When you're out for the evening in a bar or nightclub, it's probably going to involve a few too many cocktails, dancing until your feet hurt and generally having the time of your life- as you do. But when you're out and about, away from home and probably not with your full wits about you it's worth making sure you're organised and have everything you need before heading out the door. As boring as that sounds, being stranded at 3am with a flat phone battery or even having a hair dilemma when you're on a night out isn't fun, especially when it can be avoided with a bit of preparation. Admittedly it can be a difficult one when your clutch bag is the size of a matchbox (and if like me you're used to carrying a huge handbag around that's practically a suitcase) and so you have to be a bit smart with deciding what to bring. Here are a few things that I consider to be essentials, but all of which are nice and compact saving valuable clutch bag space!

Mobile Phone Powerbank

Unless you have the space or inclination to bring a proper camera out with you, you'll probably be snapping away photos of the night on your mobile phone- which as we all know is not good news for crappy smartphone batteries. Having something like this in your bag just gives the extra piece of mind knowing you won't be stuck with a dead battery, they're only small and aren't too heavy so won't take up too much space or leave you feeling like you're carrying round a tonne of bricks. If you own one of these always remember to charge it before you go out especially if it's been sitting in your bag for a while, as they don't tend to hold their charge.

Small Sized Purse (With Extra Taxi Fare)

If like me your normal purse is a huge bulky thing, you're probably going to want to invest in something smaller for when you're out with a smaller bag- I love the look of this one. My regular purse would take up almost all of the space in a clutch, and so something like this is really handy. All you need is enough space for your card, some cash and your ID rather than bringing along a huge thing with a thousand store cards, receipts and load of other random junk that purses tend to accumulate. One thing I'd always recommend is keeping enough money for a taxi home in a separate compartment, even if you already have arrangements to get home with other people.

Hygiene Products

It's always worth making space for a pack of tissues in your bag if you're going on a night out, I like little handbag sized packs. Past midnight in the ladies, tissue is as rare and precious as gold dust- it seems as though most bars and nightclubs are blissfully unaware of this fact as they never seem to do anything about it. Tampax Compak Pearl are another good choice for a clutch bag, not only are they a small and discreet size but are made with a softer and quieter wrapper too which is handy. Plus the wrappers have been given a stylish overhaul meaning they blend in with your other beauty products- good for avoiding mishaps like this! Other good hygiene essentials are chewing gum and antibacterial hand gel, I like these little Bath and Body works ones.

Topup Makeup

With clutch bags being so small you really do have to keep things like makeup to the essentials. I usually just go with the lipstick I'm wearing and a pressed powder to keep any shine away throughout the night. I'm not usually a fan of applying powder with the sponge that you get included, but they're good for times like this when you don't want to be lugging an extra brush around with you. I try to go for a powder with a mirror in the lid like this one by Urban Decay, which saves you needing to bring an extra mirror- bonus.

Brush or Comb

This is something I always have on me, and still make room for even if I have a smaller bag. The Tangle Teezer compact is absolutely perfect for when you're using a clutch, not only does it come with a cover to protect the bristles in your bag but it's nice and small saving you space. When straight hair can go from 'sleek' to 'bedraggled' in about two minutes flat it's good to have something like this on you to avoid the 'dragged through a hedge backwards' look from the wind after stepping outside.