It’s been mentioned several times on these pages what a palava it can be to pack your toiletry bag when you’re about to head off on your hols. With 100ml limits on liquids in your hand luggage it’s always handy to have a few streamlining tips so today we’re sharing a few team beauty secrets as well as our favourite summer holiday cosmetics.
I’ve always been a fan of picking up my suncare from Boots when I’m through to the other side, but Laura’s tip is absolutely genius…
Cabin Cosmetics
Lottie
I also store up all the little mini bottles you get in free sets from the likes of Clarins. Whenever I get a gift set for Christmas or birthday (or just get the free gift when you but two items) I put the little tubes away for holidays. The moisturisers and little eye creams are ideal.
Muji is great for small bottles and tubs if you want to decant your own favourites.
Laura
Hair product wise I always take a Phillip Kingsley Trial Pack; airline approved sizes of shampoo, conditioner, but also elasticizer which is my hair miracle product for smooth, shiny and hydrated tresses.
For things I just can’t go without a full size of, I order from Boots.com and pick it up from the airport after security.
Fern
I love holidays because you don’t have to faff around with so many products once you’ve caught the sun! I think preparation is key. I usually do lots of exfoliating and moisturising before I go, paint my nails (properly with base and topcoat) and then just take miniatures for toiletries.
Also powders aren’t counted as liquids, so try swapping your liquid blush, concealer and foundation to a powder alternative for the week.
Multi purpose products are a good idea in theory, but I just can’t bring myself to use two-in-one shampoo and conditioner!
Lisa
I’ve got a clear plastic make up bag that I use to put all my make up bits in if I’m just doing carry-on luggage so I’m not having to faff at the airport. Marks and Spencer have a great three pack.
Lorna
If there is a large group of you going away (for example a hen do) consider adding baggage allowance for one case and share a suitcase with everybody’s essentials.
Me
A spritz of perfume always makes me feel refreshed but I don’t want to take up all the room in my teeny plastic freezer bag. A few years ago my mother-in-law gave me a Chanel Twist and Spray fragrance which is a staple in my holiday beauty bag.
Holiday Favourites
Laura
If it’s a hot holiday ditch foundation in favour of a tinted moisturiser with SPF. My fave is Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser by NARS with SPF30.
High priority is placed on a good lip balm. Anyone else’s lips suffer in the sun/plane air con? EOS is my current favourite.
Lolly
I hate being without all my various lotions and potions even if I don’t actually end up using all of them when I’m holiday and for that reason I tend not to take carry-on luggage. I know! How extravagant!
That said I tend to abandon my usual body moisturiser for aftersun (kept in the fridge in case of burns) and I add Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray to my repertoire as I tend to let my hair have a rest on holiday and let it revert to (curly) type. My make-up is restricted down to my holiday essentials too; I swap my normal non-waterproof Definicils mascara by Lancome to their Hypnose product and stick to just a slick of black waterproof eyeliner in the day from Chanel. For night-time festivities I add lippy and a touch of blusher and I’m good to go. I think that’s it really… oh and I echo what Fern said – I only like separate shampoo and conditioners!
Me
Slightly retro but sand dissolves off the skin after a day on the beach with a sprinkle of talc so I try to remember to pack a bottle. Though it melts in the heat Coconut oil is my all-time favourite multi-tasker; I use as an eye-make up remover, dry skin solver and hand cream.
Any tips you’d like to add? Any two-in-one shampoo and conditioners you can recommend? What are your favourite multi-purpose products and which ones do you leave at home?
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Great tips as always! I was just in Barcelona last week with hand luggage only so was a bit of a faff but with some planning got my packing down to a fine art! I took the new Charlotte Tilbury palette which includes 3 eye shadows, 2 blushers, a bronzer and a highlighter so as Fern said, wasn’t included for the liquid allowance. I decanted my cleanser and beach waves spray into bottles, and put a some moisturising face mask into a wee pot and used that at night as an overnight mask for my dry skin. I took Origins VitaZing for a tinted moisturiser and SPF and also Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder for a light foundation, although once I started feeling a bit more tanned, I dropped this in favour of the VitaZing alone.
