April 11, 2011

Monday's beauty bits: Top travel ideas

I love travel. I love planning for it, packing for it, I even love being on the plane - although I have as many plane-horror stories to share as anyone. But perhaps my most obsessive aspect is crafting the PERFECT away-from-home beauty kits.

Be prepared for a peek into my insanity.

Bath
It's not perfect, but for now it works. This is a net shower bag from Daiso, it has a plastic base and netting all around so it dries super quick. The idea is to hang it in the shower but this has its drawbacks - there's not always a convenient place to hang it, and the drawstrings make getting stuff out of it hard. Still, I haven't found anything as lightweight or handy to compete yet.



Inside it are more Daiso stuff. I love the squeezy bottles they have. They're leak proof (so far) perfectly sized (I think these are about 30ml) and the squeezy aspect makes getting stuff out of them so easy! Different colours help keep the products straight even if the permanent marker fades. These are 2 for RM5.

The mini travel blades are from Guardian and retail at 2 for RM4.90 I believe. This kit is almost purely for longer hauls by the way with checked-in luggage.

Carry-On Skincare
On short trips I avoid checking in luggage at all. It saves so much time, but it does mean that the liquid rule often applies (not for domestic flights though thank heavens).

I've relied on this clear 1 litre zip-up bag for years now. I got it free with an Avene travel set and while most of the Avene stuff have gone, the bag continues on in its usefulness. Look out for bags like these as they last and hold much more.
In the bag I ALWAYS have my J&J Head to Toe wash (for face, body and hair), my Jordan to Go toothbrush with concentrated toothpaste, a vial of Oil Cleanser, mouthwash, and a happy-smelling body lotion (scent is such a mood setter). If you don't have a Jordan to Go toothbrush, you need one. It's pricey at about RM15, but the toothpaste is refillable, it's hygenic, portable and you'll never be without a toothbrush again!


Usually though the bag looks like this! Told you it holds lots.... 

Face Skincare
With my touchy skin I simply cannot mess around with this aspect during travel and I adore these tiny eye-drop sized bottles that Sasa has. It's three of the larger ones or four of the smaller ones for RM4.90. Why do I love them?
They're squeezable, air tight, leak proof and products don't dry up in them so you can just leave whatever remains in them after your trip, refilling as you need. I've even decanted my LM Foundation into one!

When my skincare isn't bundled into my larger carry-on toiletry bag, they live in this clear little pouch I found in Boots:
I like how I can see everything I have in it - no rifling around in a dark bag looking for the correct tiny vial!

Makeup
It's because of travel that I'm utterly palette obsessed and this is the first palette I've come across that's ALMOST perfect.

Cool and warm blushers, great taupe shadow and highlighter... all I wish is that they'd replace the dark green with a dark brown shadow and provided a cream liner instead of the lippies. I really don't need lippies in a palette, but at least they had the sense to cover them separately.

SCRRRUUUUBBB
Finally I may have found the PERFECT travel scrub. Experience has shown me that I need one while travelling and aspirin tablets are not always the most convenient to use on the go. I find that good scrubs tend to come in huge tubes, and if you put them in smaller tubes they tend to well... jam things up. I tried the Kiehl's Brightening scrub that ParisB and Beetrice adore and it does nothing for me... but break me out. Gosh darnnit.

So imagine my delight when Etude House came up with scrubs in individual sachets!

They're about RM30 for 24 sachets (I get two uses per sachet) and they're really good! Full review's coming up!

Phew that was a long post. What are your fave travel tricks? Anything to recommend? I'm all agog for these things y'know?  

9 comments:

xin said...

for scrub, bobbi brown has this buffing grains (dry), u can easily decant them, and when u need to use, just mix the grains with your cleanser, adjust however much u like, it is a fantastic product

AskMeWhats said...

wow thanks for sharing, I love your tiny containers!

plue said...

thanks for sharing! handy tip for those who travel very often! :D

Eli said...

That is... a load of stuff. I travel a lot but you take a notch further.

Thanks for putting up a pic of the net shower bag. Have been looking for one for my camping trips and this looks perfect. Can chuck a stone in the bag as well to weigh it down in water.

Eye drop bottles! Why didn't I think of that? None to be found in our local Sasa outlets so I'll have to up when I come back for Easter.

rinnah said...

This is such a fun post! I love peeking at other people's bags. When they show them la. :P

Kahani said...

Xin: Expensive laaaahhh =P

Nikki: Thanks dear, would love to see how you travel. =D

Plue: I keep them permanently in my to-go bag.

Eli: Heheh, well you only have 12 lippies. You're clearly a minimalist! In anycase, I do edit it according to the trip. =P Yep the net bag is pretty darned handy.

Rinnah: There is a certain voyeuristic pleasure huh?

Anonymous said...

hahaah! i have that same Avene bag!! it is so useful! :D

waiting for your scrub review! im still thinking if i should repurchase dermalogica's microfoliant which is ohh so pricey :/

Jaslyn said...

What about makeup like liquid foundations? Do they have to be packed in the 1 litre clear bag, or can they be packed in the makeup kit?

What do you do with liquid makeup?

Thanks for sharing! (:

Kahani said...

Hey Miss Hazel: Isn't it? I'm tempted to collect bags like this and label them "long haul" "weekend" etc etc.. yes I may be sliiiightly OCD.

Jaslyn: Liquid foundations are liquid. If you notice though, I did decant some of my Laura Mercier foundation into one of the eyedropper bottles. I find it dispenses very well and doesn't dry up.