Beauty travel essentials for your next vacation

We don’t blame you for leaving your toiletries to the very last stage of packing. It’s never easy downsizing your beauty routine to a single pouch of travel essentials. That’s like asking a beauty junkie to choose her favourite lipstick!

Keep packing simple and make a good checklist. Convenience and organisation are top priorities. Ask yourself if you can survive your trip without a few things. And if you happen to miss an item or two, can you find an easy alternative? Or will the world end? Here is how you can have the holiday you deserve and still enjoy your beauty rituals, home away from home.

Where are you going?

Selecting the right skincare is heavily dependent on where you’re headed? If you’re going on a ski trip, this is the best time to use up all your rich body creams, face oils and lip balms that you hardly get to use in this tropical heat. I find that face balms or oils work much better than regular lotions or moisturisers, as they leave a veil over the skin to keep hydration locked in. If you’re going on a city romp, then focus on decongesting products like deep cleansers, purifying masks and antioxidant-rich serums to calm and repair stressed skin. Most importantly, wherever you go, sunscreen is always a must.

How long are you gone for?

Think about how many days you’ll be out travelling and get just the right number of products for your toiletries kit. I find that beauty samples and miniatures can last a two- to five-day vacation. Any longer, and you’ll probably need to pack full-sized items into your check-in luggage. If you are bringing your skincare on board the plane in your carry-on, do remember that you can only carry 3.4 ounces (100ml) or less of each liquid product —creams, serums, aerosols, mists — in a quart-sized resealable bag.

Use the hotel toiletries

To trim your beauty bag, cut out unnecessary things like cotton buds, cotton pads, body lotions, mouthwash and toothpaste, because you can easily find them in the hotel’s bathroom amenities. Do check with the hotel what brands they carry. If they don’t meet your standards, there’s no harm picking these up from a nearby pharmacy.

Bring along sachets and miniatures

Holidays are the perfect excuse to use up all my free beauty samples and miniature perfumes. By the end of the trip, my pouch would have more space for me to pick up new beauty finds! For beauty tools, you can also get compact versions of makeup brushes and hair styling tools, as well as a makeup remover cloth (this really works!), rather than lug around a makeup cleanser or tissue wipes. And, instead of packing so many pots and tubes, consider disposable sachets of hydrating tissue face masks to give yourself a little in-room spa treat.

Multitaskers for the win

I am a sucker for multi-tasking skincare and makeup, simply because I want to spend less time on my face, and more time outside exploring. Things like cheek-and-lip tints, tinted moisturisers, or just all-in-one makeup palettes – all get my vote. For skincare, I absolutely love Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple Oil Free One Step Facial Cleanser. In one swift move, it effectively removes waterproof makeup, lathers into a nice foam to cleanse everything off, and tones the skin. Another favourite is Pixi Rose Flash Balm which works as an instant moisture booster, a makeup primer and a hydrating face mask.

Go waterless

My new favourite thing to do is suss out water-free beauty products that not only do good for the environment, but take away unnecessary weight from my luggage. Dermalogica has a new vegan powder-based Daily Milkfoliant packed with oat, coconut, and botanical extracts which activate upon contact with water to give you a gentle yet thorough polish. Local brand, The Powder Shampoo, carries a range of essential oil-based powder shampoos that give a rich and aromatic lather when mixed with water. It also has travel-sized minis, as well as day and night body washes infused with wonderfully-scented skin-caring botanicals.

Beauty travel essentials