Best Travel Makeup Products

I've been travelling almost every week since May. It's essential to pack my makeup very smartly and lightly.
Travel sizes or samples are definitely good choices. But sometimes I would be out of town for longer than just a weekend so it's equally important for me to bring products that will work no matter how my skin condition is.

Base Products

Shiseido Extra Smooth Sun Protection Cream for Face SPF 36 PA+++
I've been using Shiseido sunscreens since I was a little girl. It provides fantastic protection without making your skin greasy. It's also very gentle and never breaks out my sensitive skin. The formula is very light, making it perfect under makeup. I got this a while back. Now the closest they do is SPF 38, but everything in the blue packaging line has similar formula and works nicely. Available at Sephora and Nordstrom.
Kanebo Freshel Moist Lift BB Cream in Medium Beige (Mentioned in this POST)
I can use it when my face is either combination or dry. The color also suits me all year around. I can get a light coverage with this, or layer it to get medium coverage when I have spots. It sets to a natural finish, looking like your skin. I usually don't have to set it with powder. It's very gentle and doesn't feel heavy at all even if you layer it on. It's comfortable to wear no matter what type of weather it is.
Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard (Mentioned in this POST)
It has very good coverage without feeling cakey. It can be used for under-eye dark circles and all over the face. It sets to a natural finish that looks like real skin. It doesn't last as well as MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, but it lasts better any other concealers I've tried. I love taking with me for travels because I don't have to take an under-eye concealer with me. I can get away without setting it most of the time.

Shiseido Sunscreen | Kanebo BB Cream | Nars Concealer

Setting Powders


I don't always set my makeup, but I always bring a powder with me just in case of hot weather or night-outs.
Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder (Mentioned in this POST)
I got a deluxe sample size of this amazing setting powder. It's a extremely finely milled powder. It sets and mattifies the makeup instantly. The size is perfect for travel.
MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC20
This powder is perfect over light foundations or BB creams because it provides great coverage. It will take the light coverage to medium-full coverage. I also use it over moisturizer. I love this product for travel because it's very versatile in coverage and application. It also wears off beautifully, no cakey patches or bumps. I don't take both of these powders but either one works fantastically. Available at Nordstrom, Macy's, and MAC.

Tarte Powder | MAC Powder

Blush and Bronzer

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Naked Rose (Mentioned in this POST)
It's a matte dusty rose blush. It's super wearable and fool proof. It's almost impossible to mess up with this blush. I use it for everyday looks as well as evening looks. It's very versatile in terms of the opacity and intensity of the color.
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
It's my all time favorite bronzer. It's matte and neutral tone, making it perfect for contouring. It applies smoothly and blends out easily. It's also very versatile so it can be used both day time and night time. Available at Sephora and Macy's.
Nars Deep Throat Blush and Laguna Bronzing Powder Duo
I've been taking it with me instead of a blush and a separate bronzer. It's super convenient, a beautiful shimmery blush, a semi-matte bronzer, and a big mirror. Deep Throat is such a beautiful peachy rosey blush that doesn't overload shimmer. Laguna is a nice shade for contour. I still love Hoola more because Hoola is smoother and more neutral. But Laguna is still a lovely product. Available at Sephora.

Illamasqua Naked Rose | Benefit Hoola | Nars Deep Throat | Nars Laguna

Highlighter

I don't always bring highlighters. It's something I can skip over. But for the times I'm into highlighting, I would bring just one highlighting product.
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle
It's a champagne highlighter. It's noticeable without making you look shiny or like a disco ball. The only thing I don't like about this while travelling is that it takes up a lot of space in the makeup bag. But other than that, it's a beautiful highlight that's very easy to work with. Available at Nordstrom, Macy's, and MAC.
Benefit Moon Beam
I like to take it with me mainly because it's smaller compared to powder packagings and I don't need a brush to apply this. It gives an iridescent glow. However, it has some pink shimmers so i don't find it as natural as Soft and Gentle on the cheekbones. Available at Sephora.
Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter
I got this little cute sample size in my Sephora birthday gift combo. I think even the full size would be travel friendly. I'm so in love with this cream highlighter. It's like Soft and Gentle but gives a more iridescent finish because the pigments are finer. It's very easy to apply. It's not sticky and it's super easy to blend. I also love that you don't need a brush to apply this. Available at Sephora and Macy's.

