Cinco de Purse-o: 5 things every Fashionista needs in her Bag!

So as per usual, my title is lame.  Thanks to all of you who looked past that!  In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I've dedicated this post to 5 things every Fashionista needs in her purse.  When driving to work recently a local Memphis radio station was running a contest to see if you could guess what some women carry in their purses - and some of the responses were out there!  However, let's face it - as outlandish as they may have sounded it was probably feasible.  Even so, I'm not ready to become the girl who buys the organizer from the infomercial or puts plastic baggies in her purse to categorize everything.   I refuse!  However, there are several items that I can't live without - and neither should any fashionable lady.

1. Tide To-Go Stick

If I told you how many times this product has saved my outfit you would probably think that I was a total slob!  Recently, it came in handy while I was traveling to Memphis for my interview.  I had on a beautiful silk blouse underneath my camel colored suit.  Even though I had told myself to stick with water, I couldn't resist a Carmel Macchiato at Starbuck's.  Guess what?  I managed to get some on my blouse.  Fortunately, I had my Tide To-Go stick and crisis averted!  This thing actually works!









2. Lip Balm

Some people want lipstick or gloss in their purse - but let's get real.  If your lips are dry...that's just going to make it look worse!  That's why I always carry lip balm with me.  I don't know about you but I would much rather have nourished, soft looking lips vs. cracked lips that have color on them.  And if you still want color invest in a tinted lip balm or creamy lip color like the Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color.









3.  Swisscard

One of the best stocking stuffers I ever got was my Swisscard.  It's the girl's alternative to the Swiss Army Knife and it comes packed with lots of handy tools like scissors, a pen, nail file, and tweezers.  It's compact and is easy to throw into any handbag or clutch.  I used to carry many of these items separately and needed a different compartment just to house all of them.  With the swisscard, I know exactly where to find it and I don't have to worry about it taking up so much space.









4. Rollerball Fragrance

These days, the compact fragrance is becoming much more popular - and it's a perfect piece to stash in your purse for those times when you want to freshen up.  One of these things I love about the compact rollerball fragrance is that you don't overcompensate - you get just the right amount so that you don't overwhelm the people around you but you still disguise some of that sweat we've accumulated through the day.  This always goes in my liquids baggy at the airport - it allows for me to have my cologne with me without lugging around the large bottle.  Additionally, when I get stuck in the airport and smell terrible I can add a dash on my wrist and on my neck to feel new again!







5. Hand Lotion

I'm one of those people who is always worried about my hands feeling dry - especially if I feel like I'm going to an event where I'm going to have to meet a lot of people and shake a lot of hands.  I got this lovely dryness genetically (my mother has struggled with dry hands for years) and always ensure to carry some with me.  I like to choose a lotion that isn't just for hands but provides the moisture my hands need!  That always helps if you forget your lotion on a trip or have other troublesome areas that show some dryness.  For example, after wearing sandals all day my feet start to look cracked.  A little LAVANILA body butter does the trick for both spots so that I don't have to bring one lotion for each body part!





So there you have it, my fashionista survival kit.  You may be wondering why I haven't included other items like hand sanitizer or kleenex? Well, that would be because you can normally find those in public places like the airport restroom or gas station.  Why bring something when you can get it for free just as easily.  These are the items that you'll always want on hand!

XOXO, Allison