Let's see ... my purse has wallet, small cosmetics bag for things like a comb, nail file, a few safety pins and a very tiny Swiss Army thingie, gloves, passport, boarding pass a real fabric handkerchief, etc.
For long trips by car or plane (I get seasick ) I carry my old fashioned "cosmetic case" which holds prescription drugs, hair stuff in travel sizes, dentifrices, soft slippers that can double as evening slippers, nightgown, a cotton caftan that folds into nothing, one extra pair stockings, one pair Tilley briefs, one of Tilley's dressy outfits which doesn't wrinkle and folds into no-space-at-all, several silk scarfs and a bathing suit. I also wear a tailored Tilley outfit and my never-leave-home-without-it Tilley hat. Should my checked luggage be delayed I can "do and go" for a long time with just what's in the case and what I'm wearing.
I usually buy a paperback book in the airport, generally a shortish mystery story or a collection of short stories.
My travel-life was simplified greatly when I discovered Tilley's!
http://www.tilley.com