Last Updated on July 10, 2026 by omgbart

It was the summer of 2020, the world was locked down, and product recommendations were flooding in from every direction. One came from a celebrity makeup artist, who told me I needed to try these bags called WELLinsulated. I had nowhere to go and nothing to lose, so a few shiny makeup bags landed on my doorstep not long after.

One became an instant poolside fixture. The second made its first road trip with me up to Portland, Maine. The rest of the collection has since seen a lot more of the world than I expected a makeup bag to see.

That was six years ago. I now own a genuinely comprehensive wardrobe of WELLinsulated bags in different shapes, sizes, and colors, and after traveling with them across enough trips to lose count, I can say without hesitation that they’re not just well-insulated, they’re well-made. This post is overdue by about five years.

In an unexpected turn of events, I’m now also friends with the founder, Julie Varichek. We caught up over a delicious sushi lunch on my last NYC visit, and she insisted I go home with a new limited-edition color that isn’t out yet. Consider this post a small sneak peek at what’s coming later this year.

How These Bags Actually Came to Be

Julie didn’t come from beauty. She came from finance, and got the idea after a bag of her own products was ruined by heat on a trip to Charleston. She went looking for something insulated and stylish enough to actually carry, found only cheap lunch bags or bulky coolers, and built the thing that didn’t exist instead.

A couple years of R&D later, with help from a thermal aerospace engineer and the designers behind coolers like Yeti, she had the bags: closed-cell insulation that actually regulates temperature, an aluminum lining that resists bacteria and wipes clean, a light-blocking Mylar exterior, and waterproof zippers.

Protecting Vitamin C, Retinol, and Fragrance From Heat Damage

Vitamin C is, in my opinion, the single most unstable thing in skincare, and these bags are a genuinely effective solution for keeping pricy, active-powered formulas stable. The same goes for prescription retinoids and even face oils, both of which can degrade fast when exposed to light or higher temperatures.

And while we’re at it: any skincare product in opaque packaging that instructs you to “shake to activate” is not activating anything. It’s making sure you don’t squirt out a formula whose oil and water phases have separated. There’s nothing to activate. It’s a marketing buzzword that genuinely annoys me. Fragrance is another one worth traveling in these bags specifically, since heat and light do the same damage to a perfume that they do to a serum.

Which WELLinsulated Bag Does What

The bags themselves have earned specific jobs in my life. The Performance Pouch ($79) has been my constant summer go-to for a Kindle, phone, earphones, lip balm, and, back when I was on them, insulin pens. I still choose carry-on bags based on whether they’ll fit the pouch alongside the small Performance Beauty Bag ($69); that combination is non-negotiable at this point.

When I’m checking a suitcase for a longer trip, the Performance Travel Case ($109) is what houses all my skincare. Road trips call for the Performance Beauty Case ($129)which now comes with a shoulder strap that makes a real difference. And the Performance Mini Travel Case ($69) is where bronzer, foundation sticks, and concealer live. The sizing across the whole line is close to perfect.

Pro tip for anyone flying with these products: cabin pressure changes are brutal on rollerball and metal-tip applicators, whether it’s an eye serum or a fragrance. The pressure differential loosens the applicator just enough that it either leaks out completely or overdispenses in one massive glob the second you open the cap. It happens more often than anyone likes to admit, which is exactly where the aluminum lining earns its keep: wipe it down, and it’s like the spill never happened.

Is It Worth It?

Six years of daily use is a better endorsement than a spec sheet, but the recognition backs it up too. The brand has an Allure Best of Beauty win, a curated collaboration with Marina Larroudé, and a spot at Bluemercury alongside its own site. None of that surprises me. What’s kept me loyal is simpler: these are the only bags in my collection that have survived pools, road trips, flights, and years of actual use without looking or performing like it.

If you’re the kind of person who already reads ingredient percentages before buying a serum, this is the logical next step: caring as much about how you store it as what’s in it. And if the limited-edition color Julie sent me is any indication, this brand isn’t done yet.

Get 10% Off With Code BART10

If you want to try them yourself, use code BART10 for 10% off at wellinsulated.com.

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