As I mentioned in a previous post, the idea of lightening up my travel load by going sans makeup does not appeal to me. Nor does it appeal to the people who have to look at me. It’s not that I have low self-esteem; it’s that I enjoy having the appearance of smooth skin and bright eyes. I love taking pictures, and I love being in them- if they are flattering.
I have no idea (cough) how I reached the Sephora status that I recently achieved, but I do confess that I am a product junkie. I don’t wear particularly heavy makeup nor do I bother with highlighting and contouring, but I enjoy having options to match my mood and outfit. Here is the makeup stash that I have used for all of my travels this summer.
THE CASE:
I don’t love this case, but I do keep my everyday makeup in it, and I use it when I travel. I’d rather have a case with an attached holder for my brushes. The price was right on this, so it’s been put to good use for about a year.
THE FACE:
As you can see, I am a big fan of MAC and Sephora. The items shown give me a good range of choices for day and night. At the start of this summer I discovered and fell in love with Smashboopk’s Try it Kit. The price ($18) was right, and the packaging was perfect for travel. I loved everything except for the mascara. It wasn’t bad, it just didn’t do my pitifully thin lashes much good. I read some reviews complaining about the size of the eyeshadow primer. Maybe I have an overly light hand, but I’ve gotten one full week and 6 long weekends worth of use out of it.
I had to switch to the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer from the Studio Finish Concealer because the latter, thicker concealer was settling into my fine lines. It’s hard to control how much product comes out (way too much!), so I use a small mixing pot to pump the product into. I use the MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot as an eyeshadow base, a standalone color, and/or as a layering color.
Trish McEvoy’s Lash Curling Mascara was the very first expensive mascara that I ever purchased. I’d always read that drug store mascaras were found to be just as good as the one from the department stores. For me, that turned out not to be true. As much as I loved the different versions of Cover Girl’s mascaras, none of them did what Trish McEvoy’s has done for me- give me natural looking, visible lashes. Note: It’s worthwhile to read the instructions on how to apply it.
The Sephora Colorful Shadow and Liner Pencils are great for travel. They are small and light and have great color intensity. As my eyebrows ride off into the sunset of life, Makeup Forever’s Aqua Brow gives me a more youthful look. I turn to Urban Decay’s sparkling eyeshadow to give me a more dramatic look for nights out. Finally, Stila’s Smudge Stick is the only eyeliner that I’ve found that shows over layers of creamy eyeshadow and stays put all day.
THE TOOLS:
With one exception (the second from the left which came from Target’s Sonia Kashuk line), these brushes come from various MAC kits.
THE LIPS:
Not pictured at the very top (because it stays in my purse) is my lip balm which I must have with me at all times. My favorite right now is Peppermint Bliss made of 100% organic ingredients by Rachel Made Products.
A highly pigmented, creamy lip pencil is a thing of joy. The main color I wear is Urban Decay’s Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color (which is no longer available at Sephora and is half price right now on the Urban Decay’s website, meaning that I need to stop blogging for a moment and stock up on what might be the last of this product). For a more natural look, I turn to Nars’ Satin Lip Pencil which has a soft, natural tint.
THE IMPACT:
Here we have a lot of products for a lot of looks that don’t take up a lot of space:
Total weight:
For some, a pound of makeup is a frivolous waste of space. For others, it’s a luxury that keeps us from cringing when we get tagged on vacation photos. Bottom line: Find the products that you love. Find travel-sized versions of them. Find your way to lighter traveling.
The s.o.u.l. Inspiration 