Makeup Wars: My Travel Beauty Essentials

This week for Makeup Wars we've decided to concentrate on travel beauty. Some of us will show what we pack, what we bring in our 3-1-1 bag, how we keep our skin glowing despite the arid environment of an airplane, etc. I've decided to show a bunch of what I'd be bringing if I left for my next vacation tomorrow. Actually, my next vacation isn't too far off, very soon my husband and I will be taking our 2 year old to Walt Disney World for her first visit! She's proving to be as much of a Disney fan as I am (our current favorite videos are Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan), so you can only imagine my excitement! Even better, while we're in Orlando my friend Nancy from Beauty 411 will be at the resort as well, and I'm really looking forward to seeing her!

In all of my Disney preparations for our first visit with a toddler, I've been reading a ton of travel tips, and you can see some of what I've been reading over on my Disney travel tips Pinterest board. I'm planning on doing things like bringing things to occupy my daughter while in line, I have rain parkas for those sudden Orlando showers, even little laundry soap pods for our in room washer and dryer! If you have some Disney World travel tips for toddlers, definitely share them with me! I want everything to go as smoothly as possible.

In the meantime, if I was packing up tonight, here's most of the beauty items that I'd bring with me. I'm not a girl that can pack everything in to a carry on, I am the super over packer. Honestly, I'm not even sure that I can do 1 night with a carry on. I'm trying to be more minimal (for me) on this trip. I still want to feel like myself, but I'm limiting my shadow and lippie options, etc. (Remember, I'm the girl that usually has 20-30 glosses in her purse. Not really on purpose, but that's just the way I roll.)

These are the bags I usually travel with. I previously featured them in my hospital bag post, though I use them all the time when going out of town. The first bag was sent to me by Trina, but I liked it so much that I bought 4 matching bags (not all of them are here, they're spread amongst various suitcases). I love them because they're lined, so if anything spills then the mess is contained. They're the perfects sizes and shapes, and I especially love that the big bag has removable matching clear bags.

1. Olay Body Wash: This is an anti-aging one, though somewhere I have the Olay Ultra Moisture Body Wash somewhere here too. I have a smaller shower poof here, but really only because it was in my travel bag. I'll likely swap it out for me Beautisol Exfoliating Mitt.

2. Ummm... yes, shave gel and a razor. Venus and Skintimate.

3. I'm still undecided about body lotion. Here I'm showing Kiehl's Creme de Corps, though I usually use Cetaphil Cream. I haven't decided if the Kiehl's will be enough moisture for me.

I usually travel with whatever skin care I'm testing at that time, though I do try to add in a few "emergency" items to help cope with issues due to travel.

1. Pevonia Hydrating Sunscreen: Obviously I'm a big fan of sunscreen, and since I'm going to Florida I'll need a decent SPF to wear every day. This has SPF 30 and is very light weight.





2. My current regimen from Pevonia Spa Clinica is obviously what I'd pack to come with me.

3. I'm currently pairing my Pevonia C Evolutive Eye Gel with the rest of the PSC. It's great under makeup and to decrease puffiness.

4. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery: I don't travel without my Midnight Recovery! A few drops on my skin before I head to bed and any dryness from a long flight is just... gone. Love that.

More sun protection!

1. Coppertone Kids Wacky Foam: My daughter has become a bit resistant to my slathering of lotion, so I'm hoping that this foam will persuade her! A foam also sounds lighter weight than the usual lotion that we use.

2. Coppertone Lip Balm: I once had a sunburn on my lips, and I swear, never again! This Coppertone Sport also has sun protection.

3. Aveeno Baby Sunblock Lotion: This is my old stand by for my daughter, I'll still be bringing it, but likely it will be my husband and I using it.

1. L'Oreal Advance Haircare Total Repair 5 Shampoo and Conditioner: I'll be decanting my shampoo and conditioner into smaller bottles, but I'm really loving this new line from L'Oreal. Seriously, amazing.

