travel made simple

Traveling for work can be hell on one's beauty routine.  You have all the inconveniences of being away from home combined with the pressure of looking good for clients and coworkers.  When I have an out-of-town work event, I'm always a bit dismayed for a minute at the loss of my trusty at-home arsenal of brushes, makeup, creams and goodies.  I used to travel with tons of items, but it just got less and less practical as time went on.  But ah! What to pack? And what to pack when days can reach around 18 hours, like my 8a Sunday-2a Monday shift this weekend ?

Here's how I did it the past weekend, and I think this simple routine can work for many by minimizing products & mess while keeping your face polished and presentable. 

First, I prime my skin with Silk Naturals Perfecting Powder.  This little, unassuming gem of a product works wonders to refine & prep skin.  It's great on its own, as a primer, or lightly swirled on top of a finished look to set makeup and give an airbrushed appearance to skin.  This product alone can save you tons of time in place of concealing and contouring by giving your skin an overall perfected appearance. 

Silk Naturals Perfecting Powder

I prefer not to travel with liquid foundation for a few reasons - it leaks, and it takes a more precise, lengthy application, and I can't fuss with that when I have to be somewhere at 6a.  In its place, I sub a heavy-duty powder foundation like Cargo blu_ray HD pressed powder after priming with the Silk Naturals.  Concealer on-the-go needs to be both long-lasting and hassle-free - I find something like Coverblend Multi-Function Concealer works double-duty to both cover blemishes and under-eye discoloration for extended periods of time without getting cakey or runny.  And, in the absence of liquid foundation, you can use small, targeted amounts of this thicker concealer like you would wear a long-lasting foundation, but without the mess of a glass bottle. 

I spend a bit more time on blush because a fresh, radiant glow is one of the biggest keys to looking rested and youthful, but blush is one of the quickest things to fade and disappear quickly from the face.  I've found a thin layer of cream blush like Revlon PhotoReady applied first helps set powder blush applied over it.  

While I love my liner and more elaborate eye shadows, they're not practical when getting ready in a hotel bathroom with horrible lighting.  Keep eyes clean but polished with a double-duty lid primer & shadow like MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, a neutral-toned beige.   It's so helpful in covering the natural discoloration common in so many eyelids, and its long-wear formula also helps to stop mascara from leaving a smear trail near the brow-bone. 

For eye liner, I prefer to tight line with something like Revlon ColorStay pencil liner so my eyes have definition without the hassle of applying full eyeliner.  If you have a dinner meeting that night, pocket the pencil eyeliner so you can quickly transition your eyes from day to night by tracing your waterline to add subtle definition to eyes.  I keep my eyes looking bright with 2 key items that take seconds to apply but make worlds of difference - a neutral-toned pencil in my waterline to cancel out redness (for daytime), and a quick dab of a brightening pencil in the corner of my eyes like Benefit Eye Bright.  I finish with curling my lashes and applying mascara. 

Painterly Paint Pot acts as both primer and long-wear shadow

Benefit Eye Bright is perfect for waking up tired eyes and creating subtle highlight on brow bone

 Though I have an arsenal of lipstick, I think the quicker and easier choice on-the-go is gloss.  I feel more confident reapplying without a mirror, and if I'm running around all day, it's so much easier to sneak in a swipe of gloss vs. lipstick.  I've been loving Revlon Colorburst lip gloss for its color range and wear. 

All of these products are small, light, easy to apply, and travel well.  They'll help you create a professional look even if you're in the worst of lighting and have the longest of days. 

Here's to beautifully simple travel. 

Beautifully Simple, 

Nicole @ Vanity Cosmetics