Like her fellow contestants in this year's Miss Virginia pageant, Ashley Smith doesn't leave her room at the Hotel Roanoke without a properly packed purse.

Cellphone? Check.

Lip gloss? Check.

Piece of cabbage? Check.

"It's a good luck charm," said Smith, aka Miss Virginia Peanut in the pageant. "It started off as a New Year's tradition, you put a piece of cabbage in your wallet for good luck during the year. It's really small though, so it doesn't smell bad!"

Cabbage is just one of the unusual things you can find stashed in the contestants' bags. While it comes as no surprise that most of the girls carry a powder compact, some contestants find that having a sweet treat or something to remind them of home is just as important to their success as extra-hold hair spray and good mascara.

"I always have deodorant with me, just in case," said Amy Wrisley, Miss Hampton-Newport News, who carries a stick of Degree in her purse. "I'm an athlete and I've always liked using men's deodorant. I like the way it smells."

Leigh-Taylor Smith, Miss Arlington, believes that a box of hand wipes is a purse-worthy essential.

"We meet a lot of people and shake a lot of hands during the week, so it's good to have these around," she said. "It's important to keep healthy."

If personal hygiene products are important for staying fresh throughout the day, then snacks are the pick-me-ups that keep the women going throughout their hectic pageant schedule.

"I'm not a big breakfast-eater, so I have banana chips around for when I'm hungry later in the day," said Adriane Brown, Miss Portsmouth Seawall. "They're pretty good for energy."

Speaking of energy, Lauren Collier, Miss Apple Blossom Festival, always has a stopwatch in her bag in case there's an opportunity to exercise.

"I'm always working out," she said. "I'm the one that'll go power walk when we get a break during the day. I love doing any cardio or doing strength exercises with my own body weight, like lunges."

In Madison VanDuyne's case, you might be surprised by what's not in her purse. The Miss Roanoke Valley contestant doesn't carry a compact mirror.

"I just use the reflection from my cellphone if I need to check my makeup," she said.

There's dried bananas and deodorant, and then there's Bill Clinton. Or, his picture. Amanda Stump, Miss Southeastern Virginia, tucks an 8-by-11 photograph of the former president in her tote.

"I just love him," she said. "People always make fun of me for having this, but my platform is heart health, and I think he's done a lot of great work with the American Heart Association."