One evening a couple of weeks ago, after a particularly hot and sweaty hot yoga class I realised – just as I was about to take a shower – that I’d forgotten to pack shampoo. It was no biggie, I could still shower using the shower gel provided by the studio and wash my hair at home later. Worse was the realisation post-shower that I’d forgotten my hairbrush. Bright red face + birds nest hair = not a good look to rock on the Northern Line on a Friday night.
Keen to avoid this happening again I headed to Westfield to put together a gym bag beauty kit (any excuse to hit up Westfield!). These are my favourite finds…
Yes To Carrots Nourishing Gentle Cleansing Wipes, £3.19
When it comes to on-the-go beauty, wipes are your friend. Tbh I have been known to use cleansing wipes when I’m not on the go. After a long day at work followed by an evening out sometimes the full cleanse, tone and moisturise routine feels like far too much effort, but a swift wipe followed up with a swipe of moisturiser seems doable. Never having tried the Yes To range I bought these on something of a whim during my Westfield sesh. I’m so happy I discovered them. They leave my skin feeling thoroughly cleansed but with none of the tightness or dryness that I get with some of the other wipes I’ve tried. They’re free from parabens, petroleum and SLS and made from compostable cloth, making them earth-friendly as well as face-friendly.
You can buy them here
Simple Kind To Eyes Eye Make-up Remover Pads, £1.99
Simple’s Kind To Eyes Eye Make-up Remover is my eye make-up removing product of choice and so it was a no-brainer to include a pack of Simple eye make-up removing pads in my workout beauty bag. They’d be great for holidays too as, with 30 pads in the pack, there’s enough for even a two-week stay.
They’re currently half price at Superdrug. You can buy them here.
Tangle Teezer Compact Styler in Feline Groovy, £9.80
If you haven’t already discovered Tangle Teezers you should give them a try. Immediately. They’re brilliant at detangling wet hair without breaking it and come in a range of sizes in fun colour ways and patterns. I already have The Original in Mandarin Sweetie but I decided to treat myself to a second one to keep in my gym bag. Partial as I am to animal print I couldn’t resist the Compact Styler in Feline Groovy. I didn’t realise until I got it home but, unlike The Original, it comes with a cover – just the thing to stop the teeth getting bent out of shape in my bag.
Travel Bottles
By the time my bag is loaded up with workout kit, yoga mat, towel and water bottle it’s already heavy and so adding full-sized bottles of shampoo and so on is not ideal. Cute as they are, clearly it would not be very good for the environment or my bank balance to buy mini versions of my favourite beauty products and so I picked up a handful of plastic bottles to decant shampoo and suchlike into. Muji have a great selection of shapes and sizes.
Sachets
All those samples that nice staff on beauty counters give away and that come stuck to the page of glossy mags are brilliant to pop in your gym bag. It’s worth checking the cut to help you open the sachet is deep enough before you leave home or you’ll have a frustrating time trying, and probably failing, to rip it open, not what you need if you’re rushing from the gym to work.
PitRok Crystal Roll On Deodorant, £4.99
The all-natural PitRok line was a great recommendation from RMS reader Faye. At just 50mls, the roll on is the smallest size in the range, making it the perfect gym bag deodorant.
You can buy it here.
Balance Me Super Moisturising Body Wash, Free With Magazine
This 100ml sized body wash came free with a recent issue of Glamour magazine. It’s the first Balance Me product I’ve tried and I’m pretty confident it won’t be the last. It smells all citrusy and uplifting, does everything you’d expect of a body wash and leaves my skin super soft, plus it’s 99% natural and British made to boot.
You can buy the 100 ml size as part of a set here or a 200ml size tube here.
It’s a work in progress but I’m happy with my kit so far. What are your gym bag beauty essentials? Anyone found a great shampoo and conditioner in one, so I don’t have to take two bottles in my bag? Oh and where can I get a lightweight but absorbent towel? Mine is so heavy!
I’m not a gym bunny like yourself Miranda, but I have been backpacking & bought some very lightweight towels from the camping shop Tiso. They aren’t absorbant in the same way as a bath towel (more of a pat yourself dry job) but they fold up to practically nothing & come in a handy zipper bag to stop the rest of your bag getting soaked. Would definitely recommend – who can be faffed humphing a bath sheet around with them?!
I haven’t heard of Tiso but will check it out – thanks Lynsey!
I thought Tiso was a chain – a quick google has suggested it’s a scottish thing, who knew?! As Claire below said though, most camping shops will have them. Sorry for the duff info!
Light weight towel – easy just get a camping version. Light weight and dries really quickly. Ask any good Girl Guide or Scout – we’ve all got them!
Brilliant, thanks Claire!
This is the kind of thing: https://www.lifeventure.co.uk/product/washgear/softfibre-trek-towel
In terms of having a gym bag, I recently invested in getting a duplicate complete set of everything I use on a daily basis (not that much as I don’t really wear make up, but shampoo, conditioner, hair product, toothpaste & brush, moisturiser etc but price wise it still seemed to add up quickly!) to keep in my gym bag but I’ve found it has the added bonus of being perfect for trips away – I know that as long as I stick my gym washbag in my case then I’ve got everything that I need, plus it avoids that awkward “when to pack the washbag when I need it the morning we go” issue!
Love the look of those wipes, might have to invest 🙂
Such a good idea to have a duplicate set Katie, and great to be all ready on the beauty front for trips away! I’m very much liking the wipes and there are more in the range to try.
I keep a separate stash of face wipes and deodrant in my designated gym bag and then just add my usual little make up bag (containing hair grips etc). The lockers at my gym are quite small so on the days I go straight after work, I switch my large handbag for a smaller one anyway. It’s a bit of a faff but I’m used to it now!
I don’t shower at my gym as I go after work and then straight home (only a short bus ride!) so don’t need to take shampoo etc. I do need a small towel though to wipe down equipment – I use the paper towels they provide but it just seems a bit of a waste! But I swear only a handful of people bring their own towels…! I need to be one of them, I know.
Oh the handbag switch, I am very familiar, as you say Jo, you get used to it!
I don’t suppose there’s any chance of a feature on how to keep skin/hair looking good when you do a lot of exercise? I (try) and head to the gym/run/cycle most days (all involving quite a lot of sweating) and find that it can pay absolute havoc with my skin and makes trying not to wash my hair every day very hard to maintain – any advice or recommended products would be very gratefully received.
Having made a commitment to add cardio into my workout week and doing the odd hot yoga class again too, I’m finding that my skin is breaking out Juliet. I’ll see if I can come up with some kind of solution for this, obviously it’s not just me!
I’m a recent convert to the ‘yes to’ brand having succumbed their shower gel during a recent trip to Waitrose. Silky smooth and smells delicious too – I hadn’t realised they did make-up remover wipes too. Will check them out!
The cleansing wipes are the first thing I’ve tried from the Yes To brand, but definitely plan to try more!