Here’s What NYC It Girls Always Keep in Their Bag

We all have it: that one product you reach for so often that it never leaves your side. As a matter of fact, maybe you keep several on hand, just in case—one for home, one for your car, one for each of your most-worn purses. And if you somehow venture to your evening plans without it? Forget it. You’re turning right back around, because the night simply can’t happen without your ride-or-die product.

And celebs? Well, as the saying goes, they’re just like us. Sure, they’re constantly being flooded with new products and tools, but here’s the truth: no matter how many buzzy launches land on an actress, musician, or influencer’s desk, even the most seasoned It girl always circles back to her tried-and-true essentials. And sometimes, the item that makes the cut might just surprise you. We asked four of our favorite style icons to share the one thing they keep with them at all times.

Isan Elba

From red-carpet premieres alongside her dad, Idris, to the halls of Harvard Business School—where she was recently invited to speak about Beauty Access, her sustainability-focused community initiative—Isan Elba seems to always look polished from head to toe. Naturally, we had to ask the actress, DJ, and entrepreneur for her secret weapon.

It turns out there’s one thing Elba always has on her whenever she leaves the house. “Not to toot my own horn, but my favorite compliment to get on a night out is that I look like ‘Facetune in real life,'” she tells Byrdie. The hack? “Carrying a pressed setting powder around is exactly how I do it. I typically bring out my Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder or Pat McGrath Labs Blurring Under-Eye Setting Powder.”

Poppy Liu

For Poppy Liu, brand names are irrelevant. When it comes to her must-haves, the actress’s answer is simple and practical: hand sanitizer and Chapstick. “Not even for a night out—for anytime I leave the house—I always need Chapstick on me,” the Hacks star explains. “Even at home, I have Chapstick in almost every room just for easy access.”

And if the crew winds up ending the night out at a sticky-floored dive bar, don’t even worry about it. Liu’s got everyone covered. “I’m always the one at the group dinner or at the bar who is like, ‘Hand sanitizer anyone?'” she laughs. “And the thing is, everyone always says yes, because we love clean hands.” Since Liu isn’t picky, here are Team Byrdie’s favorite chapsticks and hand sanitizers.

Emira D’Spain

Even off-duty, model Emira D’Spain cultivates an ever-present air of glamour on the go. Fortunately, she’s no gatekeeper when it comes to her beauty holy grail.

“I literally always have Benetint in my bag,” says the Victoria’s Secret Angel. “I’ll dab it on my lips and cheeks right before I walk in anywhere, it gives me that soft, flushed look that’s innocent but sexy. It’s effortless, it lasts, and it always makes me feel like the hottest version of myself—so good especially if you’ve been out all day and need a little refresh.”

Her other secret weapon is a bit more unexpected: “Lumify is genuinely a going-out essential for me. Two drops and my eyes instantly look bright, awake, and refreshed, like I’ve had eight hours of sleep—even when I definitely haven’t. Every hot girl has Lumify floating around somewhere in the bottom of their Birkins.”

Charlotte Lawrence

Fresh off her debut album release and recent engagement to beau Andrew Watt, Lawrence—usually a self-described homebody—has been out and about more than usual this year. In addition to her must-have Cedar Supreme perfume oil from Cyklar (“The best!”), She always keeps her old faithful on hand: Aquaphor. “It’s fabulously dependable no matter the occasion,” she says.

But her most important going-out essential isn’t a product—at least not a beauty product. “I have a horrid nicotine addiction that I am ashamed of and disgusted by,” she says of her cigarette habit. “The taste and smell are putrid.” Her unconventional solution? A blue latex glove: she wears one whenever she smokes “so my fingers don’t smell.”