Hello sunshine! I love to travel.  If you have been around for a couple of weeks, it’s no surprise, it’s basically the theme of this blog!  Travel, for me, starts with packing. If for some people packing is the most tedious task, for me it’s the first step towards a fantastic time.  Of course, the most fun task is to pack my travel makeup essentials in my bag.

Depending on the purpose of the trip, the content of my makeup bag might slightly differ, but a few staples are always here.  A business trip or a beach vacation don’t call for the same type of makeup. However, although I might go for full makeup during business trips and lighter makeup for the beach, I always carry enough makeup to face any situation I might be in!

Finally, before jumping into the serious stuff, here is a disclaimer: I understand some of you might think this is excessive, some of you might think this is super vain to apply makeup on vacation. Still, I love it, and if some people are all about their hair or their clothes, I am all about cosmetics.

Now, that being said, let’s figure out what are the essentials in a travel makeup bag to look irresistible.

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Travel makeup bag essentials – Face products

First and foremost, although my favourite part when doing my makeup is the eyes, I am very conscious about the fact that perfect skin can go a long way.  Therefore, the most crucial makeup products in a travel makeup bag are the face products.

Staples that always come with me on a trip are foundation, concealer, face powder, blush and bronzer. Although I am not a big fan of stick foundation, I typically find the feeling on the skin thick and greasy; this is what I travel with, because of the liquid policy. My skin colour is a weird yellowish beige, and not a lot of brand carry the perfect match; therefore,  I am always mixing products.  In my travel makeup bag, I bring the hourglass seamless finish as well as the MILK one.

Because I am high maintenance, but don’t want to lug around 2 kg of makeup; I always try to make the most of the mini-size or the value packages. Such as this Make Up Forever mini finishing powder or the Benefit Cosmetic trio; 2 blushes and one highlighter, the dream!

Even so we sometimes don’t have the choice of the packaging, I tend to steer away from massive, bulky and heavy packaging.  For instance, the Benefit trio is held in a cardstock packaging, making it sturdy yet light; as opposed to my Nars concealer, which is contained in a glass pot. Lucky for Nars, they make the best concealers ever (in my opinion). Not sponsored nor gifted, just truly love their product!

Eyes makeup

Now my favourite part.  Eye makeup is hands down the second best thing after sliced bread. I love the shimmering eyeshadows, the way it can transform a look.  How many times did I have a severe negotiation meeting and I went for heavy smokey eye makeup, just to look more fierce.  Obviously, I don’t necessarily want to look fierce in Disney, per se (maybe for a Halloween trip though…); but I definitely want to look good in pictures. As a result, I carry a few eye makeup essentials in my travel bag.

When I purchased the Charlotte Tilbury pillow talk iconic quatuor, I had high expectations, I  fell in love with the rose gold, terracotta colour scheme, and I thought it would look perfect for any occasion.  I wasn’t wrong; however, I am used to more dramatic colours daily.  Therefore, although the palette is magnificent and very high quality, I feel like I am missing something.  For this reason, I also carry a more dramatic palette, for any night out or chic restaurant. Nevertheless, pillow talk is a staple for any casual day in a Disney park or on a port of call day during a cruise.

Additionally to the essential part of the eye makeup, I like to carry a liquid liner and one or two pencil eyeliners, along with mascara

Lips makeup

Even so, I am all about travel bag makeup essentials and how cosmetics are a part of my days,  I am horrible at lips makeup.  I am ashamed to say that I leave the house sometimes and forget to apply lipstick or at the very least, gloss.

Nonetheless, I bring lipstick and gloss with me on vacations.  I always have two choices in my travel makeup bag, but I often carry backups in my purse.  In my travel makeup bag, an essential that never leaves the bag is my “personal red”.

Side note here; a red lipstick is something every woman should own.  However, finding your personal red shade is an odyssey that might take years! Some reds might be too orange, blue, deep, cherry… It’s an issue encountered only with red, I have never seen a colour.  Furthermore, the wrong kind of red can ruin an entire look.

Back to the packing; my personal red is Outlaw by Kat Von D, which is a liquid lipstick, my favourite for dramatic colours. I also have this very discrete laguna lip balm which is perfect for any daytime makeup.

In my purse, I will often have the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow talk, such a gorgeous colour, or the Nars Orgasm lipstick.

Must-have beauty accessories

Although makeup is definitely the most crucial beauty thing to carry, it will do no good if you don’t have makeup brushes to go along with it. I have what I like to think is a “curated” selection of makeup brushes.  Unlike my daily brushes, where some of them are high-end, I only carry cheaper versions with me on vacation, such as the Morphe line-up.

Pencil sharpener should also be part of any travel makeup bag, as well as tweezers.  Tweezers get so overlooked, but it can offer so much more than just plucking eyebrows!

Finally, a respectable size mirror is something one couldn’t live without, however, since most palettes offer the mirror as the top lid, you will unlikely have to carry one on the side.

Summary: essentials in a travel makeup bag

For your own makeup checklist, request it here!

I hope your essentials makeup are all packed and ready to go in your travel bag! In the meantime, have a drink, stay for a while!