MAC Soft & Gentle | Benefit Moon Beam | Benefit Watt's Up

Eyeshadows

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze (Reviewed in this POST)
I take this with me when there's not important occasions that I have to go to during the travel. It's easy to apply and doesn't require a brush. I put it all over my lid and put on a second layer at the outer corner of my lid to create some dimensions. It last long and wears off well.
Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette (Reviewed in this POST)
I can get a day time look and a night time look with this. It has all the shades that I need for highlight, contour, and eyeliner. The formula is very smooth and creamy. I always bring Nars eyeshadow primer with me if I'm taking this palette.

Maybelline Bad to the Bronze | Urban Decay Venus | Foxy | W.O.S | Naked 2 | Faint | Crave

Mascara


I'm not a mascara "layerer" when I'm travelling. I like to take just one mascara that does the job. These two mascaras both do a pretty good job in lengthening and volumizing and they are both transfer free and mostly smudge-free.
Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara (Mentioned in this POST)
This is not the waterproof formula. However, it doesn't transfer on me while a lot of other waterproof mascara does. It smudges on the bottom lashes a little bit after long hours, but nothing terrible. I really like that I can get a false lashes look just with this mascara. It's a little hard to take off but it comes off with my DHC Cleansing Oil.
Cover Girl Lash Blast 24HR Mascara
It's a very volumizing mascara, more so than lengthening. It has a rubber wand. It's very waterproof, doesn't transfer on me but like Rimmel Day 2 Night it smudges a little after long hours. It's much more difficult to remove than Rimmel Day 2 Night. I really have to allow some time and give my lashes some massaging for the cleansing oil to dissolve the mascara. Overall I like Rimmel Day 2 Night more than Lash Blast, but Lash Blast is still a really nice one. Available at drugstores and Drugstore.com.

Most Loved 10 of June 2013

Kanebo Freshel Moist Lift BB Cream in Medium Beige
This BB cream has pretty light coverage but it's buildable to lighter medium coverage. It covers up the redness very well. It feels light on the skin. I use Real Techniques Expert Face Brush with this, which is a very dense synthetic brush.
It's very comfortable to wear. It doesn't feel like it's glued to your face, but it doesn't feel like it's sitting on top of the face, either. The finish is in between dewy and matte. I love it because the finish looks like my own skin.
The tone is neutral. It's not too pink or too yellow, but at the same time doesn't look gray on me. There are only 2 colors. Medium Beige, which is the darker of the two, is a good match for my NC20 complexion. The colors can definitely suit multiple shades of complexion. However, I think the colors will be way too light for dark complexions.
It's just overall an easy-to-use and fool-proof base product. I've been travelling a lot in June and I always take it with me. I got mine in Taiwan. They can be found on eBay.

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard
This is basically the thicker and more pigmented version of Kanebo Moist Lift BB Cream. The finish is very natural, just like natural skin, which makes it a great concealer for a no-foundation day. It's very easy to blend and long-lasting. Compared to MAC Pro Longwear Concealer it's easier to blend but just a little less long-lasting. But compared to any other concealers it's very long-lasting. It's something that you can put on any part of your face. I use this for blemishes and under-eye circles. This is another product that I've been taking with me for travelling.
Nars has a great selection of colors. Custard is yellow toned. It's just a tiny tiny tiny bit too dark for NC20 but it blends out nicely and the color different isn't noticeable once blended out. I would say it's a very good match.
Available at Sephora, Nordstrom, and Beauty.com.

Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder
I have a little sample size but a tiny bit goes a long way with this product. It's a translucent ultra finely milled powder that's impossible to look cakey. It mattifies the makeup. It wears off very well; it doesn't get patchy or cakey at all throughout the day.
I'm not a fan of loose powder because they get messy. I wish it came in a compact. But this is something that I would purchase once I run out of setting powder.
Available at Sephora and Beauty.com.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze
I love it when I'm in a rush or lazy. It's easy, quick and gorgeous. See review and swatches in this POST.
Available at drugstores and Drugstore.com.

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette
This is such a travel friendly palette because you can create day and night eye looks with just this palette, including lining your eyes. All you need other than this palette is a mascara (or false lashes). See review and swatches in this POST.
Available at ULTA, Sephora, Beauty.com.

Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara in Extreme Black
This is a waterproof, smudge-proof, and transfer-proof mascara. It gives incredible length and volume. The formula is a bit wetter than other mascaras, which makes it prone to clumping and sticking the lashes together, but that only happens if you don't wipe off the excess. The only thing I don't like about it is the wand is a little bigger than most mascaras, but it's manageable.
Available at drugstores and Drugstore.com.

MAC Lipstick in Lustering
I normally don't wear pink because a lot of them are blue tone, which doesn't look good on my warm skin tone. Lustering is a Luster finish. It's a sheer bright pink with warm undertone. I love that it doesn't look cakey on the lips. It's a easy everyday color.
Available at MAC website, Nordstrom and Macy's.

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Naked Rose
This is such an easy and fool-proof blush. You can keep putting it on and this will never make you a clown. But at the same time it has nice pigmentation without being overly pigmented that you have to be careful. It suits lots of skin tones and complexions. However, darker complexions may need something more vibrant or pigmented than this. The formula is the creamiest that I've ever seen. Illamasqua blushes are definitely worth every penny.
Available at Sephora.

Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre
I got this moisturizer because Pixiwoo sisters love it. It's a great moisturizer to put on before makeup. It's moisturizing while it gives you a matte finish, making it a great canvas for foundation. I would recommend it to any skin types in between the extremes. So I wouldn't recommend it to very oily skin or very dry skin.
Available at Dermstore.com.

Soap & Glory Original Pink Eau de Toilette
I got this perfume because I love the scent of the Righteous Body Butter and it smells just like that. It doesn't last long since it's Eau de Toilette but I just love the scent so much that I don't care! I'm horrible at describing scents but it's for sure floral and fruity.
Available at Sephora.

Heavy swatches: Kanebo Moist Lift BB Cream in Medium Beige | Nars Radient Concealer in Custard | Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze | MAC Lipstick in Lustering | Illamasqua Powder Blush in Naked Rose

Blended swatches: Kanebo Moist Lift BB Cream in Medium Beige | Nars Radient Concealer in Custard | Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze | MAC Lipstick in Lustering | Illamasqua Powder Blush in Naked Rose

Clinique Even Better Compact Makeup SPF15

$31     0.35oz/ 10g

Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide 3.8%, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Silica, Phenyl Trimethicone, Cetyl Dimethicone, Tribehenin, Squalane, Glycereth-8 Hydroxystearate, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Arachidyl Propionate, Ozokerite, Lauryl Methacrylate/Glycol Dimethacrylate Crosspolymer, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate Palmitate, Trihydroxystearin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Simethicone, Disteardimonium Hectorite . May contain: Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide

Shades: 20 shades available. For details, visit Clinique Website

Availability: Clinique Website, Sephora, Macy's, Nordstrom

I already owned and loved Clinique Even Better Makeup, which is the older and liquid version of Clinique Even Better Compact Makeup, before I purchased this compact. I love everything travel friendly so I thought it would be a nice addition to my collection.

Consistency

It's a cream foundation with a consistency more to the wet size. It's creamier than Dermablend Cover Cream. This consistency reminds me of Benefit Some Kind-A Gorgeous foundation disc.

Ease of Use

Because it's so creamy, it's very easy to blend. I just swatch it on my face and blend it out with Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, which is a very dense synthetic brush. It blends out to be a powdery finish that doesn't feel dry on the skin. Even though I think it's okay for all skin type to use, if you have dry skin, I still suggest you put moisturizer on before applying this foundation as it could cling on to very dry patches/ flakes.

Coverage

With a dense synthetic brush, you can achieve a light coverage or a medium coverage depending on how much of the product you swatch on the face. If you want full coverage, the best way to use it is blending it out with your hands. You can easily achieve a full coverage with this.

Finish

The finish is really natural. It has a satin finish leaning more to the matte side. This is by no means a dewy finish.

Wear

It feels very light on the skin. The feel is even better than that of powders. The skin is not caked on and is still able to breath, even when you go full coverage on this.

Without a primer, the foundation looks fine for the first 3 hours. After that mark, it fades away on the oily areas.

