July 28, 2015

Packing Makeup Lightly for Summer Travel

I was compensated by a brand or company but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ecotools Lovely Looks 5 Piece Set3

So how do you pack makeup lightly for Summer Travel? I know I personally want to take everything with me! And I do really mean everything, literally. I’m just not a light packer and it’s impossible for me to settle on a single eyeshadow! I need like 100 choices.

This year, I didn’t really yet take a long vacation. In May I was away for nearly two weeks but for the Summer I decided I’d do a lot of weekend trips and one big getaway in the Fall. During my recent travels I made my head hard to pack super light and that meant I really had to down size on what I packed makeup and beauty wise. Because believe me given the chance I’d just take my entire makeup collection with me.

So I made a promise to myself I’d be ALL about traveling makeup lightly this Summer.

Since a lot of my trips revolved around concerts this year (I’ve had the chance to see some great bands this Summer like Otherwise, In this Moment, etc…) I decided I wanted to go as light as possible with makeup because a lot of the concerts were outside and its been really humid the last few weeks. No one wants to wear a bunch of makeup in the humidity and having it dripping off their face and smearing all over the place. NOT a good look! In This Moment had an early showing at Krockathon on Saturday and people were packed in to see them outside (or maybe just to catch a glimpse of Marie Brink as she screamed her little heart out!). Now, don’t get me wrong, Saturday the weather wasn’t bad! It was actually nice but when you’re standing almost back to back with people in the Summer sun it can get hot fast so you wanna keep it really light with your makeup but not so light that you aren’t looking your very best.

I decided tinted moisturizer, concealer, a really nice blush, a minimal eyeshadow or liner, mascara, and a good set of brushes was all I needed!

Since I can never decide on makeup brushes to pack I decided I’d go with the Ecotools Lovely Looks 5 Piece Set because it contained all the essentials I needed and Ecotools have some great brushes with soft bristles and sturdy handles! This was a good choice as the brushes are the perfect size for travel and the set had all the essentials I needed for my eyes and face. Since I packed a cream eyeshadow, which was completely finger application friendly, I was able to multitask and use the eyeshadow brush in this set to apply my concealer! The set served its purpose well and I had everything I needed including an excellent flat eyeliner brush to apply my gel liner. I love the flat, square head of this brush as I’m so NOT one for getting a straight line down well. I like that I can walk it across my lash line and proceed to go back and smudge it up gently. I’ve been using the Ecotools Flat Eyeliner Brush lately to apply my Milani Fierce Foil Eyeliner in Brown Foil using this method. Seriously, that eyeliner has become liquid gold for creating fast yet super sultry eye looks in a flash and this liner brush makes it a snap to appy!

Ecotools Lovely Looks

Ecotools Lovely Looks 5 Piece Set

For my look, I was all about a simple yet stand out eye look so I applied my liner and smudged out, loaded up on mascara, and I was good to go! Simple, easy, and I didn’t have to pack a ton of makeup to get the look! Follow up with a golden peach on my cheeks, a nice simple nude lip look, and I was so done! Plus my makeup wasn’t so heavy that it ended up smeared or faded at the end of the day.

Ecotools Lovely Looks 5 Piece Set4

Needless to say packing makeup lightly is a challenge but I think I’m slowly learning to do so!

Where have you visited lately that you had to pack lightly?

What sort of looks did you create using the minimal makeup you packed?

Do share!

I was compensated by a brand or company but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Dee

    Lovely look on you, BTW. We were overseas for two weeks and went carry on so I had to cut down on what I normally would take. I put serums and eye cream in an old contact lens case so I didn’t have to tote the bottles, and it was easy to put them in my 2 qt plastic bag. I used the Lorac Pro To Go palette and am really happy with that purchase. Two blushes, bronzer and eye shadows. Very basic, but saved space. I ended up using my regular size brushes, but only took a powder, blush and two eye shadow brushes. And I used a stick foundation so I didn’t have that to put in my 2 qt bag.

    • Isabella Muse

      aw thanks Dee! I always WANT to take full size brushes but I prefer smaller ones because for some reason larger ones end up getting messed up with split bristles, etc…! 🙁 so smaller ones are much better for me ;-D I hear you on overseas travel btw, I always feel I really have to be super minimal as it’s hard to pack favorites without the fear they’ll break!

  • Sandra

    I travel a fair bit and have packing down to a science (I think). I good palette with some shimmer and mattes, 2 blushes and 1 bronze/countour, one mascara, a couple of eyeliners and a couple of lipsticks. I have also purchased small airless pump containers for my foundation so that I only take what I need vs the whole bottle. I also use them for skincare. I have purchased small spray bottles for haircare.

    The container store is your friend.

    • Isabella Muse

      Honestly, I travel a ton and still haven’t gotten it down right Sandra 😀 I need you in my life haha! I also started doing small amounts of foundation, it’s absurd to carry the full bottle so I just squirt a bit into a smallish container and I’m golden 😀

  • Lauren

    Timely post, as I’m currently packing for a 10-day long vacation to the west coast. I always pack lightly when it comes to makeup. Unless I am traveling for business, I tend to wear less makeup when away from home. I now have makeup packing down to a science.

    For my upcoming vacation, I am packing:
    – Clinique Acne Solutions BB Cream (good coverage, SPF 40, mattifying, apply with fingers – no foundation brush needed!)
    – It Cosmetics CC palette (has a setting powder, bronzer and blush in a neutral color)
    – Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette
    – Clinique eyeshadow crayon in Amber (if I want a one and done eyeshadow look), Urban Decay De Slick Setting Spray (travel size)
    – Travel Sized It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye
    – Nars Creamy Concealer
    – Travel sized eye primer (Lorac, came with my Unzipped Gold palette)
    – Mascara (x2 – I need my bottom lash mascra as well as a regular mascara)

    Brushes
    – Powder Brush (for my setting powder)
    – It Cosmetics blush brush
    – Real Techniques blush brush (for bronzer)
    – Real Techniques Contour brush (for concealer)
    – Sigma E55 flat eyeshadow brush
    – Sigma E40 blending brush
    – My smashbox eyeshadow brush for my highlight
    – Mac 219 pencil brush

    • Isabella Muse

      Well done Lauren! 😀 Good picks especially travel sized bye bye, can’t go anywhere without that 😀

      • Lauren

        If anyone is interested in the Clinique BB, you can get a travel sized for free with a $25 online Sephora purchase. I saw the code on the Sephora coupon code page. There is no acne medication in it and the little bottle is great to toss into your liquids bag.

  • Maggie

    Wow. You SOOOOO rock. Seriously impressed with how you whittled down to the bare essentials–especially knowing your vast collection.

  • powerpuff

    I’m kind of cheating, because I’m low-maintenance, so it’s easy for me to pack light, haha. I went to England for a week recently with only a carry-on and I only took concealer, a single flesh-toned eyeshadow, a liquid highlighter, liquid eyeliner, mascara and a few lip options which also doubled up nicely as cream blushes. Of course, even with my super paired-down choices in makeup and clothing, I still had to leave some stuff behind to make room for all the stuff I bought there LOL, so there’s that.

    • Isabella Muse

      oh don’t even powerpuff! when it comes to the UK I get it all sorts of trouble. ALMOST always when visiting London I’ve had to ship stuff BACK TO MYSELF because it got out of control lol!