Thursday, June 20, 2013

Travel Makeup All-Stars

I hate being in one place in too long.  More specifically, I want to be everywhere.  I love traveling, whether it's a two hour drive to another state or across the world.  But this means that I'm always unpacking and repacking, and I don't think I'm actually ever fully unpacked.  I still haven't unpacked from when I moved out from my college room in December, and I'm beginning to pack to move into an apartment next week!  

However, for my vacations and weekend trips,  I always have a pretty good idea of what makeup I bring with me.  Every trip needs slightly different makeup depending on if I'll be in a city, on a beach, or in the mountains, but I always have some necessities.

Since I was going to Maine this time, I knew I would be spending a lot of time outdoors doing something active (biking all day, everyday!), while strolling through town after going to dinner.  This meant I could pair down all the products I brought to the essentials.  I usually end up bringing a huge makeup bag, so it was refreshing to just bring a little actual travel-size bag this time!

A lot of these products are products you see me using in my everyday FOTD's, and they are my favorites, so of course they would make it into my travel bag!  It's also why you see a massive amount of pan in these..



Keep reading to see why these made the cut >>

 
 1,2,3 - I wear Maybelline PureStay Powder Foundatio(1) in nearly all my FOTD photos simply because it's one of my favorite powders.  Although I mainly use it as a powder, it has buildable coverage as a powder foundations, never looks cakey, and keeps me shine-free for a decent amount of time (around 6-7 hours, which is a miracle for my oily skin). I head this was being discontinued, so i have a couple backups.  I'm not sure what I'll do if I can't find these anymore!  I currently wear 30 Nude which matches me fine, but not as well as 60 Golden.  However, Nude is much easier to find for some reasons so that's what I have.  Milani Powder Bronzer Radiant (2) is one of my favorite bronzers for the summer because of its matte, tan color that makes me look perfectly tanned.  I'm kind of a bronzer whore, but this one is my pick for the summer.  I'm not sure if these are sold anymore, but if they are, I recommend picking one up!  Even though I have tons of other bronzers to use, I'm considering searching for a backup of this since I have so much pan on it....hmm.  For my oily skin, layering powder blushes on top of cream blushes is a must to make them last, and although this has sadly been discontinued, the Topshop Cream Blush in Nutmeg (3) has been a favorite over the years.  It has a perfect neutral pink color that looks great with any blush.  Although I like my Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Coral Reef, I brought the Topshop one simply because it was more compact and it had a mirror.

4,5,6,7 - Back when Max Factor was still available in the US, their 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper was my favorite mascara.  Although that one isn't available anymore,  I picked up the next closest thing when I was in Europe - the False Lash Effect Waterproof (4) mascara.  It's basically the same thing as Covergirl's Lash Blast, but I feel like it lengthens just a teeny bit better.  Sadly, it's not as good as I remember the 2000 Calorie one to be, but that could be my imagination.  Either way, I'm glad to have it!  The Stila Luminizer All Over Shimer Liquid Luminizer in Kitten Shimmer (5) was the only face highlighter I brought with me for this trip because of its tiny sample size.  I actually really love these, and will probably buy the full-size once I go through the other two sample tubes (in Rose Gold and Bronze).  The Kitten Shimmer shade is perfect because it gives me a pretty champagne glow without ever making me look oily or emphasizing my pores, which powder highlighters can sometimes do.  I talked about the Benefit They're Real! Mascara (6) in my May favorites post here.  Most non waterproof mascaras do the same thing for me, but I liked this one since it doesn't smudge at all.  I don't love this as much anymore, mostly because my lashes feel dry when this is on, but I appreciate its ability to last through a 90 minute hilly bike ride without smudging or running!  Since my beloved Urban Decay Primer Potion got reformulated (and less effective) a couple years back, I had to find a replacement for an eye primer.  After some research, I found the NYX HD Eye Primer (7), which is working wonderfully.  It has a silicone texture, but it holds my eyeshadows all day and my makeup never creases with this.  This is a must-have for wherever I go!

8,9,10,11,12 - The MAC Indianwood Paint Pot (8) is a staple for the summer as a perfect base for my warmer and bronzier looks.  I've used this for years and although I've hit pan on this, I think this has a long way to go. My Make Up For Ever Eyeshadow Quad (9, 10, 11, 12) was a custom quad, but these our shades are absolute go-to shades for travel.  It has my eyeshadow, blush, and a "colorful" shade all in a convenient quad with a large mirror.  They are very basic shades, and the glitty champagne shade (#97) doubles as a lid color and inner corner highlight.  The bronze shade (#306) is one of y all-time favorites, which I use as a crease color and to set my lower lash line most of the time.  It's dark enough to define my eyes, yet bronze enough to bring some warmth to the area!  The bright coral shade (#5) is what I actually use as blush since it looks like a beautiful coral glow on my cheeks.  I've used this as an eyeshadow a few times, but mostly use it as blush.  Finally, the navy shade (#81) is what i use to add some color or smokiness to my looks.  Navy is one of my most commonly used colors, mostly as an accent under my lashline, so I actually get plenty of use out of this, as well!  Although MUFE eyeshadows are a little harder to come by (they only have a limited selection at Sephora), I think they are vastly underrated as they are some of the best quality shadows I own.  They are pigmented, blend beautifully, and last FOREVER!  I've used #306 at least once a week since I received this quad almost 4 years ago and just hit pan on it this weekend.

