Louise McSharry: My granny never left the house without a compact – here’s four that combine practicality and beauty

Keeping a compact in your handbag is ideal for those checks, touch-ups and contact lens fixes

Louise McSharry

Despite the fact I absolutely adore makeup, I don’t tend to bring much with me when I leave the house. I love planning a look — the products I’ll use, the way it’ll look with my outfit, what will last the best — and I adore the actual application process. But once it’s done, it’s done. I honestly tend not to think about it much (unless I’m wearing a red or dark lipstick, of course. Those require careful maintenance). I’m never aiming for perfection with a look, so I don’t mind general wear and tear over the course of a day or evening.

I can’t say, however, there aren’t moments in which I regret this strategy. Occasionally, something goes awry and you really need a mirror in your handbag — like last week, when one of my contact lenses wasn’t playing ball just before I went on stage at an event. In those moments, I wish I could be more like my granny, who never left the house without a compact. Aside from their usefulness, there is something incredibly glamorous and ladylike about pulling a compact from your handbag. Should you wish to add one to your repertoire, I thought I’d run down some excellent options, from the most useful to the most beautiful.

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