For those who like to look their best on the road, cutting back on cosmetics can be a colossal challenge. Feeling like you don't have what you need to put your best face forward on an important business voyage or your trip of a lifetime is frustrating. So how does a girl get gorgeous while going light on glamour products?
Basics: The first step is to put some serious time and effort into developing the ultimate five-product capsule collection. For me, that capsule includes one magnificent mascara, a single luscious lipstick, one perfect shadow palette, a fab foundation and a seriously sensational concealer. With this short list of necessities, I can accomplish a number of looks successfully. The key is to make as many of those items as multipurpose as possible.
For some time now, I've used my mascara for multiple things. The most common way I press it into additional service is as eyeliner. Using a small angled brush to remove product from the wand, I can line both lower and upper lids with my waterproof formula of choice. My lipstick serves as my blush, while a dark brown eye shadow gets applied to brows, eliminating the need for an extra makeup category altogether. My concealer is also my eye shadow primer and overall lid shade in a pinch. When it comes to foundation, I grab a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen, which is essentially three products in one. A major space saver in the airline liquids bag!
Since I live on the road full time, my capsule is also my entire makeup collection. If you have a home base and a bit more storage space, you can likely allow for a couple of more lipstick shades and perhaps an extra eye shadow palette or two to choose from whenever you travel to a new destination. Either way, operating with a core set of items lets you maintain your basic beauty routine while requiring minimal luggage space.
Extras: While your selected basics may very well meet your day-to-day needs, don't be surprised if shifting weather and dry interior airplane conditions cause your skin to need a bit of extra support along the way. Medicated lip balms, facial scrubs and other basic items can be picked up easily at pharmacies and grocery stores around the world. There's no need to take up luggage space carrying too many of these sorts of things on the plane. However, you may want a few go-to extras in your personal stash in order to feel prepared for any situation. For me, an important addition is a Rimmel Scandal Eyes waterproof nude eyeliner pencil for my inner lower lash line. It costs me roughly $5 at Ulta, makes me look more awake on days I need it, and doesn't need to be sharpened.
Additionally, I splurged a year ago on a MAC paint pot in a shade called bare study. It makes a great, slightly shimmery lid color for evening wear and can also be pressed into service as a highlighter on the Cupid's bow area of the upper lip. At a little more than $20 for a single shadow it's a bit pricey, but I have been happy with the staying power and the fact that I can replace it at any of the company's stores around the world. Your selection of must-have extras will likely differ from mine, but finding room for those additional two or three products shouldn't be a problem if you have taken the time to whittle everything else down to the recommended handful of basics.
Variations: Having your cosmetics collection narrowed down to a five- or six-item micro capsule is all well and good, but stay on the road long enough and chances are you'll need to mix it up a bit. Especially if that perfect palette of powdered products gets destroyed, and isn't one you can easily repurchase in the area where you are traveling. For example, if you are only able to find an eye shadow replacement that doesn't have a shade you can use to fill in your brows, you may have to go with a two-color duo product and add a brow pencil into the mix.
Similarly, if you feel you need a bronzer to play a major role in your makeup capsule and don't want to increase the number of products you carry, you may have to get creative. Consider using your brightening concealer as not only your lid primer, but your overall lid color. Your bronzer can add a bit of neutral color to the lids, with mascara filling in as a quickly blended crease color. This way, you don't need to shop for an eye palette at all, and can use the extra room for a larger and longer-lasting bronzing powder.
Strategies: Making sure your new micro capsule fits seamlessly into your travel style is also part of the equation. Since I tend to switch where I carry my cosmetics depending on where and how I am traveling, I tend to gravitate toward makeup bags with a bit more structure. Their shape allows me to plan where they will be stored, and makes them less likely to tip and spill when placed on bathroom counters.
The number and size of your application tools also impacts how minimal you can go when it comes to paring down your supplies. I use double-ended makeup brushes almost exclusively, and make a point to only purchase ones that aren't particularly bulky. Previously, I always carried a multi-size pencil sharpener and an eyelash curler. By shifting the types of products I keep in my capsule, I have been able to let those two items go by the wayside, which leaves me more room in my bag to accommodate replacement cosmetics with unexpectedly large packaging.
Bottom line? The process of curating the perfect travel makeup capsule will look different for everyone. However, by developing your ideal five-product set of basics, even the tiniest makeup bag will have room for the two or three additional favorites most women feel they need for added beauty flexibility.
