i use it. and other stuff.

the bag

i have 7 to 14 days to know what i want to bring with me to where we'll be staying temporarily, and what to put in storage. what to pack with us for my kids, my husband, and me. i poorly calculate how long "temporary" is, and bring more makeup than i even need for that short calculated period.

the bag i brought the bulk of my makeup in has clown car powers, as in everything else you see photographed on this page can all go back inside this 1 bag. it is denim, with a cow print lining, machine embroidered movie song quote and star shaped gold zipper pulls. acab includes woody toy story.

i haven't ever washed the bag

all of my makeup bags are filled with makeup, as well as two tiers of my craft rolly-cart. everything gets stupidly dumped out together, and tediously re-sorted. i do not have time to wash makeup bags, duffle bags, luggage, beach bags, backpacks, and any other large holder we're going to need in lieu of buying new expensive boxes.

here's the grody inside. if you approach the bag like it's a bag, nothing will fit. if you approach the bag like it's a puzzle, nothing will fit. if you approach the bag with 18 seconds to get everything back inside of it and you out the door, everything will fit. this was crucial come the time i had to pack. (it wasn't thaat urgent, luckily).

extra bags

we have 1 wild day to borrow our friends which is our chance to get everything in storage, and small furniture to the new temporary place, in space-limited time-consuming u-haul trips. they arrive as my family finishes eating up the last of the eggs i took out of the fridge and cooked earlier. i strip the blankets and sheets of our beds, folding them up roughly and tossing them in the hamper that's coming with us.

ik i made some big claims about the clown car power-imbued bag, but i brought 2 extra bags, 1 for implements that are mine/makeup related, the other for implements and creams my family might need (nail clippers, anti-itch etc). 1 bag is metallic teal with gold hardware, the other shiny white with white hardware.

the implements

my oldest kid is hardly packing. my youngest kid is not packing. my husband is working and occasionally packing. the bathroom continues to function like usual, everyone's tooth brushes still in the decorative votive. there is more laundry than we've ever worn in our lives in transient piles in every room. i use my little twin stars makeup bag to pack our toothpastes and brushes.

four pairs of tweezers?? yes!! the two silver pairs i use to tweeze out all of my eyebrows every few days, and i am not lying. i forgot to photograph my brow razer, but i shave them on occasion as well. tweezing lets me get a very bald brow bone lol, there is no other way to word it. i have been eyebrow-less since the beginning of 2025! other items are pencil sharpener, lash comb, and beauty scissors. i try not to but i use the beauty scissors and tiny tweezers as tools around the house LMAO

the priming primerrrs

my shirts my pants my panties my pajamas my socks my shoes my coat and jackets. my kids' shirts my kids' pants my kids' undies my kids' pajamas my kids' socks my kids' shoes my kids' coats and jackets. my husband says he only needs a few shirts, really. i pack his favorite 10. my husband says he only needs a few pairs of socks, really. i pack every pair. i quietly pack all of his jeans.

my fave eye primer in the whole wide world ran out during my temporary stay that i am still in, i just haven't thrown the old one away yet uuh my makeup is by the window and the trash can is simply not soo. the green primer is in fact a very sticky face primer, but i haven't been wearing enough coverage to need it so it's not in my rotation. the ancient red one is also sticky, and smoothing, neither of which i need, as i don't wear a lot of coverage these days and my skin is smooth from nightly skincare. the white tube is a face gloss and not a primer, but i used it like a primer in the winter. the spray sets makeup as well as has spf, but i don't like the smell of it. i bought it recently.

WHERE ARE YOUR EYEBROWS

everything coming with us has to be able to fit in the car in one trip in the evening. once the door is locked, we don't return. at night, i guide my kids through the dark parking lot and lawn, then into the place we're staying. they are weirdly having fun and their curious whispering has the gentle flutter of large moth wings. we sleep over a bare mattress under wrinkly sheets and a noisy ceiling fan.

when i prime my eyes, i prime my entire brow bone as well, cos im usually about to do my brows. i use a contour stick (photographed later) to contour my brow bone "back" into my face lol, powder to set that, then go on top with a brow pencil. i buy them in blonde shades. the cheaper one in the white twisty pencil draws a somewhat thicker line than i want, and that little nubbin is all i have left of it anyways. i prefer sharpenable brow pencils now, cos i can sharpen them to a point and draw mere suggestions of eyebrows. sometimes i'll use the brow brush pen to draw tiny hair-strokes along my already drawn brow. all the detail in the world, it still makes my mom pretty annoyed i tweeze my eyebrows out lol.

