What's in my bag: autumn 2026 edition From the must-have lip products to face mists

September is here and, with all the rain we’ve had and even more on the way over the next few days, I’d say fall has officially arrived too. Which means classes are about to start, or have just started, the office is once again the place we spend most of our time and home is basically somewhere we see for those eight hours we spend sleeping. So it’s essential to have everything we need with us to get through the day. And besides our beauty kit, complete with practically every travel size of our favourite products, there are those five or six products we simply can’t leave the house without. The ones that stay buried at the bottom of our bags all season long, or at least until we finish them and immediately have to replace them with the exact same ones. Here are our true non-negotiables.

What's in my bag: fall 2026 edition

Lip tint

It’s practically impossible for me to imagine going anywhere without at least one product that adds a little colour to my lips. As my mum always says: you can leave the house without makeup, but with a touch of lipstick, you’ll always look put together. Maybe it’s because lips immediately draw attention and make dark circles and imperfections elsewhere on the face a little less noticeable, but you can be sure there’s always a lip liner or lip tint somewhere in my bag.

Solid perfume

With everything we inevitably carry around, our bags are already heavy enough, so adding a full-size perfume to carry around the city all day seems slightly unhinged. But imagining going through the day without any fragrance to freshen up is just as impossible. Luckily, there are solid perfumes: compact, lightweight and small enough to fit both in your everyday bag and in your evening clutch.

Hydrating face mist

In fall, besides the leaves falling from the trees and creating those romantic, colourful carpets, the pumpkin we eat every day until we can’t stand the sight of it anymore and the hot coffee we drink as if we were the protagonist of an American sitcom on a gloomy day, there’s also that unbearable wind that messes up your hair and leaves your skin feeling dry like those same leaves I was talking about. Having flaky skin isn’t exactly ideal, but luckily, as always, face mists come to the rescue. In this case, the best ones are obviously hydrating, even better if they’re bi-phase: on one side, they help add water to the skin, while on the other, they contain humectant ingredients that help lock it in, so all that hydration doesn’t disappear with the first gust of wind.

Strictly matte lip balm

In winter, as far as I’m concerned, anything too glossy on the lips is officially off the table. Lip oils, lip glosses and everything in between may look beautiful when freshly applied, but the moment you leave the house, that inevitable gust of wind is there to remind you why it might not have been the best idea. Much better to go for a matte-finish lip balm: it hydrates your lips, keeps them soft and protected, without all the mess.

Black liner and mascara

I don’t know why, but whenever class ends later than usual, there’s always someone suggesting a drink with our university friends and, obviously, it’s impossible to say no. Same thing when you leave the office: what was supposed to be a completely normal day suddenly turns into drinks with your colleagues. And what takes your look from day to night is definitely a black liner to create an improvised smoky-eye effect and some mascara. Two coats and you’re ready.