However, the best purchase I made was a perfume atomizer – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mudder-Refillable-Perfume-Atomizer-Bottle/dp/B00ZEDLVT2/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1465976082&sr=1-1&keywords=perfume+atomiser I bought this for my wedding a few years back and its fantastic! I think you get around 40-50 sprays so certainly lasted 5 days in Barca and I took it to New York earlier in the year and had around 1/3 left after 10 days away.
Remember that 9 times out of 10 you can buy most things where you’re going, so if you are doing a city break with hand luggage, you can spend 5 minutes popping into a shop to pick up some shampoo/conditioner/body lotion. It might not be the same as you use at home but you’re on holiday so nothing is!
Sorry for the long post!! x
Oh Marianne, the CT palette? Amaze balls.
So right you can usually get everything you need locally when you arrive x
Oh this has made me long for an overseas trip! As it is, we’re going camping in Padstow (thankfully we have a giant tent and electricity, i’m not a complete savage) but I’m still hoping for hot sun and beachy hair, so loving all the suggestions.
My go-to holiday product is Benefit Stay Don’t Stray for evening eye make up. Although I keep my make up lighter on hols, it still tends to slide halfway down my face through a mixture of heat and after-sun (aka sweaty eyes) xx
(forgot to say, even though it’s pretty obvious) – SDS stops the creasy sliding like a dream!
The sliding is so annoying. I’ve recently discovered Blinc eye primer – really disliked it at first as I was using NARS foundation which seemed to repel it, however since I’ve switched to a tinted moisturiser I am in love!
Electricity? Then you are most definitely glamping!
Well yes, I suppose it is – and we’ve bought one of those amazing tents with the inflatable tubes so hopefully it wont be a complete trauma at all!
I may just give Blinc a go as I’m almost at the bottom of my Benefit tube 🙂
I reckon I could just about deal with camping in this way. Have a fabulous time. Padstow is my fave 🙂 x
I can’t do 2 in 1 hair products either so am loving the Philip Kingsley idea. It’s a bit more glam than my usual Charles Worthington minis from Boots, and as I’m a big fan of Elasticizer too I think I’ll treat myself this year.
One of my biggest beach holiday beauty problems is how my makeup is always the wrong colour by the end of the trip, despite using SPF 50 on my face. I’ve made an effort to tackle the problem this year by purchasing La Roche Posay Anthelios Comfort Tinted Moisturiser SPF 50. It only comes in one colour and is meant to adjust to your skin tone. I really hope it works but I’m bringing my usual base as backup just in case!
My other holiday essentials are Hawaiian Tropic coconut aftersun, a nice blusher (NARS Orgasm or maybe a Clinique Chubby Stick) and for some reason I always take Lancôme Juicy Tubes lip gloss. This year we’re going for 2 weeks so I’m getting a gel pedicure so I don’t have to faff around with nail polish (which is unlikely in any case as my 18 month old doesn’t wait for nails to dry).
Tracy, you’re so right about the change in colour. This tinted moisturiser sounds like a genius invention x
The problem that I have is finding a product for my super curly hair. At home I use mousse, but I have never ever seen a travel size one!!! It’s not a problem for longer holidays as I usually have checked luggage, or buy a full size one through security, but for a short break it feels really wasteful to buy a new one to use only once or twice, so if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it!!!
Oooh Amy it looks as through REF do a travel size one – http://www.thegroomingclinic.com/ref-mousse-435-travel-size-75ml.html?gclid=CLOPmOOFqs0CFe4y0wodmsEANw x
Great post – thanks for sharing your tips on packing beauty products for holidays. It certainly can be a challenge knowing what to pack in with the limited space. Especially as on holidays, we all like to look our best. Hair products and tools can often take up the most space. If you are going with other girls, it is definitely a great idea to coordinate as it’s likely they’re also looking to fit in a hairdryer, curler, straighter or all of the above!