These Are The Beauty Essentials The Viva Team Packs In Their Gym Bags

We’d like to think we’re an active bunch. See what some of our editors tote to the gym (and work) for their regular sweat sessions.

AMANDA LINNELL, EDITOR

FITNESS ROUTINE
Most days start by getting hot and sweaty with an RPM class. I love working out to good music and it sets me up for the day. I meet with my personal trainer Mark twice a week for strength training. On the weekends, hopefully you'll find me out for a run I love being out on my own, clearing my head and connecting with nature. In summer, beach swims are part of the mix.

IN MY GYM BAG
I like to travel light, so my gym kit is well edited with basics. When it comes to beauty products after a morning workout, I aim to keep my skin as free from chemicals as possible, hence my selection of products. They all feel lovely on my skin. This wee pot of Corbin Rd Restorative Cleansing Balm is perfect when you're on the move. I always travel with it as well as there's no chance of leaking. Made in NZ, ingredients include native kawakawa, kiwifruit, almond and rose hips oils and is also free of all sulphates, parabens, petro chemicals, sulphates etc. It literally melts onto your face and leaves your skin feeling clean and smooth. Aesop is an all-time favourite and their Elemental Facial Barrier Cream is fresh and cooling, and leaves my skin feeling nourishing and soothing. I keep it in my gym bag so my partner doesn't nick it! Weleda Citrus 24h Roll-On Deoderant has lovely fresh yet subtle scent and is a natural deoderant (no aluminium salts, synthetic preservatives, or artificial fragrances etc.) that actually works. I usually carry some kind of Weleda body oil or lotion as well. The Votary collection of face oils is another favourite, which I use regularly as well. My skin just soaks it up.

GOALS FOR 2020
Workout-wise, I want to get back into yoga. Beauty-wise being mindful of wasteful packaging and booking in more relaxing treatments!

DAN AHWA, CREATIVE & FASHION DIRECTOR

FITNESS ROUTINE
I usually go to the gym 2-3 times a week, usually twice before work during the week, and then on an afternoon if I have time on the weekend. Every now and then I'll go for a run. We live by the beach so will be swimming for most of the summer.

IN MY GYM BAG
Because I'm at the gym usually around 5.30 / 6am some eye serum helps de-puff my eye area, and I like this one from Dermalogica because it feels light and cooling. A cleanser is also useful. I usually just wash my face with cold water in the morning, but when I'm working out; I add this to my gym bag from Korean brand Innisfree which keeps my face fresh and clean. It has green tea in it which wakes me up. I don't like too much product in my hair, so I like a really lightweight hair cream like this from Ouai to at least feel like I'm groomed enough for work. I'm meeting people every day all day, so I like to at least not smell terrible. A quick spray of cologne like this from Aqua di Parma does the trick  nothing too sweet as it makes me nauseous.

GYM BAG GOALS FOR 2020
I'm pretty happy with my gym bag essentials, but I'd maybe swipe my wife Zoe's pot of moisturiser by Korean brand Cosrx and add in a refreshing mister recommended by my friend Matt, the Heritage Store Rosewater with Glycerin Facial Mister, so I'm ready for the first meeting of the day without looking like a sweaty mess.

ASHLEIGH COMETTI, COMMERCIAL EDITOR & BEAUTY WRITER (currently on maternity leave)

FITNESS ROUTINE
Ash says she discovered the "magic that is Reformer Pilates" in the second half of 2019 and soon became obsessed. Life is a little different since she went on leave to have a baby in December, but this is what she wrote just before then.

I get my thrice weekly fix at Kcore Pilates in Victoria Park. The airy studio is decked out with the latest equipment, and the trainers take their time to help correct your form and technique. This means that even the tiniest movement can get you deep into the right muscle. I always leave the class feeling better than when I walk in. I’m lucky to live five minutes’ walk from the beach and a short drive from the bush, so my weekends often involve a hike with a girlfriend (often ending in brunch at the local).

IN MY GYM BAG
"I've long been a fan of Jo Malone London's range of colognes, so always ensure I pop a 30ml version into my gym bag to help me freshen up post-workout. I love Jo Malone London Honeysuckle & Davana for summer  it's sweet and refreshing and helps to ignite my senses before I traipse back to the office. Even though I use snag-free hair ties to not ruin my hairdo, I like to give my hair a quick blast with the hairdryer before attempting to style it back to how it looked when I left my desk. For this reason, a quick spritz of Evo Mister Fantastic Blowout Spray over the lengths and ends of my hair is a must. Speaking of spritzing, M.A.C Prep + Prime Fix+ is great for refreshing my makeup (I'm naughty and never take mine off for a workout  oops). After the Fix+ has dried, I'll add a little extra powder to any shiny spots (usually around my nose and chin) using the Laura Mercier Translucent Powder, applied with a Mecca Max Powder Brush (so fluffy and no fallout  win win). The powder pictured here is just a sample, but I loved it so much I rushed out to buy the full size immediately after it ran out. A little extra mascara never goes awry, and The Body Shop Happy Go Lash Mascara has the added feel-good factor with it being cruelty-free.

GYM BAG GOALS FOR 2020
I've always been a little high maintenance (and I'm totally fine with that), so I'm not about to go stripping back the products I tote to the studio with me. I'd like to say I'll start washing my face and re-applying my makeup after a sweat session, but I doubt I'd have time for that either!"

ROSIE HERDMAN, ASSISTANT FASHION EDITOR

FITNESS ROUTINE
Let's focus on a good workout week shall we! I go to Les Mills as it's across the road, and on an ideal week, my workout routine goes something like: Tuesday lunchtime Grit class, The Trip during lunchtime on Wednesday, after work Grit on a Friday (so lame but it means anything you do after that is cancelled out from the exercise) and Ceremony on Saturday morning.

Of these classes, the ones I'll probably get to are Tuesday and either Friday or Saturday  but we try, don't we!

IN MY GYM BAG
I like my gym bag products to be small and portable, and in terms of cleansers/shampoo, basically anything is better than whatever is in that dispenser in the gym shower. Unsure if I should say this on such a public forum but I stole the Kevin Murphy minis from a hotel I was staying in a few months ago  love a posh mini version of anything  they smell really good and are sulphate free etc. The deodorant is a natural coconut oil one, and is one of the few I've found here that actually works. It doesn't stop you sweating  that's not the point but it does make your sweat smell not as bad. As for the other stuff, obviously I like to smell good (this photo includes two of the four perfumes I have floating about in my cosmetics bag) and cool down/have hydrated skin, hence the facial sprays. The Juliette Hogan hair-tie was a freebie, I love how fancy it is for such an everyday item and would actually recommend it as it's nice and thick."

GYM BAG GOALS FOR 2020
For 2020, I'm probably going to try and cart less stuff to and from work  one hack I figured out in the last couple of months is just to leave your gym shampoo bag at your desk if, like me, you go during your lunch break. Not exactly ground-breaking but took me long enough to figure out, and any step that helps me from becoming Quasimodo with my heavy bag is good by me.

Something I would like to work out is a zero waste alternative for face wipes. I haven't used them for a few months now, and at home I don't use cotton pads, only a cotton wash cloth, but carrying around a sopping wet wash cloth in your gym bag isn't the one.