Whether you’re heading away for a lovely long weekend this Easter, or planning this year’s European sojourn, beauty products are always a crucial part of any travel packing list.
At times, our travel make-up bag could be compared to the total pairs of shoes we pack. When total weight is all important, we need to determine the non-negotiables. Whilst in the planning phase, it’s worth researching the climate and environmental conditions to expect at your destination which will determine not only what you pack in terms of clothing, but also the best and most useful beauty products to have in your make-up bag. It’s here that you should also consider how you are traveling to your destination, and what products you’ll need for carry-on luggage - especially when it comes to long-haul flights.
We recently interviewed beauty journalist Sigourney Cantelo, who shared with us that when it comes to beauty products she travels with her must-haves include, “Multi-use products such as a blush cream you can use on your lips or a highlighter cream that you’ll use on your eyes. A silk eye mask is essential and really good silicone earplugs.” Read the interview here. We also heard from travel blogger and photographer Aubrey Daquinag whose advice was similar to Sigourney’s, “I always think less is more and a product that has versatility always makes my travel beauty kit. Make sure your eyebrows and eyelashes are groomed and keep it simple with your base (always wear sunscreen!).” You can read more from Aubrey here.
In addition to selecting the products you’ll use to stay hydrated (as well as lots of water) and comfortable on-board (here we’re talking about travel clothes, high quality earplugs or noise cancelling headphones, scarf, travel pillow, toothbrush and eye mask!) whilst flying and during your trip, we’ve compiled the below list of make-up essentials for every travel bag:
Travel size make-up products - Smaller, lightweight travel size products are perfect for packing into any suitcase or travel bag. They’re easier to fit into small spaces, and some will last for the exact duration of your trip, so can be binned before you head home. Travel size products are often found in make-up kits or gift sets, and quite often come with a handy travel size make-up bag too. You can check out our Complexion Essentials Starter Kit here. This kit features the award winning Natural Mineral Cover as well as a selection of our good for you complexion must-haves such as the Airbrush Mineral Primer, Liquid Mineral Concealer and Mineral Bronzer. All products featured come in a travel size.
Foundation & Concealer - Generally when on holiday, we prefer to go for a lightweight natural make-up look, and to use a foundation product that includes SPF protection. It’s for this reason that BB Cream’s are often the best choice for the foundation that you pack. Take for example our Sheer Glow BB Cream. It’s an all-in-one BB cream that delivers sheer to light coverage, instantly enhances the complexion and includes SPF 8 protection. The Sheer Glow BB Cream formula contains active natural ingredients and the non-greasy silky texture is enriched with moisturising Aloe Vera and Desert Date Oil to benefit the skin.
You may prefer a loose mineral powder foundation such as our best selling Natural Mineral Cover - it’s feather-light formula is composed of skin nourishing ingredients such as Jojoba Esters, includes SPF 15 and it delivers sheer to full coverage with a satin radiant finish. For touch ups on the go, an alternative you can take in your travel make-up bag is the Pressed Mineral Cover, composed of moisturising ingredients such as Avocado Oil. This pressed mineral powder foundation delivers medium to full coverage with a matte finish, and lasts for up to 8 hours.
Concealer is a worthy addition to both your carry on and travel make-up kit. Some of the key benefits for using concealers include refreshing tired looking eyes, camouflaging dark circles and skin imperfections plus disguising blemishes. A stick concealer like our Flawless Concealer is a great product to include in your carry on bag. The Flawless Concealer is a long wearing concealer that expertly disguises dark circles and pigmentation. It’s creamy full coverage formula offers a satin matte finish and comes in an easy-to-use stick that delivers just the right amount of product.
Highlight & Contour - We all love to add definition and radiance to our facial features, and highlighting and contouring products are the perfect way to do this. These versatile make-up essentials can quite often be adapted to use in other ways making them perfect to have in your travel make-up bag. The Touch of Glow Highlight Stick is one such product. The glide-on cream-to-powder texture is composed of 100% naturally derived ingredients including Kakadu Plum and Quandong. It’s available in three shades and our suggested application is directly to the cheekbones, along the eyebrow arches, or to the upper and lower eyelids and blend in with fingers. You can also use the Touch of Glow Highlight Stick to add a natural glow to your shoulders and collarbones, as an eyeshadow or blush, on the lips for a little colour, or by applying to the centre of your eyelid to make your eyes appear bigger and more awake.
You may also like to check out our Contour Palette which comes with a handy mirror making application quick and easy. The three matte shades of the Contour Palette each create perfectly sculpted features in three quick steps;
- Contour: To shape and define the contours of the face
- Bronze: To warm up the complexion
- Highlight: To enhance features with a soft luminosity
Eyes - When it comes to eye make-up to have on hand whilst on holiday the easier to use the better! When selecting an eyeshadow it’s a good idea to avoid loose eyeshadows that could spill all over your bag, and to look more towards selecting neutral shades which you can use for both day and night looks, plus to match most outfits you wear. Each of the Natural Illusion Eyeshadow Trio’s come with three shades, and you can select from the Nude, Rose or Smoky Trio sets. Click here to discover more about the Natural Illusion Eyeshadow Trio in Rose. The feather-light formula of this eyeshadow trio is enriched with active natural ingredients including Sweet Almond Oil and Desert Lime to create smooth and even colour with each application. The set also comes with a cruelty-free double ended brush. Another compact size eyeshadow (with mirror) you could pack for your trip is the Natural Illusion Pressed Eyeshadow. Available in 12 shades and three finishes (matte, satin and sheen), the richly pigmented texture of this eyeshadow blends effortlessly onto the lid and provides smooth and even application with each sweep of colour. You can also use your eyeshadow as a blush or highlighter.
Mascara is one of those basic beauty products that instantly adds volume and definition to the eyes, and can be quickly applied any time of the day to make your eyes pop. Mascara allows you to accentuate your eyes, and it’s possible to layer your mascara to go from a day to dramatic night look in no time at all. Our Allure Defining Mascara is a vitamin enriched mascara that creates length and definition thanks to its unique flexible brush and buildable formula. It’s also enriched with Pro Vitamin B5 to condition your lashes over time.
Make-up Brushes - Aka ‘The Tools of the Trade’! Once you’ve finalised all of the make-up products you’ll be packing, you can decide on the best mix of brushes for you. Maybe you’ll select just a couple of must-haves (especially if they are travel sized), or instead to pack a brush set. Two of our cruelty-free make-up brushes are the Kabuki Brush and the Travel Brush. The Kabuki Brush is a multitasking tool that adds a polish to all powder and bronzer applications creating an airbrushed finish. The Travel Brush instead is a retractable make-up brush (great for keeping bristles clean in your make-up bag), suitable for all powder formulas with short, tightly packed bristles that effortlessly delivers an airbrushed finish, on the go.
If you think you’ll need more than a couple of multitasking heroes to create your holiday make-up looks, another option to consider is a make-up brush set. Our 7 piece Essential Collection Brush Set is a collection of cruelty-free versatile rose gold make-up brushes encased in an animal-friendly faux leather zip bag. Perfect for home or travel, the zip case makes for easy organisation and storage of your brushes and Nude by Nature make-up favourites. The brushes included provide you with the professional tools you’ll need to create a flawless complexion, to contour your key facial features, and to add colour and definition to your cheeks and eyes. The 7 brushes within this collection are:
- Kabuki Brush
- Powder Brush
- Concealer Brush
- Eyeshadow Brush
- Eye blending Brush
- Eye definer Brush
- Lip Brush
Now all you need to do is get to the airport on time, passport in hand and out of office message on. Enjoy!