It wears off okay. It doesn't wear off seamlessly but it doesn't get patchy or emphasize pores and bumps. The coverage just gets a little uneven, but it's easily fixed by blending it out with fingers.

Color

So far everything has been impressive. I do have to complain about the color. It offers a good range of 20 shades. I picked up the shade #1 Linen, which is way too light for me in the summer as seen on the ghosty pictures below. But it's a good shade for the winter. It's always better to go lighter than darker anyway. However, the big down side of the color, at least for the lighter shades, is that they're very pink toned. Even though it says "neutral," it still looks very pink on my yellow skin tone. I can't speak for the darker shades but if you have fair yellow toned complexions, this is something to be careful with. I normally just use my other darker yellow toned foundation underneath it to balance out the pink tone.

No makeup     >>>     1 layer     >>>     1 layer + touch up on dark spots

One layer is good enough in terms of the coverage. I just wanted to show you that you could easily cover dark spots with Even Better Compact Makeup.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this foundation. It's super easy to use and performs very well with very little effort, making it a fool proof product as long as you have the right shade in the right undertone. The only problem that I have is the undertone, but that can be fixed by putting other product underneath, mixing it with other foundations, or putting a yellow tone powder on top.

Highly recommended for: dry, normal, combination

Not recommended for: extremely dry skin, people who look for dewy finish

Tip: Smooth Makeup Over Milia

Milia are the tiny bumps under the eyes. They can pop up when we're using very rich eye cream under the eyes. They are the dead cells trapped under the skin. They can be diminished by gentle exfoliating, which I will explain more in depth in another post.

Milia can be annoying when concealing undereye dark circles because the products can get stuck and accentuate the bumps, especially when you set the concealer with a powder.

Here a quick trick using a cotton swap (aka Q-tip). Just smooth over the bumps by swiping the cotton swap over the milia after you've finished putting makeup on the undereye area. The cotton swap will take off the excess product caught on the milia and even out the makeup.

Excuse the mascara mistake on the nose!

I've tried using my fingers, brushes, and sponges and I found cotton swaps are the only one that does the job.

I hope this tip is helpful :)

Worth the Hype? Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil

$14     0.50oz/ 15ml

Ingredient: argan oil

Availability: Sephora, Josie Maran website

Recently there has been hypes around oils, especially argan oils. Josie Maran's line consists of many products infused with argan oil. One of the most popular products is her 100% Pure Argan Oil.

I got the travel size for $14 at Sephora, thinking that I would only use it for under eye dryness. But I actually ended up using it all over my face.

I really like this oil. Argan oil is dry oil, which means it does not linger on the skin as much as other richer oils. Because of that it makes a great face oil. I like to put it on at night to give it some time to be absorbed. I don't use it in the morning because I can't put makeup on right away.

It's great as a night treatment when you have irritated skin. The anti-inflammatory property helps calm down any irritation, including acne. I also noticed that it helps balance the moisture and oil production/ distribution on my face. My face is really dry under my eyes and my forehead and can get oily around my nose and my mouth. This oil has really helped making my skin a little bit more normal. My skin is still combination but a little less extreme. And it's been easier to apply foundation.

Compared to other brands, Josie Maran's argan oil is much thicker and feels like it's absorbed better as other argan oils I've tried can sometimes just sit on top of the skin. Josie Maran's definitely feels a lot nicer and more luxurious on the skin.

I really like this oil. It's very gentle to the skin, but at the same time does many good things to improve the condition of the skin very effectively. It has not broken me out.

I'm running out of my bottle really quickly. A travel size bottle like this only last me about 1 month if I use it every night, 7-8 drops per use.

If you're on the fence on price, there's other argan oils that are basically the same thing with different consistency. As long as it's 100% pure, organic, and cold-pressed, the quality does not vary drastically.
I highly recommend Josie Maran's 100% Pure Argan Oil. This is something I've been repurchasing and something that will be in my stable skincare stash for at least until I stumble upon something better.

Worth the Hype? Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

$27   6 x 0.05oz/ 1.3g

Ingredients:

Venus/Foxy: Talc, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Zinc Stearate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Sorbic Acid, Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, PTFE, May Contain: CI 77019 (Mica), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491/77492/77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 75470 (Carmine), CI 77742 (Manganese Violet), CI 77007 (Ultramarines).