the eyeliners

1 month in, anxiety curls itself around my tendons as we are not 1 month closer to being out. it is very hot outside. i apply for and begin working in a warehouse. 6 weeks later, my brother and i go on a trip we planned months ago, i spend $400 (that i still owe him), and quit my job.

this was the hardest photo oh my god. i don't use most of what's photographed here lol. i mainly use the "inky" one (it's a twisty pencil...) with the "epic ink" (actually liquid) one in the corners of my eyes to draw an inner cat eye, similar to boxxy. i draw my outer eyeliner downwards, in a "puppy" shape that's popular in korean beauty. i have hooded eyes that are sliightly downturned, and the puppy liner technique saved my life ruff ruff :3 it ran out but i did use that thin white liner to highlight my inner eye corner and outer brow bone on occasion MILLENIAL SPOTTED o_o

2 out of roughly 55 palettes of mine

september holds a lot of promises, predictably not a single one manifests. i stop writing letters to months. i don't write any resolutions, due on my birthday. i don't want to hear about a christmas wish list. february has been a month 30 times in my life but it's hard to trust it will go 31. i am glad to have spent some beautiful time with my friends, eagerly sleeping on a giant unicorn plushy on the stair landing by the front door, sharing caviar, and showing each other music.

these are the 2 palettes i brought, which i do remember being the hardest decision to make lol. i have over 50 palettes in storage, of which i'm going to have to throw most out cos it's been so long and i dunno what kind of conditions they've really been subjected to in there. i brought a neutrals palette and a pastel brights palette. i barely have touched the pastels. it looks like i haven't gotten through that much of the other, but that's because those eyeshadows are source blocks or something. i couldn't reach pan if i tried (i have been). i've had that one for way too long like way too fucking long, but i love the grey the most.

the single shadows

the halloween party is coming up and i need to see my all of my friends so bad. fully in costume, our car doesn't wanna go. my brother does it all, fits us all in the scion xB, drops off the kids, picks up 2 of our friends, and gets us all sorted back again the next day. the night of the party i decline watching kpop demon hunters and end up sleeping in the company of my friends in their bed.

you are looking at my oldest piece of makeup i still have: that single black eyeshadow. i bought it more than a decade ago, after high school, before i was pregnant. i keep it because it's gone sheer and has a satin sheen to it. decades old mica, hard at work!! i have barely touched the glitter pots, but they are gorgeous chunky, flakey glitters with no sharp-edged particles!! my sister got me a bunch of these a while ago and those are the prettiest three.

the brushes

their bed is so big, and memory foam topped. the party was so big, with lots of food and drinks. they both work full time positions and spend i think hundreds in online shopping a month. their ceiling fan has a remote. i get myself in and out of trouble.

brushes were easier to select, i have easy favorites even tho i had oodles of brushes to choose from. i need to wash them but i wanted to make this page more than i wanted to wash any single thing on the planet. you've seen my ancient, decrepit makeup i think you can handle a handful of dirty brushes :p

lip and cheek

by february, every day between november first and the end of january were all the same day. we had another party for valentine's day that put blood back into my nose and ears. luck has a sharp grip on me. i am trapped in so many distinctly unfunny ways i can't speak up. i risk being laughed at. my husband has never not gotten a job after an interview, his streak continues, and we can save up.

for a while now i have been doing my blush in hot pink (lightly lol), right on the apple of my cheek and sort of blended down, some call it "boy blush" esp when you use red. the purple blush i dont use much but POPS like crazy when i wear bronzer with it for some reason. i dont often use those lip glosses. the black tube of lipstick is a berry red, that i use on that brush that's next to it, not on my lips but just under my eyes, a TINY smudge to emphasize my under eye circles and i'm not joking lol i love doing this. i got the idea from an instagram makeup artist who did something similar with red lipstick under his eyes, but blended into his blush... genius...

the base

right now, all i want to share is that we are moving soon! otherwise i'm in a weird place, it's hard to know which day it is. i'm recovering from what i would describe as gut-wrenching jealousy lol. it's really difficult not to be anxious fuck. i don't know right now if the ceiling fan is still noisy or if i'm used to it.

the opened tube there is my contour stick, possibly the single most important piece of makeup i have right now, because even if i don't draw my eyebrows in, i can at least contour my brow so it doesn't totally stand out. altho my husband has said more than once i look "more eyebrowless" when i do that xD it's all in vain to begin with!!

i am safe and okay, you can click here to go back