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It’s summer, and that means one and only one thing: it’s travel season!
It’s easy to get excited about your travel plans.. that is, until you realize that you have to (temporarily) part ways with your entire beauty regimen.
Picking out what to bring and what to leave behind can be a truly difficult task. With rising baggage fees, most of our beauty regimens are relegated to carry one, meaning they are now at the mercy of the TSA. And with a 100ml maximum per item allowance and 1 quart bag total allowance, the TSA is quite merciless.
Since travel is my ~thing~ I thought I would share some of my beauty travel tips and tricks today, along with the 12 items I never leave home without. Some are multi-taskers, some must-haves, and some are too perfect to live without. Here we go:
Starting Tip: Pack it in your Glossier Bubble Bag
If you’ve ever purchased anything from millenial-fave brand Glossier, take the free pink bubble bag they give you and convert it to your new travel beauty bag… Seriously.
This thing protects your baby beauty products, zips better than most off-the-shelf baggies, and is the perfect size to satisfy the TSA. The TSA limit is technically for liquids, but I usually like to keep all my beauty items together for ease.
If you don’t have one sitting around, you can pick them up on the Glossier site (3 for $12), but I would highly suggest that you spend your hard-earned moolah on Boy Brow instead and get the baggie for free. Speaking of..
Product #1: Glossier Boy Brow
I don’t leave the house without this little miracle worker. Messy, ever-so-slightly bolder brows that look as au naturale as it gets. Teeny-tiny and perfect for travel. Just swipe it on your brows and use your fingers to set them in place (if you want), and you’re good to go.
Product #2: Beauty Blender
The ultimate do-it-all beauty tool, the beauty blender is perfect to use wet or dry and easy to clean, as well. I bring it along if I have a cream and/or liquid regimen for the weekend, instead of toting along a full set of makeup brushes.
Product #3: Dior Nude Air Foundation
Let’s face it (no pun intended!): you’re going to need a foundation for the weekend. Whether you choose a BB, CC or fully liquid foundation, you will need something and it will need to be under 100ml–and that doesn’t mean less than 100ml left in the bottle, it means that it needs to be in a bottle marked as 100ml or less.
The Dior Nude Air foundation has been my go-to this summer. A few drops is all I need for a sheer-feeling medium coverage. Go for another round and suddenly you’re at full coverage. It multi-tasks and builds, and even though it takes up a good portion of my 1 quart bag, it’s worth the space.
Product #5: Better Than Sex Mascara – Travel Size
Some of you have heard me talk about this before on the Amalie Facebook page: I really don’t believe in buying full-sized mascara–especially Better Than Sex. The brush is a bit different, the formulation is a bit wetter or drier.. it’s just not the same. With the travel size, it’s only $12 and it’s the best of both worlds: take it on the go or use it at home, it really doesn’t matter.
And if you’re wondering why I chose Better Than Sex, check out my review and before & afters here. It’s my fave.
Product #6: Bobbi Brown Gentle Lash Curler
Obviously Bobbi Brown’s lash curler is my fave – it’s gentle and perfectly suited for my eye shape (and probably many of yours, too). It curls really well, really gently, and the curl holds all day. There’s no point to putting on mascara without first curling your lashes, so don’t leave this bad boy at home!
Product #7: Glossier Stretch Concealer
Another product that I rave about, Glossier’s Stretch Concealer is the bomb.com. Skin can go haywire in new environments, so it’s good to have great concealer on your side. Stretch concealer moves like skin and covers like concealer; it’s truly the best of both worlds.
Product #8: Benefit Watt’s Up Highlighter Stick – Trial Size
This may have been a deluxe sample size from Sephora or in part of one of Sephora’s kits (pro tip: save those deluxe samples for travel!) but Watt’s Up has quickly become one of my favorite highlighters this summer. It’s subtle but buildable, and as a tiny, creamy little stick, it hardly takes up any room in my travel bag; not like those pesky Anastasia highlighter palettes!
Product #9: WINK organic lash & brow oil
Obviously I’m not leaving home without WINK.
WINK is 2ml – so totally under the TSA limit – and easy to use and reuse on the go. Each bottle is a 2 month’s supply for either lashes or brows, so unless you’re going on a very long vacation, a tube will do.
WINK is one of those products that you need to wait patiently to see the full results on, and you definitely don’t want to take a break; taking a break means you might lose some of your hard-earned #Winkgains, so–eh, just don’t leave home with it.
Product #10: A Complete’s Youth Preserve Eye Contour Cream
Got a red eye or way-too-early early morning flight? It always seems like a great idea during booking (it’s so much cheaper!) but when the time comes, all that late night/early morning travel can really put a damper on your look. Dark circles and eye bags ain’t cute, but they’re part of life and definitely part of travel.
A Complete’s eye cream is a must-have when I’m traveling late, early or across the world. It decongests the eye area and “deflates” bags under the eyes, while also tackling dark circles.
Oh, and – *bonus* – a portion of revenues from all of A Complete’s products are donated to initiatives encouraging women’s empowerment. Double awesome.
Product #11: SHINE organic brightening facial oil – sample size
The tiniest of them all, I love to bring the 1ml SHINE vials with me on travel. Perfect for a 2 or 3 day weekend trip, the vial holds just enough to get you through, without taking up any space in your bubble bag.
There’s no telling how your skin will react to different climates, so this multi-tasking facial oil is a true gem. It hydrates and moisturizes while evening skin tone and fading dark spots.
If sun is a part of your summer, it’s better to incorporate SHINE in your routine sooner rather than later; damage can accrue without you even noticing.
Product #12: Extra Bobby Pins + Hair Ties
First, let me just say that these stretchy, jelly hair ties are LIFE. They have replaced all of my old “ouchless” hair ties and have slowly but surely taken over my entire hair routine. They hold hair still without ever getting tangled. Plus, they’re SO cute to wear on your wrist. Asos sells them in the US, but I’m not sure where else they are, as they haven’t really caught on yet.
Regardless, bobby pins and a few lose hair ties never did anyone any harm — and they always seem to be missing right when you need them. I stash extras at all times. Good for making new friends and staying cool. ?
Now that you’re equipped with the best beauty travel tips, make sure to kick back and enjoy the adventure!
