Article by makeup expert, Beauty by Sofia Bee
Cover photo by: Olena Molochko Photography
Makeup and skincare can be difficult while traveling — especially when traveling light (beauty products get so unbearably heavy!). In this article, I would like to share my travel makeup essentials, my favorite beauty list to keep you looking and feeling great while traveling, without any bulk at all.
Recently, traveling by plane has become quite limited but hopefully it is a temporary situation. These best travel beauty essentials tips are especially handy when you have to think about those limited pounds you are allowed to take on board the aircraft. Same goes for tiny cruise cabins’ storage spaces.
TRAVEL MAKEUP ESSENTIALS: THE BASICS
Disclaimer: I love everything that the makeup world offers as beauty products, and I test them all the time to make sure that I recommend ONLY the best travel makeup essentials! If you’re not that much into makeup products (or you want to pack light), I recommend the following travel beauty essentials:
- face sunscreen (mineral base)
- moisturizer (oil-free)
- lip balm (it is a unisex product)
- a blush/lip product (can be used: lips, blush, eyeshadow)
- concealer (get the one you love and works almost as foundation)
This minimal travel beauty essentials set will have you covered every day of your trip. But if you want to take makeup products with you – read on!
Here are the travel makeup essentials that I take every time I hit the road. But first…
GET CONTAINED
You have to be careful not to take too much liquid, gel, and cream so that your travel bag is not too heavy.
I love containers for creams, gels, and liquids and other travel beauty essentials. When you travel, you don’t want to take the whole bottle. The best part, these containers are designed to be leak-free, and make different size containers. They’re amazing, just give it a try.
Next, you’ll need a kit to store your travel makeup essentials. Try to get one with a hook so you can hang it up. That hook will come in handy as many bathrooms you encounter will have minimal sink space.
Don’t forget to bring a few trusty plastic bags. I often place my entire beauty/travel kit inside a small separate bag just in case there is a leak.
MAKEUP
Mmm, makeup! Feel free to pick and choose what is right for you. These are my best travel makeup essentials recommendations for travel light. Check them out below.
FOUNDATION
When you are traveling you many only have five minutes to get ready. Hence, there are two-three things you can start doing first right away. You are going to take either tinted face cream that is close to your skin tone or like a BB cream or CC cream and that’s going to give you the even tone to your complexion plus it is going to give you look like you didn’t try too hard. If you have a chance to use a beauty blender and a sponge or any sponge it is always a good idea to pad the product with the sponge. But then when you take a concealer don’t bother using the tools actually use your fingers because it is going to look more natural. It is going look like you didn’t try too hard at all.
CONCEALERS
My go-to concealers are: @tarte and @clinique. Both are Vegan and have non-irritating ingredients. I had kept them in my travel makeup essentials bag since day one when they came out! Concealer will help with canceling dark circles in your under-eye area and looking flawless. If you want a concealer with some moisture and feel that you need additional skincare, Charlotte Tilbury is a great choice. If you would like a product that covers everything and stays on all day long, I highly recommend using Tarte, plus it can act perfectly on the go.
SETTING POWDER
If you have oily skin, a setting powder is a must, and my go-to for a long time has been Wet and Wild setting powder. If you’re looking to spend a little more, I just started using Charlotte Tilbury, and it is good quality, and it is a compact perfect for travel.
BLUSH
For your travel makeup essentials kit you can either use a cream blush or powder blush – just apply it on the apples of your cheeks. Just make sure you smile and put it not only in the middle of the apples but go a little higher on the cheekbones when you do the blush.
Of course, I would always recommend you to use a lip balm as part of travel makeup essentials routine. But it needs to have a little bit of color because when you are in the travel mode, you don’t have time to create a lip line or anything like that so just make sure that your lip balm is tinted with a bit of color so that way you look like you just woke up this way! That is why I love dual blushes/lip combo like Stilla:
MASCARA
For travel beauty essential kit pick mascara that you use regularly. Whatever mascara of your choice, do not try to correctly apply it. What I like to recommend is that you put mascara on the base of your lashes. That way, your eyes really stand out. Here is my favorite mascara Urban Decay:
EYESHADOW
When traveling, I usually don’t carry eyeshadow. I bring one super smudgy eye pencil and that’s it. Charlotte Tilbury “Audrey”has been my favorite for years
PRODUCTS FOR LIPS
Keep lips routine super simple when traveling. You can either use tinted lip balm or you can just use the blush for your lip color. Stilla blush described above is one of my favorite traveling companion for lips color, cheeks, and even a little eyeshadow.
Also check out this lip balm below. It is particularly awesome because you can just squeeze it and it acts as a double agent: lip balm and fantastic lip gloss!!
I hope these travel makeup essentials tips will be helpful to you when travelling!
Author’s Bio: Sofia Bee is a Medical Esthetician, Celebrity Makeup Artist, and leading expert in all things beauty, with more than 20 years of expertise. Sofia has worked with 1,000+ happy clients. Her work & dedication has earned the number 8 spot on wikiHow. Sofia’s mission is to empower women everywhere to look and feel 100% confident. Check Sofia’s website, Beauty by Sofia Bee, for additional travel makeup essentials ideas and beauty tips in general.
What are your favorite travel makeup essentials? Share in comment below!
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