13,14,15 - I use another MUFE eyeshadow to fill in my brows - MUFE #139 (13).  This is a perfect cool brown shade that I've used for years.  I've had pan showing on this for about a year now and it's still going strong!  One of my HG products, for sure.  I try to decant my foundations into travel size containers, so although it's currently housed in a Korres foundation-sample container,  I actually brought MAC Face and Body Foundation in C4 (14) with me.  This is one of my favorite foundations because of how skin-like it looks while seamlessly blurring my imperfections.  Plus, the formula is beautiful as it is a watery texture that curiously is able to be built up without ever becoming cakey.  Continuing with the MAC theme, I brought along MAC Eyeshadow in Outre (15) as a blending shade for my eyeshadows.  I usually bring another eyeshadow palette in addition to my MUFE quad, but I wanted to keep my makeup bag as light as possible, so I brought this.  It was limited edition from a fall collection in 2011, but it's a nice yellow-toned brown that I like to use as a transition color.

16,17,18,19 - The KATE Gel Eyeliner is another HG of mine.  It's a deep, rich, black gel liner that is actually budge-proof.  Although it is only available in Asia, I tell my parents to pick one up for me whenever they go so I'm never without this.  I'm nearing the end of this one but luckily have another one waiting for me!  The Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Lucky has also been discontinued, but it is still available on sale on the Urban Decay website.  This is yet another HG product for me as it is the perfect coppery color to define my lower lashline and make my eyes stand out without having to use black.  I use this almost daily, and thank god I also have another one of these as a back-up.  I'm not really a fan of black pencil eyeliners since they are not as precise as gel or liquid liners, but the L'oreal Liquid Eye Pencil in Black resides in my make-up bag because it's great for those days I just want to slap on some eyeliner and mascara (like this entire weekend) without being fussy.  This is an also an all-star product for when I wake up late for class and have a total of 5 minutes to get ready. Since it's pencil, I can line my eyes easily and quickly.  I'm not too picky about my pencil eyeliners since I rarely wear them, but this one does not smudge at all and is a great opaque black color. Since the only color eyeshadow was navy, it only makes sense that I would bring a navy eyeliner, as well.  My favorite one is the Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Fierce Blue (19).  It's dark enough to not be too obvious, but gives me an extra kick.  Whenever I travel, I always bring some colored eyeliners for some extra options, but since I only had a short trip, I only needed this one.

20,21,22 - I brought along a slightly heavier-coverage foundation to spot conceal.  You can all see that I've been using the Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Warm Golden (20) recently, and I brought a tiny bit to mix in with my MAC F&B foundation for when I went out at night.  This is an old favorite of mine that I always like to have around.  The Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in shade #25 (21) is a concealer that has recently made it onto the ranks of my HG products list.  It covers my undereye darkness perfectly without creasing or looking dry, which is a common occurrence for me with other concealers.  It also works nicely as a spot concealer, as long as my spots aren't too dark.  Finally, I kept it simple with lip products for once.  This was the only real color that I brought for when I went out at night.  It is the sadly discontinued but cherished Revlon Matte Lipstick in Strawberry Suede (22) - swatches here - and it worked well to brighten up my face!

Finally, the makeup bag was a present from my friend from when she traveled to Vietnam.  It conveniently holds everything and has multiple compartments for me to stuff things into - perfect.

What are some must-haves when you have to travel?  Tell me in the comments below!


4 comments:

  1. Great post! :) I also love Max Factor mascaras and Maybelline powders!♥

    www.lorietta.cz

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    1. I'm so sad that Max Factor is no longer available in the US! They have some great products

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  2. I have Maybelline's Fit Me concealer and foundation as well. Tell me, how long do you keep your make-up? because you were stating that some of the products you like may have been discontinued.

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    1. I keep my makeup until the texture and/or the smell changes. For powder products, there is no real expiration date so I have a few eyeshadows from 2006 still hanging around. I try to sanitize my makeup with alcohol such as lipsticks, powder products, and cream products when I can, though. Sadly, many of my favorite products get discontinued!

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