2. DermOrganic Hair Masque: Wow. Seriously, the best hair masque ever. And it only takes a minute. I'm always worried about how my hair will respond to water when I'm out of town, having a few applications of this with me will make me feel a lot better!

3. L'Oreal Advance Haircare Color Vibrancy Dual Protect Spray: It looks like a regular shine spray, but it is so much more. It smells amazing, gives me great shine, and oh yes, it protects my hair. It has some UV protection and protects against heat up to 450 degrees. L'Oreal, please, please, please start making this in a travel sized bottle!

4. Ojon full detox Rub-Out Dry Cleansing Spray: Birchbox sent me a travel size of this great dry shampoo, so it's coming with me! It isn't powdery, doesn't leave a white mess, just soaks up oil and adds great volume. Love that.

5. DermOrganic Leave in Treatment: DermOrganic's version of the hair oil that everyone has. This one has Argan Oil and does a better job than others (**cough, cough, MorrocanOil**) at making my hair soft and shiny. Oh, and it is almost impossible to use too much, my hair seems to just suck this stuff up.

6. DermOrganic Volume Foam: This is a great "mousse" that really is a liquid that foams up with a pump. It adds volume and some hold to my hair without becoming sticky.

7. Sarah Potempa Beach Waver Curling Iron: Yeah, so this is amazing. And I'm still obsessed with it despite frying my hair with it over the summer. My newly dark hair does seem to look better when a few curls have been added (I think it looks a bit harsh when really straight. I'm probably just not used to it), and the curls are WAY better as 2nd day hair. So, Volume Foam for just the right amount of hold, curl, and I'm good for a few days. That sounds like vacation hair to me!

1. Kiehl's Lip Balm #1: I wear it every night. I can't go to sleep without it. I might be addicted.

2. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Concentrate: This product is really interesting. It is kind of hard and feels almost waxy at first, but when you get it out it quickly melts and just sinks into skin, healing everything. It's insane moisture. It's how I'm surviving this winter.

3. Elie Saab Perfume: So, I really need to just fully review this perfume. I'm wearing it every day (my husband loves it), and I've mentioned it a few times. It's made me put all my other perfume testings/reviews on hold because I only want to wear it. Anyways, they just came out with this really great travel atomizer (that's the gold thing), but what is really great is that there are 3 vials of the perfume! So, you can refill it. You simply twist the gold atomizer, and something comes out of the top, you spritz from there. So, it's pretty hard to get it all over the place.

4. Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve: This is the hand lotion I leave in my white coat pocket at the hospital so I tend to travel with it, though it might not make it in the suitcase due to the FAB Ultra Repair Concentrate. We'll see!

5. Rembrandt Deeply White + Peroxide Toothpaste: This is a new minty flavor, and it is wintergreen (!!! Love that!!!) and it doesn't taste like peroxide. I'm doing a lot of tooth whitening stuff with my new hair. They were white before, but with the new hair my skin looks lighter and more porcelain, and somehow white teeth just didn't look quite as white. So, I'm sticking with toothpaste for now, but I have another Rembrandt 2 Hour Whitening Kit already in my bathroom. I might do it, not sure yet.

6. Revitalash: Love this stuff, it's given me amazing eye lashes.

7. Aveeno 1% Hydrocortisone: In case my eczema flares

8. Clindamycin Gel: This is my prescription for my rosacea.

A lot of these are my oldie but goodies, things that I know will work. See below for a few more details.

1. Eyeshadows, primer is my NYX primer, there's a stick shadow from Mally and 2 Urban Decay liners (Zero and Underground).

2. Lippies: I have a nice array of colors here, but the real star is the Mally Beauty Lip Primer. I can't find it alone, but it comes with the perfect red lip kits. It's a white-ish liquid that becomes clear, and creates a slightly sticky base for under lipstick. IT IS AMAZING. Oh wait, did I yell that? Yes. I meant to do that. It makes all lipsticks better, last much longer and not come off when you sip your coffee. Get it.

