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Because you didn’t invest in products just to break them on vacation. Storage Organizer
Imagine this: You’ve spent months, maybe even years, curating the perfect makeup collection only to realize it’s nearly impossible to transport it to your dreamy vacation destination safely. The simple solution to preventing any cracks, leaks, or lost products? A makeup bag. Of course, the right one varies based on your specific needs, beauty collection, and travel plans. Tia Codrington, a destination bridal makeup artist, recommends having a clear makeup case. “Not only has it helped me with organization, but it’s also useful during airport security checks because security officers have a clear view of what’s inside the bag without having to go through all your stuff,” she says.
We tested dozens of the buzziest bags, filling them with lotions, creams, sprays, brushes, and powders before throwing them around our New York City-based lab to see how well they protected their contents. Lastly, we took note of the amount of space each bag occupies in a carry-on and judged its design, compartments, and overall capacity. This list highlights the top-ranking makeup bags we’d happily take with us for a long weekend or monthslong adventure (we wish!).
Why We Love It: Out of all the makeup bags we tested, we found Béis’ The Cosmetic Case to be the most useful. It comes with a generously sized, removable mirror that stands upright so you can do your makeup on the go. In terms of space, there’s a removable section in the center that comfortably fits five of our brushes without flattening their bristles. In the main section, we were able to store all of our go-to makeup products with ease. Attached to the top lid, there’s a shallow compartment with a zipper where we slid in our powder compacts and palettes. Because the lid opens all the way, every single one of our products was easy to see and access. Even the hardware felt luxe and sturdy. We were able to fit the case in a backpack, and although it did take up quite a bit of space, it was completely worth it for the ease of mind that comes from knowing our goods are safely tucked away. And if we wanted to, we could just grab the top handle and carry it around like a bag. When we tossed around the case during testing, our items remained protected and safe without spilling or coming loose. If you do experience any spillage (hey, it happens!), don’t fret—The case is easy to clean.
Who It’s For: Travelers will love how this case completely opens, displaying all of their products and making them easy to access. The mirror is also a major bonus, as it allows people to complete their entire makeup routine on the go.
Materials: Polyurethane, nylon zippers, polyester | Compartments: None | Colors: 7 | Size: 9.5 (W) x 4 (H) x 7 (D) inches
Why We Love It: We love an affordable product that feels surprisingly high-end. This lightweight option has plenty of space, compartments, and aesthetic appeal, making it a phenomenal choice for everyday use. Much like the previous Béis option, this bag fully opens, and the lid’s underside has eight brush pockets (we managed to squeeze 20 brushes into them, though). There’s even a flap to cover and protect the brush heads. The bag comes with a fully removable pouch, where we kept our contour palettes, a color-correcting palette, three eyeliners, four lipsticks, a mascara, and a lash curler. In the main compartment, we stored our foundations, moisturizers, makeup removers, favorite dry shampoo, and more.
Who It’s For: With this makeup bag, you don’t need to leave anything behind, making it perfect for the person who has a lot of beauty products to transport. Even when we packed it to the brim, it didn’t feel bulky, and we could store it in our backpack and carry-on cases sans problem.
Materials: Water-resistant fabric | Compartments: 3 | Colors: 11 | Size: 9 (W) x 6.7 (H) x 3.5 (D) inches
Why We Love It: Let’s start with this bag’s luxurious Italian leather, stitching, and zippers. This bag is about as sturdy as it gets without having a hard-shell exterior. The leather is strong, and the zippers glide smoothly all the way around the clamshell-style bag. The lid’s underside has four loops for brushes and an elastic pocket to secure their ends. The leather divider in the middle helps protect the brush heads from items on the other side, where we placed our foundations, bronzers, blushes, and more. There’s even a pouch that clips in and out that we could remove and use on its own during a flight.
Who It’s For: This travel bag is for those who don’t play when it comes to their beauty collection. The price is on the steeper side, but knowing that it will last us over a decade and properly protect our valuables makes it worth the investment. Slab on the fact that we could add a personalized monogram, and it’s truly a gem worth buying.
Materials: Leather | Compartments: 4 | Colors: 3 | Size: 10.2 (W) x 6.2 (H) x 3.1 (D) inches
Why We Love It: The first thing we noticed about this case was the stiff material on the exterior, which cushioned a fall while protecting the contents inside. Its interior is slick, so we’d have no quarrels cleaning it should any powder or creams ever spill. The bag flaps open into three sections and has a little hook for hanging (useful in case we don’t have any counter space to lay it flat). Thanks to all the zippers and netted pouches, no products fell out during testing, and all of our items were visible and remained in vertical positions. We fit absolutely everything we could think of—moisturizers, creams, foundations, makeup palettes, four eyeliners, and five lipsticks and glosses—and still had room to spare. The middle pouch is also removable, which would be very helpful when we want to head out for the day and bring a few essentials.
