When it comes to packing beauty essentials for a trip, keeping things simple AND glam is not impossible or impractical. Check out my list of Do’s and Dont’s and learn to pack the most lightweight and luxurious travel beauty bag ever. These beauty travel packing tips will have you covered for all your travel needs, and allow for plenty of room in your suitcase to shop.
Beauty Travel Packing Tips
Travel Must-Haves: Do Pack Color
DO Pack Color
Obviously, foundation, mascara, and lip gloss are must-haves for your travel makeup arsenal. But also include a rich red lipstick or two for a quick pop of color. Or, if you like to play up your eyes more than your lips, opt for an eyeliner and a couple of eyeshadow sticks. Compact and practically weightless, lipsticks and eye shadow/liner sticks payoff big when it comes to amping up your look. Try Rimmel Lasting Finish in 107 ($5.49), Lipstick Queen Sinner in Wine ($24), Clinique Chubby Shadow Tint ($17), and NARs Larger Than Life Long Wear Eyeliner ($25).
Beauty Travel Items: Minis and TSA Approved Containers
DO Invest in Travel Containers and Product Minis
This one’s a no-brainer. Instead of lugging heavy, bulky full-sized tubes and bottles on your trip, put smaller amounts of cleanser, moisturizer, etc. in travel-sized containers. Or, seek out product minis from your favorite brands. The small, sleek bottles allow you to pack your can’t-live-without products without taking up too much room in your suitcase. Plus you’ll be able to sail smoothly (and smugly) through airport security if you decide not to check your luggage. Loads of brands offer their products in minis/travel sizes. Check out Sephora for huge selection. A great assortment of travel bottles can be found at the Container Store.
Batiste Dry Shampoo
DO Fall in Love with Dry Shampoo
So now that you’ve put your favorite shampoo and conditioner in travel-size bottles, I’d like to encourage you to embrace the magic that is dry shampoo. Yes, it’s ‘one more thing’ to pack but a spritz of dry shampoo on limp, greasy bangs is nothing short of a miracle when it comes to rejuvenating your look on the go. For the days you don’t wash your hair, dry shampoo is amazing for absorbing oil and adding volume. You might even like the effect more than freshly washed and blow-dried hair. I know I do. I keep a lightweight travel mini in my handbag at all times and one in my beauty bag when I travel. Batiste Dry Shampoo is my favorite ($3.99).
Travel Perfect Fragrance: Karma & Bvlgari
DO Make Room for Fragrance
While travel adventures are incredibly fun, let’s be honest, they can be a bit stressful. So packing my favorite scent with me not only makes me smell good, it also doubles as aroma therapy helping me feel relaxed and more put together. Lightweight fragrance solids or travel-sized sprays are my go-to for keeping things simple. My guilty pleasure fragrance is Lush’s old school, Karma—don’t judge me ($11.95). My upscale fave is Bvlgari’s Jasmine Noir ($25). Ulta has more than 100 fragrance minis to choose from.
DON’T Forget to Edit
Take a good, hard look at what you’ve packed. It’s probably best to leave that contouring kit, 12-shade eyeshadow palette, and eyelid primer at home. And do you really need those Crest Whitestrips or that hair mask? Nope.
DON’T Skimp on Skincare
The last thing you want is to end up with bumpy, flaky skin because you felt like you had to leave a favorite skincare product at home just for the sake of packing light. Good skincare is essential whether you’re at home or on the road. Not to mention how important healthy-looking skin is to your confidence. The trick here is to simply reduce the amount of the product you’re taking. Just follow “DO Invest in Travel Bottles and Product Minis” above and you’ll be good to go!
DON’T Worry if You Forget Something
Unless you’re traveling on Safari in Africa, remember that you can always duck into a drug or department store to grab something you’ve forgotten when you reach your destination. And if you’re travelling in Europe, cosmetic specialty stores and pharmacies are beyond amazing places to see and shop.
*Bonus Euro Sightseeing Tip: If you’re a beauty product fiend like me and you happen to be in the neighborhood, check out: Cosmania in Amsterdam, Douglas across Europe, SpackNK in London, and City Pharma in Paris. Heaven!
Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector
DON’T Be Too Hard on Yourself
Do you really love and live for that eyelid primer I scoffed at a few paragraphs ago? Then bring it! It’s your favorite and it works for you. The idea here is to travel light and compact without sacrificing luxury or a beauty product that you can’t live without. Personally, I never leave home without my Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector ($30) even though I could probably get by without it. Yeah, probably.
What are your beauty travel packing tips? For more travel tips, check out our list of 7 Packing Essentials for your next Euro Travel Adventure.
