4 Vacations, 40 Beauty Products: What You Should Pack For Every Type of Trip
The joys of travel include, but are certainly not limited to: indulging in new cuisines, a fairer climate, a culturally rich experience, exchanging pleasantries in different languages, a new and exciting and/or relaxing day-to-day routine…and the list goes on.
There can be some downsides to travel though, like foreign currency exchange when it’s not in our favour, or a not-so-five-star hotel. While we can’t fix our less than stellar dollar, we can ensure you stay gorgeous wherever your trip takes you. From S-ing down the ski slopes to lounging in the sun, here’s our ultimate guide on what beauty products to pack for whatever your destination. Bon voyage!
Ski Trip
Stay sun smart — yes, even in the snow — and choose extra hydrating, plumping products to keep your complexion healthy and happy from your first run to your hard earned après-ski whiskey-spiked cider.
On the slopes
The snow’s dazzling reflection combined with high altitude mountain ranges mean SPF is extra important, but so is a formula that can easily be re-applied mid-gondola ride. Eliminate the need to take off your gloves and swipe on Clinique’s Broad Spectrum SPF 45 Sunscreen Targeted Protection Stick, which protects even hard to reach places, like delicate earlobes and the skin around your eyes. Lips need a mega dose of UV protection too, and Maybelline Baby Lips offer a higher than average SPF 20. Bonus: it’ll up your beauty game on the slopes with its sheer yet bright tint.
In the chalet
During your chalet break, soften and soothe dry, chapped hands with Radical Skincare’s Hand and Nail Multi-Repair; its super high quality formula deeply moisturizes skin while preventing damp palms, meaning your gloves stay comfortably dry all day. When it’s time to wash up, treat your body to a good long soak with Fresh’s Sugar Lychee Sugarbath Cubes. The delightfully aromatic cubes energize while healing bumps and bruises, and gently lift dead skin and moisturize.
Post-hot tub
Reach for the Sarah Chapman Bodylift: this compact (read: easy to pack) massager will further ease muscle tension while draining toxins and boosting circulation. Give your complexion a healthy dose of hydration with Dermalogica’s Active Moist, a lightweight yet powerful lotion that is perfect for dry and delicate winter-chapped skin. Extra sensitive areas of skin will love Lucas’ Paw Paw Ointment, the cure-all for everything from windburn to dry patches.
Out for dinner
Heading out? Keep your look fresh and simply swipe on Rodial Glam Balm Multi to fill in fine lines, add vitality, radiance and a big dose of brightening vitamins thanks to the formula’s beautifying oils and 3D Hyaluronic Filling Spheres. Even better? It has over 100 (!) uses, and can be used everywhere from eyes to lips to hands. Keep your ski-bunny fresh look polished and groomed with Givenchy’s Mister Eyebrow Fixing Pencil, a transparent pencil with a super subtle sheen that instantly creates a smooth, natural and flawless brow. Before pillow time, massage a few drops of Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair Serum into your complexion to renew cells and wake up with youthful, smooth and radiant skin.
Beach Trip
Sand, sun and sea: there’s nothing like a frolic in the water away from winter weather. Keep it that way by packing moisture-rich skincare products and a few fun, sunny-weather essentials.
By the water
Slathering on SPF is a non-negotiable no-brainer on the beach, and Shiseido has made this duty effortless for us. Spritz on their Ultimate Sun Protection Spray Broad Spectrum SPF 50+ For Face/Body anywhere and everywhere — including your hair! — For super lightweight yet heavy hitting UV protection. When it’s time to replenish moisture lost from the sun and sea, Aerin’s Beach Cream offers a deliciously scented subtly shimmering shot of hydration for your body, and doubles as a sun-activated deep conditioning treatment for your hair.
After a day in the sun
When the sun goes down, treat skin to a cooling, soothing treatment that reduces damage from UV exposure by smoothing on Dermalogica’s After Sun Repair on your face and body. When your mani and pedi begin to dull and chip, grab a tropical cocktail and post up to watch the sunset while switching up your polish. Formula X takes all the guesswork out of shade matching with their eight-piece set of minis, The Power Couples 4 Mani/Pedi Duos. Included in the set is a nail cleaner, base and top coat, plus four travel friendly two-shade complimentary combos.
Double up on beauty duty: before painting your nails, slip on Tatcha’s Luminous Deep Hydration Lifting Mask, a deeply hydrating, replenishing and damage-erasing sheet mask that leaves skin glowing and luminous. When you’re all prepped and ready to go, keep skin happy with Mèreadesso’s Tinted All-in-One Moisturizer. Eliminating the need to pack almost any other product, this formula is an eye cream, serum and primer all in one, and its buildable tint beautifully evens tone and covers imperfections.
Going out dancing
For an easy glam look, swipe on Charlotte Tilbury’s Beach Sticks in Es Verda, a peachy coral on cheeks, and Ibiza, a bronze hue right underneath on cheekbones for that elusive beachy-glow that looks super natural yet supernatural. Smudge a little Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon Eyeliner into your lash line for a stay-put, sweat, humidity and water resistant definition and you’re ready to hit the tiki bar.