Who It’s For: This bag is for the beauty enthusiast who needs to bring their entire routine with them on the go, even if it means sacrificing a sweater or two in their luggage space. Even professional makeup artists will be impressed by the case’s ample space, compartments, and hanging ability.
Materials: Nylon, vegan leather, polyester | Compartments: 5 | Colors: 2 | Size: 9.75 (W) x 7.25 (H) x 6.5 (D) inches
Why We Love It: Do you have any delicate perfume bottles, creams, or foundations you want to keep cushioned and separated? If so, it doesn’t get better (or cuter) than this toiletry organizer. The circular and upright bag has a cushioned mesh fabric throughout its interior, with six adjustable, removable dividers to securely store individual items. We were also able to place pencils and brushes upright in the side slits. In the zippable mesh bag attached to the opening flap, we put our sunscreens, hair ties, lipsticks, and other miscellaneous items. The organizer’s flexible, cushioned material made it easy to squish the bag down and save space in our luggage.
Who It’s For: To a certain extent, you can customize the bag’s interior to meet your beauty needs, which makes it useful to a wide variety of people. Thanks to its soft, collapsible exterior, it’s great for those who don’t want a makeup bag that takes up too much space in their suitcase.
Materials: Recycled polyester | Compartments: 11 | Colors: 2 | Size: 5.5 (W) x 7.5 (H) x 5.5 (D) inches
Why We Love It: A good makeup case for travel should be able to endure a lot, from getting jostled around in airport security to being rolled over cobblestone streets. So this bag’s hard yet cushioned shell is ideal. The neoprene exterior felt luscious and high-end during testing. Inside, there’s a clear compartment with a zipper, and underneath it hides a little black pouch that fits eyeshadow palettes and medications. The clear compartment is spacious enough to hold just about anything, from creams to lash curlers to hydrating lipsticks. And because it’s made of plastic, it’s easy to wipe off any potential spills. On the lid’s underside is a detachable brush holder with five pockets.
Who It’s For: Those who view a hard case as a nonnegotiable and want to make sure their delicate bottles stay protected. Although the chunky case takes up a good amount of space in your suitcase, it does actually offer extra protection.
Materials: Nylon, neoprene | Compartments: 3 | Colors: 5 | Size: 8.3 (W) x 6.3 (H) x 3.9 (D) inches
Why We Love It: We air on the side of neat and tidy (Marie Kondo is our saving grace), so we can’t begin to describe how satisfying it is to have our large collection of foundations, eyeshadow palettes, lip kits, and more properly stashed in their compartments in this travel bag. The brush compartment on the internal divider has scrunch pockets, and the flap that goes over the brushes sufficiently covers them. Thankfully, the bag is very lightweight (our products already weigh enough). Plus, the bag comes with an adjustable strap, which we could wear as a crossbody or even turn into a backpack. That being said, this case is a little too large to comfortably fit into a standard backpack.
Who It’s For: If you’re a professional makeup artist who travels to see clients, opt for this case. Apart from being large, this organizer has been designed with experts and professionals in mind and has adjustable compartments made of smooth and easy-to-clean material.
Materials: Nylon | Compartments: 9 | Colors: 3 | Size: 10.3 (W) x 9 (H) x 3.7 (D) inches
Why We Love It: She may have “small” in her title, but this bag actually fits a ton of products—at least enough for your everyday makeup routine. Its most notable feature, however, is the number of brush slots. Two sides are dedicated exclusively to brush storage, and during testing, they easily carried at least 15 of our variously sized brushes. The interior divider has a row of brush holders on one side and mesh pockets on the other. Once we flipped that over, we found a large (but not very deep) space for all of our creams and cases.
Who It’s For: This bag can fit plenty of mascaras and lip glosses for everyday wear and is especially great for those who use a lot of different brushes. However, if you want to go full glam, you may not find it spacious enough. For the average consumer, however, we believe the soft bag is perfectly sufficient for a casual week away.
Materials: Nylon | Compartments: 5 | Colors: 21 | Size: 8.9 (W) x 5.1 (H) x 3.2 (D) inches
Why We Love It: We selected this pouch because of its cushiony exterior and how much it can hold. This quilted bag felt like putting a protective pillow around our valuables, but it was still flexible enough to press down in our suitcases. The top zipper opened the bag almost all the way, making it easy to access our makeup. There are only two compartments—the main interior one and a not-so-little one on the side. We were flabbergasted by just how much could fit into this little black hole: three micellar waters, two travel-size shampoo bottles, a large liquid concealer, a bronzer, five lipsticks, and about seven brushes nestled next to each other. Even with all those goodies, the bag still didn’t feel like it was filled up.
