What’s In Allison’s Bag? - Round #2

January 17, 2020

When I had coffee with Allison this past August, her impromptu purse dig yielded a ton of cool product recommendations that everyone here seemed to love (I know for a fact I’m not the only one who got the Fresh Sugar Peach lip balm!) As I headed to Los Angeles last week for a vacation, Allison and I planned to meet up for breakfast. To my added glee, she was down for another round of “What’s In My Bag” for the blog. This one wouldn’t be totally spontaneous, but we figured it would be just as much fun.

Allison and I planned to meet on Friday at the end of her first truly hectic week of 2020. Between the Troop Zero press junket, the film’s red carpet premiere, and her Jimmy Kimmel appearance all during a full week in production at MOM, Allison was busy. I was lucky she was even making time for me; on Thursday, during a break from her extra-late evening doing MOM pre-shoots, she left me a message. “Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. I’m not sure I’m gonna have time to curate a good purse dump, but I’ll have whatever is truly in there...which might be a shitshow.” My response? Shitshow preferred.


When we met at Sweetsalt Food Shop in Toluca Lake the next morning, Allison was wearing her recently-acquired blue and green plaid jacket from Nordstrom ($50). She had layered the jacket over a blue and white striped Rails button down blouse ($158) and pre-Fall 2018 collection gray wool Celine slacks ($1,865). Along with a pair of bright blue Gucci horsebit flats ($730), Allison also had her large $358 black leather 'Minimal Tote' by luxury Maine-based brand, Rough & Tumble. She wasn’t actually sure who the bag was by until we started digging around and found the label way down inside. “I just love this bag because of how many pockets it has.”

The leather of the bag felt like butter and it really was quite roomy - the tote held so much more than we had time to look at. After eggs and toast - hers with spinach & cheese - this is what Allison pulled out of her purse! Where applicable, I have included pricing and a direct purchase link for each product:

The first thing Allison pulled out of her bag was her phone, which she had recently begun keeping in a cross-body black leather Bandolier case ($88). Acquired so she doesn't drop or lose her phone, she seemed noncommittal but showed me how to wear the case like a purse - and she kept it on during the rest of the purse dump.

Following her phone, Allison showed me two pairs of her famous Jacques Marie Mage glasses: the 'Jagger' sunglasses ($895) and the green 'Rover' optical frames ($850). She was already wearing her go-to Tom Ford black square frames; as she’s become known for her taste in glasses, I just love how Allison had extra pairs on hand.

She next rescued from her bag a loose pair of delicate gold earrings and an equally-dainty gold chain holding a sparkling round opal pendant. When I asked who designed this jewelry and where she bought these pieces, Allison laughed. “No clue!”
After the jewelry came some high-end skincare products. Allison had a set of three travel-sized treats by Dr. Barbara Sturm: the Glow Drops (1 oz., $145), the Hyaluronic Serum (.33 oz., $110) and the Face Cream in “Rich” formula (.69 oz., $75 or $230 for 1.7 oz). Allison swears by all of them.


Next up was a parade of cosmetics:

The cascade of lipsticks sparked a short discussion about how everyone really loved the dramatic red shade that makeup artist Angela Levin had used for Allison’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel three nights prior. Allison couldn’t recall the exact product she wore on the show, but I later discovered it to be the Nars 'Mysterious Red Velvet Matte Lip Pencil' ($27). Allison really loved the change of pace from her usual mauve, pink or neutral lip tones. While bright red hasn't been Allison’s regular go-to lip, I think we'd all agree she certainly knows how to pull off the ruby pout - especially with the right outfit.


Back inside her purse, Allison found a GlamGlow Eyeboost Reviving Eye Mask ($8) next to a green leather zip pouch filled with things to give herself a manicure. Allison humbly showed me her rose gold nails and shared that she has been doing her own polish jobs lately. As you can see, they looked nothing short of professional.
Next Allison found a small bottle of Delta Airline hand sanitizer, which made her laugh, followed by a drawstring bag containing three very beautiful rock crystals. Pink, green, and white: "For good energy", she told me with a grin.
Allison was also holding on to presents received over the holiday season. She had a loose Alo Yoga gift card, a gift certificate for an unidentified place she'd never heard of ("Hmm. I don't know. Maybe it's a restaurant."), and a gift card for 3 free months of ‘Waking Up with Sam Harris’, a mindful meditation course. Allison said she actually already subscribes to this app, so the three free months will eventually come in handy. The app is $14.99/month or $119/year.


And last, but not least, my favorite thing Allison had in her bag: a small book called Easy Does It: A Book of Daily 12-Step Meditations. Explaining why she keeps this on hand, Allison said "I like looking at literature about 12-step programs. I think they have good messages and I like to start my day with looking at one of those. I know I'm not part of the program but I play someone who is and I certainly have had enough loved ones in the program...so I like carrying those things around."

I was personally quite moved to find Allison with this in her bag, having embarked on a nearly-two-year journey of sobriety myself. Allison has always supported me on my path and it felt special to check out her book together at breakfast. The message for that date, January 17th, said in part, "It's always more blessed to give than to receive, to love than to be loved...let us love you until you can learn to love yourself." Perfect.

After doing two 'purse dumps' with Allison, I think it’s fair to say her bag is always full of beautiful, eclectic, useful, and personal items that help her through a work-centric life on the go. We all know that Allison has great taste in jewelry and skin care products; her makeup recommendations have also been fantastic and reasonably affordable, to boot. Knowing what a busy work pace Allison likes to keep, it was also nice to hear more about the ways she attempts to find balance and practice self-care.

I also really enjoyed the chance to catch up with Allison at the start of a new year; things have truly been off to a strong start! Folks are in love with Troop Zero, now out on Amazon Prime - and we fans eagerly await the 2020 releases of Allison’s next big-role film projects, Bad Education and Breaking News In Yuba County. As for Allison’s style and beauty, I think it’s fair to say that everyone is obsessed with her new short hair-cut, which has given her a fresh, modern look for the new year. And already in 2020 we have seen Allison in two unique and special red carpet looks: her Troop Zero premiere suit by Rosetta Getty and her elegant, off-the-should pearl-embellished SAG Awards gown by Pamella Roland. We can expect more fashion from Allison soon. She will be at the upcoming Cadillac Pre-Oscar Party in just about two weeks, and she also informed me that she'll be attending the 2020 Independent Spirit Awards on February 8th. Props as always to Team Janney, especially stylist Tara Swennen and hair guru Jill Crosby.

I hope you've all enjoyed another round of Allison's Purse Dump! Many thanks to Allison for sharing her time (and the contents of her tote!) with me last week. It is, as ever, such an honor and I’m grateful Allison is willing to let me spill some of her beauty and style secrets with all of us.