It’s a sign of the common makeup addict that we like to peek into other people’s beauty bags, storage systems and hauls. It’s just what we love! As a beauty junkie who loves to travel I’m totally guilty of reading every blog post on the subject of travel makeup, not only because I love to see what other people pack, but also because I completely hate packing my bags, and packing beauty items more than anything. But over the years I came up with the following helpful do’s and don’ts that may help you to pack your own travel beauty kit.

 

Know where you’re going to

That’s the first step to decide what you’ll need beautywise during your trip. Determine four things – hot or cold? City trip or leisure? For hot climate, think waterproof items that won’t melt off your face, while for the colder regions of the world you’ll need rich formulas, creams and lotions. If you’re hanging out on a beach for two weeks, your makeup will very likely be minimal, while on a city trip you might need to bring the big guns because you’re going to restaurants, bars, and clubs. For a beach vacation, I usually stick to BB creams or tinted moisturizer, waterproof mascara, some lipglosses, and coloured eyeliner. For a city trip I try to stick to a travel palette that includes not only eyeshadows, but also blush and highlighter to minimize the amount of makeup I’m carrying while giving me different combos for eyes and cheeks.

 

Travel makeup do's & don'ts
Travel guides, sunglasses and some smart packing choices like a neutral eyeshadow palette, L’Occitane shower oil that’s so moisturising that you don’t need lotion, a Chanel Stylo Eyeshadow, an easy red lipstick (Mac’s On Hold and a neutral lipgloss (Tom Ford’s Rose Crush) and a lot of mini sizes and decants!

 

Take your favourites

It’s very tempting to throw all the samples you’ve accumulated during the year into that bag to try them out. And while it may be a good idea, think again. Your vacation not the best opportunity to try out a new serum or moisturizer and discover that it breaks you out, leaves a weird burning sensation on your skin or that you just plain don’t like it. You want to spend your time abroad with better things than having to drag your significant other or travel companion to the next Sephora or pharmacy to get the product you use (and left) at home. Better safe than sorry!

 

Multitask(ers)!

I’ve a soft spot for multitasking products, and they’re never handier than on a vacation. Eyeshadow sticks that you can use as an eyeliner? Cream blush that doubles as a lipstick? Shower gel that moisturises and shampoo with a build-in conditioner? Great time savers that also save space in your luggage! My personal favourites are L’Occitane shower oil that leaves skin so moisturized that you don’t need to apply additional body lotion, and the Chanel Stylo Eyeshadows that were sadly limited edition but will come back this summer. Super easy to apply because you don’t need any brushes for them.

 

Some of my short-handled travel brushes by Mac & Alverde - various little pots from the pharmacy and Muji bottles that I decant stuff into - travel sizes of products I love and always travel with (Bioderma Eau Micellaire, bumble&bumble surf spray, sexyhair spray mousse, Aveda hand repair, sample of body butter from The Body Shop)
Some of my short-handled travel brushes by Mac & Alverde – various little pots from the pharmacy and Muji bottles that I decant stuff into – travel sizes of products I love and always travel with (Bioderma Eau Micellaire, bumble&bumble surf spray, sexyhair spray mousse, Aveda hand repair, sample of body butter from The Body Shop)

 

Minimalist wardrobe

You maybe want to take your entire wardrobe with you and painstakingly have to narrow it down. The same principle applies to your beauty items. I know it can be hard, but you really don’t need a different lipstick for every day of your travels. Ask yourself – do you want to stay in your hotel bathroom for hours or do you want to go out and explore? I’m totally guilty of sneaking ‘just one more’ eyeshadow into my travel bag because I’m afraid that I’ll be bored of the choices I packed. There could also come up a sudden emergency where I’ll need a super complicated eye makeup that requires five shadows and eight brushes. No, that emergency never comes up! So, pack those super easy eye shadows that make a pretty and polished look with just one wash of colour. There’re some for every budget, from the Maybelline Color Tattoos and L’Oreal Infallibles to the Chanel Illusion d’Ombres and the Armani Eyes to Kill. Also pack a versatile blush and highlighter combo and some lipstick colours that go with everything. I usually pack one kick-ass red for evenings, and two comfortable ones for wearing during the day – very likely something coral and something pink or nude that goes with my eye makeup and with my clothes. For stepping it up and to avoid boredom I often take some colourful eyeliners with me that can spruce up my neutral eyes.

 

Decant

Easy. Don’t pack your 200ml bottle of micellar water for a weeklong trip. Save the space in your luggage and make a trip to Muji and get a variety of bottles and little pots and start decanting.

 

Don’t pack those Hakuhodos …

This never has happened to me (yet, knocking on wood!), but there’s the possibility that your luggage gets lost, is stolen or is handled roughly so that items inside are damaged. I usually pack travel brushes from one of the sets MAC’s usually coming out with one or two times a year, and while they’re not as nice as MAC’s fullsized brushes or Hakuhodos, they get the job done. If you have a holy grail item that has been discontinued or was limited edition, keep in mind that it’ll be very difficult to replace. (I recently lost a LE lipstick at a hotel. You can’t imagine how annoyed I was at myself that I broke that rule!) Also, there’re fragile items like MAC MSFs that are prone to breaking. Be aware of that and act accordingly.

 

 

There! My rules for packing beauty items. Stay tuned for a little surprise from us for you that’ll make your packing much easier than before in Part 2!