3. Face Items: CoverGirl TruBlend in my new shade of 410, It Cosmetics Concealer, TruBlend Pressed Powder and my Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray.

4. Mascaras: Obviously, a curler and my CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara and the new Maybelline Rocket Mascara. An amazing combo.

5. Some blushes, a travel Tweezerman and Clean & Clear Oil Control Sheets.

6. Milk of Magnesia Face Primer: Basically, it is 75% MoM and 25% water. I have it in a little Nalgene bottle so it won't spill, and it is definitely coming to Florida!


1. Mally Shadow in Saddle Shimmer: It's kind of a gold. So pretty!

2. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

3. Stila Travel Palette, this one is an old one, "Road to Radiance Across the USA"

4. Watch for a post soon, but this is the PUR Minerals Beautiful Creatures Palette. Amazing. I might need a backup.

1. Stila Convertible Color in Lillium

2. Stila Travel Palette: I don't know the name of it, but the convertible color in this palette is pretty close, I might leave my beloved Lillium at home. And that is a little claw mark in the product, my 2 year old tried to dig it out with her fingers... I guess she liked it too?

3. Laura Mercier Creme Cheek Color in Oleander

1. MAC Baby Sparks
2. MAC En-Chantée
3. L'Oreal in Lilac Ever After and Infinite Fuchsia
4. Fyrinnae in Lollipop-Pop
5. Maybelline in Made It Mauve

17

Makeup Wars: My Favorite Beauty Items

It wasn't so long ago that I shared my list of favorite beauty items, though I admit I had a pretty hard time paring that list down to 10 items! Luckily today, my Makeup Wars group decided to share our favorite items that we repurchase over and over. Which means I'll share another 10 items!

These are items that I keep going back to, have on hand always and use in between testing out other products, and if I run out I will immediately add it to the shopping list. So, if you haven't already, check out my first favorite beauty items list, and consider this the Part Dos version.

1. Cetaphil Cream: This has been a go-to product for me for years. I was even taught to recommend it to parents of kiddos with eczema while in my pediatrics residency. It really helps to seal in moisture after a shower, especially if you apply it right away. I don't even hop out of the shower before I start slathering it on everywhere. Also, I love that it is much less greasy than another high moisture lotion, Aquaphor.

2. Skintimate Shaving Gel: I don't actually have a full review on this product, but it seems to be the shave gel I always grab at the store. I have used other shave gels (Pure Silk, etc), but this one seems to work a bit better for me and it doesn't leave rust stains in my shower. That's a big bonus.

3. Olay Ultra Moisture Body Wash: Yup, a ton of moisture in this body wash. Yup. I do find other ones that I like as a soap, but even with extra lotion afterwards, I miss the moisture from this body wash.

4. Venus Razor: Lately I've been springing for the 5 blade version and it just makes me happy. That is all.

5. Kiehl's Lip Balm #1: This is the last product I use every night, I keep a lot of it around. Just, everywhere.

6. Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer: Love this concealer. It blends easily, covers up everything, and the tube lasts forever. I've been using this concealer almost daily for about 2 years and have only repurchased once. That's a lot of concealer.

7. NARS Orgasm Blush: Every girl needs a go-to blush that just works. This one works for going out, work, running errands with my toddler, a dark smoky eye or even just a light wash of tan. See? Perfect blush.

8. L'Oreal Elnett Hairspray: Yup, it's kind of a classic. I like that it holds, lets my hair move still and isn't sticky. A can lasts me forever.

9. CoverGirl TruBlend Foundation: This is the foundation I reach for about half the time. The #415 is a good match for me, I can apply with a sponge, brush or fingers and it will still look good. Oh, and the coverage is easy to build up.

10. Kiehl's Rare Earth Masque: I'm a long time devotee of mud masks, but this one is a bit more gentle on my face and still gets the job done.












At some point, I'm sure I've received some of these items from PR. But, I've repurchased all of them over, and over, and over...

15