Walk of Shame/Naked 2/Faint: Talc, Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Zinc Stearate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Sorbic Acid, PTFE, May Contain: CI 77019 (Mica), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491/77492/77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 75470 (Carmine), CI 77742 (Manganese Violet), CI 77007 (Ultramarines).

Crave: Talc, Zinc Stearate, Silica, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Sorbic Acid, Boron Nitride, May Contain: CI 77019 (Mica), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491/77492/77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 75470 (Carmine), CI 77742 (Manganese Violet), CI 77007 (Ultramarines).

Availability: ULTA, Sephora, Beauty.com

This palette is another edition of Urban Decay's Naked series. I didn't think I needed it although almost all the reviews I read were raving about it. The swatches looked either too light or too dark for my everyday look. However, it seemed like a great size for travelling and I love the idea to have all the eyeshadows I need for a look in a compact palette. Ulta was having a sale so I decided to give it a go.

Venus is the only shimmery shade in this palette. Although it's the least pigmented shade among all, it still has okay pigmentation. It's not chalky at all. If you'd like it to be more opaque, just dab it on the lids with a dense eyeshadow brush.

Foxy and W.O.S (Walk Of Shame) can be used for blending or as a base to even out the complexion. On my NC 20 skin they don't show up much. Foxy is yellow tone and W.O.S is pink tone. They can be used for setting under-eye concealers for certain complexions.

Naked 2 is just a bit darker than my complexion. If I want to blend out my crease shadow I would use this. It could be a natural crease shade for very fair skin.

Faint is much darker than Naked 2. It's a neutral brown, which I find much more natural than those red-tone browns. It may have a hint of gray but it's by no means a taupe. I use it for my crease. It's very creamy and easy to blend out so I normally don't need a lighter shade to blend the edges.

Crave is a dark charcoal. Although it's the most chalky of all shades, it's still easy to apply. It can be sheered out to a dark gray for a smokey eye look or packed on as eyeliners.

Of all the shades I use Faint the most. It's perfect for a minimal makeup look on the crease with some mascara. I use Crave mainly as eyeliners. Sometimes I would use Venus on my lids to brighten the eyes. I don't really use Foxy and W.O.S as they don't really show up on my complexion. I only use Naked 2 occasionally for blending out eyeshadows.

Normally there's really not much to talk about the packaging, but I have to say that the mirror in this palette is the perfect size for applying eye makeup. Not too big and not overly magnified.

In terms of the lasting power, they perform pretty well. My mascara normally smudges or transfers before there's any creasing from the eyeshadows.

I've been using this palette 80% of the times for the past 2 months since I got it. Even though I only use 3 out of 6 shades consistently, I definitely still see this as a stable in my makeup stash because of how compact and convenient this is and how creamy the formula is, which makes it really easy to blend. It's also nice to have the other 3 shades in the palette just for those moments that you need something to fix your makeup. I would highly recommend this product if you're looking for a good quality, easy to use, and convenient eyeshadow palette.

Tip: A Better Way to Use Creamy Eyeliner Pencils for Oily Lids

I love a good creamy eyeliner pencil because it's so easy and natural looking. However, I have pretty oil eyelids and these creamy liners can smudge and crease on my very easily.

Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners have been raved about by lots of people and their mothers. I do think the consistency is lovely, but the staying power on me just sucks.

I've been loving Rimmel Scandaleyes liners and to me, they're the better version of Urban Decay liners in the sense that they have better staying power. Even though they usually last me a good 3-4 hours, I would like it to go a little farther.

I'm not a professional makeup artist but I think the problem with these creamy liners is that since the consistency is designed to be very creamy to make the application easier, it's very easy to apply too much. The excess can be transferred to other places easily especially if you have hooded eyes like mine. To fix that, you could use Q-tips to blot the excess. Or, you could use a liner brush to apply it.

So if you've been having problems with such eyeliners like I have, don't get rid of them just yet. All you need is that creamy pencil eyeliner that's been creasing on you and an eyeliner brush of your choice. Just run your liner brush through the kohl and apply it like how you would for a gel liner. The bristles help keeping the excess during application. Another good thing about this technique is that for those who want to do cat eyes but don't prefer liquid or gel liners, this is a very easy and almost fool-proof way to achieve the look.