To keep hair in check and remarkable frizz-free despite the balmy climate, smooth Kérastase PARIS’ genius, travel-friendly Carré Lissant hair sheets over strands to smooth, tame and perfect hair. To keep skin fresh and dewy long into the night, spritz Jurlique’s Rosewater Balancing Mist for a refreshing dose of hydration that balances skin and keeps makeup in place.
City Trip
Look sleek and chic while gallivanting a big city with bold picks that create a sophisticated, glamorous look.
In your hotel room
Start your day off with a complexion-enhancing glow by simply adding three drops of Clarins Radiance Plus Golden Glow Booster to your daily moisturizer. The subtle tanning effect looks so natural, your skin will look all Model Off Duty healthy and glowy, minus a $300 trip to a big city facialist. Further enhance your complexion with a lightweight perfeting foundation — longtime backstage favourite Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation offers weightless texture and a silky, radiant finish.
A full, fluttery fringe is a dramatic, glam must from street browsing to cocktail hour and beyond. The iconic Dior Diorshow Mascara now boasts a new conditioning formula that’s enriched with microfibers, giving a false-lash effect. Top with Givenchy’s innovative Mister Black Top Coat Mascara, a super glossy, brightening top coat that further defines lashes.
A fresh and flattering blush instantly livens the complexion, and NARS’ Blush in Exhibit A perfectly flushes every skin tone in the most beautiful and natural way. For a modern and versatile look, pat on lips after applying a balm for a velvet sheen à la
Jason Wu Spring 2015.
Lunch break
To keep the dulling effects of a concrete jungle at bay, swipe on a little Living Luminizer by editor favourite RMS. The pearly sheen looks dewy, not shimmery, and easily glides on with impressive staying power. For extra drama come nightfall, nothing beats a classically sexy and sophisticated red lip. Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution in “Red Carpet Red” is the perfect true shade of flattering and glamorous red, and its luminous formula instantly creates a pouty and full look that stays put well past your standard bedtime.
Sight-seeing
Ensure your nails are equally chic with Chanel’s Le Vernis Nail Colour in “Rouge Noir”, a vampy bestseller for over 20 years. For a go-anywhere sultry scent, toss Marc Jacobs’ new fragrance Decadence Rollerball in your bag. The enigmatic and opulent blend of notes like Italian plum and saffron ensure you’ll stand out, even in a densely populated urban jungle.
When the day is done, apply Bliss’ Triple Oxygen Radiant Protection Energizing Serum all over face, throat and décolletage. Formulated to undo damage from city smog and environmental aggressors, the illuminating serum clarifies, revitalizes and protects skin.
Adventure Trip
Whether you’re trekking through far-flung trails, diving deep into the ocean blue or driving through rugged terrain on safari, you’ll want to pack essentials that multi-task and eradicate the need for touch ups, because who wants to be fussing with makeup mid way in to the Amazon?
Getting ready to head out
By mixing two products, like Dermalogica’s Skin Defense Booster and Stila’s Stay All Day 10-In-1 HD Illuminating Beauty Balm, you’ll get maximum SPF protection, plus a beautifully even, luminous and hydrated complexion that stays glowy all day. Plus, this natural looking combo will look like it’s all your own when posting photos with #nofilter.
Lunch break
Add a natural, glowing flush with Tarte’s super portable brush-free Cheek Stain in Tipsy, a sheer coral that imparts a tint of colour for an impressive 12 hours and boasts skin-restorative benefits, too. To keep lips hydrated, Herbivore Botanicals Coco Rose Lip Conditioner uses virgin coconut oil and Bulgarian rose absolute to nourish and replenish.
Post-adrenaline rush
When you’re ready to take it all off at day’s end and there’s no running water in sight, swipe The Face Shop’s Herb Day Cleansing Tissue over skin for a supremely cleansed complexion, and then treat skin to Charlotte Tilbury’s Multi-Miracle Glow, a deeply replenishing balm-to-oil that cleanses, softens lines, and can be left on overnight for mega regeneration and a smooth, soft complexion upon rising. Give eyes a little extra attention with Eve Lom’s Eye Cream, an intensively hydrating formula that reduces puffiness and dark circles and comes in an easy-to-pack mini jar.
If your toes need some love after being crammed into a hiking boot all day, massage a little Peppermint Cooling Foot Rescue Treatment from The Body Shop into the soles and heels of your feet. The peppermint oil cools and soothes on contact, while cocoa butter, sweet almond oil and grape extract revive and moisturize.
Back in your hotel room
If your adventure leads you to a room with a view at the end of the day, revel in a little luxury and unwind with an Epsom salt bath, which contains natural occurring mineral compounds of sulphate, which helps flush out toxins, and magnesium, which calms inflammation (hi, sore, swollen muscles!).
Post-soak, perfect tresses without the help of a hairdryer or hot tool by misting hair root to tip with Shu Uemura Wonder Worker. Formulated for a flawless air-dried result, this fantastically scented do-it-all spray hydrates, detangles, smooths, conditions, boosts radiance and shine while reducing frizz and providing UV protection.
