Essential ingredients ... what do you never the leave the house without?....
Seventy-six per cent of American women surveyed carry makeup or skincare products in their purse, or what we call a handbag, according to GoodWeekend. This is surprising. Given the amount of makeup American women seem to wear I would have thought the figure would have been closer to 90 per cent. And I suspect it is the same here in Australia too. What woman doesn't carry at least a lipstick or handcream?
 
I used to carry practically a whole makeup bag within my handbag when I was at the office fulltime. My baggage was enormous. I think it was because of all those strikingly well-lit mirrors in the Ladies. Each stray flake of mascara, faded skerrick of lipstick or hair out of place was magnified and highlighted on every trip to the loo. Elsewhere, I wouldn't know or care how my face was travelling. Well, not too much...  In my more recent role as joint-stay-at-home parent slash jobbing journalist slash writer I still carry around a bit of stuff when I leave the house. Hmmm. Let me take a look. 
 
Today I am in the office in the big city and here in my red makeup purse (MAC) is the following: 
Lipstick (Lancome)
Powder compact (MAC)
Stick concealer (Shiseido)
Mini sample sunscreen (Ego SunSense)
Cotton Tips (fluffified)
Toothpicks (individually wrapped)
 
That's not too extreme for a beauty writer, is it? I've been known to also carry mattifying papers, tiny perfume vials, cuticle oil and lip balm. I would never carry blusher, which was what one celebrity makeup artist told me was a ''purse must-have''. Of all the things that need refreshing throughout my day, cheek colour is not one of them.
 
Now it is your turn. Dig out your makeup purse. Open it and empty contents on to table. Do not edit. Please go to ''comments'' below, do as you're told to get through and then list all the makeup and skincare you're carrying in your handbag today to share with us. Here is your ''Oroton bag'' moment - a voyeuristic opportunity for the rest of us.