Who It’s For: Shoppers who don’t pay too much attention to compartments and instead value an aesthetic bag that can seemingly hold an endless amount of products without taking up too much space.
Materials: Leather, REC oxford | Compartments: 2 | Colors: 6 | Size: 9.5 (W) x 6 (H) x 4 (D) inches
Why We Love It: It’s not enough for a bag to be an organizer—it also needs to provide great visibility into our collection, and this bag does just that. It comes with a little rotating hook, which we used to hang the bag on a towel rack. Once fully open, it reveals four clear plastic compartments. The two center pockets are larger than the outer ones, so we stored our hair spray, body lotions, and cream products in there. In the smaller pouches, we hid our brushes, eye creams, and any other miscellaneous items. Although it looked stuffed to the brim, once we closed it, it didn’t bulk up any more than it did while it was empty. Katie Nova, a celebrity makeup artist, stresses how convenient it is to keep all her skin care and beauty products separate but in the same container. She says it “eliminates the need for a separate bag and simplifies my travel routine.”
Who It’s For: This bag is great for those who don’t want to waste time rummaging through a black hole of a bag looking for a specific product. Everything is on display, and it gets bonus points for being easy to clean.
Materials: Waterproof vegan velvet, peach velvet, foam, clear polyvinyl chloride | Compartments: 5 | Colors: 11 | Size: 13.2 (W) x 9 (H) x 5.1 (D) inches
Why We Love It: A classic train case is a stylish option that holds all of your beauty products on the go. After testing several, we found this full-grain leather case to be the most practical. At first glance, it looked like any other rectangular box, but a closer look revealed that each of its four walls has a different organizational perk. Two sides have a pocket sleeve with an elastic strap, one side has a slip pocket, and another has a pocket with a zipper. There’s even a mesh pocket on the lid, where we zipped up our eyeshadow palettes and mascaras. We loved that these compartments didn’t take up any additional space (like a divider would) but allowed us to organize. The box is also quite deep, so even our travel-size shampoos could stand upright. Unless we packed everything snugly, some items would fall to their sides and look a little messy after travel. Should anything spill, the train case’s water-resistant lining made it easy to clean.
Who It’s For: Someone who needs a bag that holds a lot of items, from beauty products to shower essentials. For this reason, this case is quite large, but its hidden compartments make items easy to find inside.
Materials: Leather, nylon | Compartments: 3 | Colors: 13 | Size: 7.5 (W) x 5 (H) x 5.2 (D) inches
Why We Love It: This Cuyana set comes with two pouches (one large, one small), and its beautiful Argentinian pebbled leather design was quick to steal our hearts. The bag opened so widely that it was easy to pack all of our essentials inside and get quick access to them. The larger pouch has one slit pocket on the side (although we have to admit, it’s more for aesthetics than function). The second pouch is essentially a smaller version without the interior pocket. Between the two of them, they could easily store our entire makeup collection. Because of this set’s leather exterior and interior, it was difficult to clean the bag (a downside we ran into after one of our eyeshadow palettes popped open and slightly stained the bag).
Who It’s For: If you want to have your beauty items close to you on the go, consider this set—it’s small enough to fit in your purse. We stored one pouch in our checked luggage and kept the other in our carry-on.
Materials: Leather | Compartments: 2 | Colors: 15 | Size: Large pouch: 12 (W) x 7 (H) x 3.5 (D) inches; Small pouch: 8 (W) x 5 (H) x 2.5 (D) inches
On top of considering a bag’s size, material, and compartments, you also have to follow TSA guidelines while packing makeup for travel. That means you shouldn’t include liquids that are more than 3.4 ounces per container in your carry-on luggage. “When flying, I’ll often wrap my powder palettes and compacts in bubble wrap or a small towel to prevent them from breaking en route,” says Guerra. If you’re absolutely worried about anything spilling, Guerra suggests “storing creams and liquids in Ziploc bags before placing them in your makeup case.”
Professional makeup artists need a lot more space than the average person to accommodate a wide range of products and shades. They also require easy access to their products, so bags have to open widely or offer a clear case. “I typically go for bags that have a wide opening and transparent compartments. This allows me to easily see and quickly access items for red carpet touch-ups or makeup adjustments on set,” explains Guerra.
Before you check out, here are some other trip essentials you might want to pack for your getaway:
Eyeshade Bianca Kratky is a commerce writer covering fashion and beauty at InStyle. She’s a frequent traveler and knows a thing or two about smart packing tricks. To write this story, she dove deep into insights from testers who individually handled the makeup cases. She then consulted J. Guerra and Katie Nova, celebrity makeup artists, as well as Tia Codrington, a destination bridal makeup artist, for further insight into what to look for while shopping for makeup cases.