Spill Your Guts

Inspired by dear Polka Dot, herewith find a photo of Style Spy's guts:


My purse guts, that is. This is the usual stuff that fills my handbag. Any men reading this blog right now will be scratching their heads thinking, Who cares what this wackdoodle carries around in her purse? Why would she show anyone that? But what I know about women is that the only thing that fascinates us more than what kind of handbag a woman carries is what she carries in it. Am I right? Men don't understand -- looking into a woman's handbag is like looking into her soul.

So what's in mine? (If you click on the photo it'll get bigger.) From top-ish to bottom-ish:

*See-through plastic zip-thingie with all kindsa stuff: band-aids, wet-wipes, various painkillers, Beano (Hey, I'm mostly vegetarian -- you'd thank me if you were my IRL friend), Emergen-C, Blister Block, toothpaste, floss, panty shields, fat-free salad dressing packets... You know, the basics.
*The little pink thing holds a couple of emergency tampons. Because we've all learned that lesson the hard way, haven't we? (I also have an emergency tampon stash in my car.)
*Gum (sugar-free, of course!), as well as sugar-free mints & hard candies. I'm addicted & trying to quit, I swear.
*Make-up bag: Burt's Bees balm (always & forever), whatever color lipstick I'm wearing that day, YSL Touche-Eclat, contact lens drops, blotting papers, a nail file, a nail clipper, a couple of bobby pins, a mirror, Shu Uemura concealer, an eye cream sample from Clarins, often a decant of whatever perfume I'm wearing. I'm not much of one for re-applying makeup during the day. If my mascara can't last a few hours, I need a new mascara.

(The clear zippered bags are very important. I. CANNOT. STAND. Having to root around in my handbag looking for shit. I have ZERO patience for that. These are my solution. Plus, it means I don't have to transfer everything into zip-loc bags before I get on an airplane.)

*Sunglasses (these are Miu Miu & they have teeny rhinestones all around the frames and I am totally in love with them) in a hard case. I'm compulsive about my shades -- they always go into the case before they go into the bag.
*Wallet. It's pretty much empty these days, but still...
*Phone
*Tiny notebook (from a Neiman Marcus goodie bag) in case I need to jot something down.
*Couple of pens
*Keys
*Red leather business card case (with cards, natch)
*Small tube of hand lotion
*Handkerchief (I like hankies. I get vintage ones because they're fun & colorful, and people always comment on them. It's interesting to make someone smile by blowing your nose.)

That's pretty much it. I will cop to having removed all the bits of paper & candy wrappers & receipts that were lurking in there for the sake of neatness, but other than that it's what lives in my bag day to day. It doesn't change a whole lot -- if I'm not going to be out long (say, just a run to the grocery store), I might leave home the notepad and the first zipper bag. For evening, it gets much smaller -- phone, keys, blotters & lippie, mirror & eye drops (I have a tendency to dry eyes, which gets unpleasant, especially in the over-air-conditioned Antarctica that is Austin in the summertime), and I have a smaller wallet that goes into an evening bag.

So. Now it's your turn. Spill your guts for Style Spy. If you're so inclined (and I really, really hope you are), take a picture of your purse guts and send it to me in an e-mail to shine at austin dot rr dot com. It's okay if the photos are large -- I can size them down. Don't forget to tell me about the contents. I'll be posting a few of them on the blog. It's a fun way for me to find out a little more about my readers.

Have a great weekend, everyone!



Image: Style Spy