Combating breakouts at home is one thing, but what about when you’re out or at work and your make-up drawer is nowhere to be found? The answer: pack an emergency kit. With just a little preparation, you can keep your cool even in the face of a first date, the big sales meeting or the walk down the aisle.

Emergency Kit Essentials:

Cotton Balls and Cotton Swabs

Cotton balls are perfect for quick spot cleansing. They also take up less space than a makeup brush and can work just as well in a pinch. Cotton swabs can be ideal for delivering skincare products directly to the spot you need them.

Blemish Control Toner

Over the course of the day, your skin oils begin to change your makeup palette, so fresh makeup over old makeup can cake and smear. At the first sign of a breakout, use a cotton ball to gently remove makeup from the affected area. Most blemish control toners also contain a drying agent and a medication to help jumpstart the healing process.

Moisturizer

Acne treatments (which we’ll get to in a minute) not only dry out the pimple, but also the area around it. Applying a small amount of moisturizer around the affected area can help offset any excessive drying.

Redness-Reducing Eye Drops

Dry eyes aren’t the only place we want to get the red out. Believe it or not, these drops can also reduce the redness of acne. Soak the tip of a cotton swab with the eye drops, gently swab the affected area and allow it to dry.

Acne Treatment

Most over-the-counter acne treatments use either benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid as a drying agent. Both are effective and some products are also available in a tinted formula that can help in the coverup process. Use a cotton swab and dab the acne treatment evenly over the affected area only. Allow to dry.

Concealer

Heat breaks down concealers and smears them, so run your fingertip under cold water for 10 seconds and blot it dry. Using that cool fingertip, gently dab your concealer over the blemish and the rest of the area you cleaned with the toner.

Powder

Using a cotton ball or powder brush, gently dab powder onto the affected area and then lightly dust over the entire face to even out your color and sheen.

Blush

Depending on where the blemish is, you might need to use a small amount of blush to blend with your existing makeup.

Packing Tip: Samples and Travel Sizes

Many cosmetic lines have samples available (sometimes they’re even free). Concealer, powder and blush samples are small and can go a long way in an emergency. Moisturizers and acne treatments are also available in small travel-sized tubes that can be packed in even the smallest clutch or stashed discreetly in a desk drawer.

With a properly packed emergency kit, you’ll have the tools you need to meet that next breakout head on and the confidence to finish the day (or the night) you started in style.

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