Travel Sized Beauty

I may not be the worlds biggest jetsetter, but I do love squirreling away samples and travel sized products for short trips and even weekends away at the beach house. I was pleased with the itsy bitsy products I toted up to Queensland with me recently for a one week stay, so here is a round up of what they were!

Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel - I've used up a full-size bottle of this in the past and have since repurchased, so before I went away I squeezed away to refill this sample tube that I got from Mecca Maxima. I love being able to use a good cleanser without having to bring the whole bottle with me!

Uriage Creme Lavante Nourishing and Cleansing Cream - A nice, simple fluid cream cleanser that was the perfect size to take away with me.

Bioderma Crealine H2O - The original micellar water, I love the different sizes these come in and for this trip I brought up the classic variety with the red lid. I used this to remove all of my makeup, and it does take a few swipes for the eye looks I prefer but worked a treat nevertheless.

Smashbox Photo Finish Oil Free Foundation Primer - Love this stuff, a silicone primer that I use on the face where my pores stand out the most to smooth over them before I apply my foundation or BB cream.

Palmer's Massage Cream for Stretch Marks - I always try to take a small moisturiser away with me just in case, and even though I knew I was going to hit up Bath & Body Works I wanted this for the start of my trip so my skin stayed hydrated.

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation (sample pot) - This little jar was originally a Mario Badescu skincare sample from Mecca Maxima but I cleaned it out and pumped a few days worth of my Too Faced foundation for the days I wanted higher coverage than my everyday BB cream and for nights out to dinner with everyone.

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How many products do you travel with? Do you bother with miniature things or just lug your regular routine with you?

-Emma x

Bali Holiday Essentials

I was known as the go-to villa for all of our friends needs during our recent trip to Bali, and it felt great to have all the products on hand that we needed during our two week stay. The amount of insect repellent and sunscreen we went through was phenomenal, but I think it's the random travel essentials that really get overlooked in the beauty department so here mine are.

Sadly there has been many a time while travelling across Asia when toilet paper was scarce, and even here in Melbourne my Mumma always taught me to have a small pack of tissues in my handbag in case of an emergency. I also highly recommend scented hand sanitiser which is a great thing to use before eating, drinking, after you wash your hands and in a pinch the Palmolive Fig & Coconut  scent worked a treat for me in a stinky Balinese taxi as a personal perfume!

Another great little product to throw into your travel bag is the Manicare Nail Polish Remover Pads, which is a whole lot easier to cart across oceans than a bottle of remover and makes it so easy to switch up your nail colour during the trip. I brought along a particular polish to wear to the wedding we were in Bali to attend and these wipes were terrific for whipping off my bright holiday colour to reapply something more wedding-appropriate!

My current  favourite foundation is sadly housed in a hefty glass jar (thanks Revlon!) so I knew I needed some of these little Manicare travel pots to scoop some out into. It meant that I could still rely on my favourite base product without having to worry about smashing a glass full of foundation during my trip, and it also worked well for my Origins Drink-Up Intensive Overnight Mask and my Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner which I brought in my skincare bag.

As always, I had to bring some bits from my stash of French wonder products - a travel sized La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP Body Balm which came in handy for keeping my arms moisturised in the air conditioned villa, and the Uriage Bariederm Reconstructive Barrier Cream which was used as a chafing cream and to prevent sweat rash in the heat.

Do you bring products like this when you travel to a tropical climate?
I'd love to hear what your travel essentials are?
-Emma x

Anniversary Weekend Away : Curated Travel Skincare

Mister Bovary and I returned last night from a long weekend in the city to celebrate our first wedding anniversary - it's amazing to think it was a whole year ago that I walked down the aisle and celebrated with all of our family, and so funny to think that I've not yet posted any wedding snaps/details here on the blog! I wonder if that is something you would find interesting? But I digress; I wanted to share with you the curated travel skincare I brought along with me for our 3 night stay in Melbourne, as I am quite proud of all of the travel-sized and mini products I saved up for the occasion!

Quite a simplistic routine was on the agenda for a busy weekend of sightseeing, romantic dinners and the like, so I brought along a few bits for makeup removal and the basic staples for everything else.

• Neutrogena Make-Up Removing Cleansing Towelettes
• Bioderma Crealine H2O 20ml
• Bioderma Sebium H2O 10ml
• Chanel Gentle Biphase Eye Makeup Remover 10ml
• Bioderma Cotton Rounds
• Dermalogica Precleanse 30ml
• Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel
• Bioderma Sebium AKN Purifying Corrective Care
• Origins Drink-Up Intensive Overnight Mask (decanted into pot)
• OPI Avojuice Coconut Melon Lotion

I had been squirreling away my baby skincare bits for this trip and another we have mid-November, and it made such a difference to the weight of my overnight bag! Mister was very impressed with my restraint and thought the stash very cute, and I was pleased that I used everything I brought with me bar the Chanel remover (used Bioderma instead!) and the Bioderma Crealine (the 10ml Sebium sachet lasted the whole trip so I didn't need to reach for it) I have another post detailing the makeup I brought along with me forthcoming and I must say I did very well with packing for this weekend away.

 

How do you fare when it comes to packing for short trips?

What is the most romantic date you've ever been on?

-Emma

Sea Buckthorn from Southern Tuscany // Weleda Organic Body Lotions

The first thing I thought when this travel set of Weleda lotions hit my desk was ‘Sea Buckthorn? What!?’ I had never heard of the ingredient before, and after researching it I found out that it is very high in vitamin C! Weleda sources theirs from the mountain regions of Southern Tuscany, which definitely added to the exotic appeal of the tangy orange lotion. I had entered an Echolife competition to win this travel set of lotions and promptly forgotten about my entry, so was pleased when I found out I had won!

 I was even more pleased to find out how soft these lotions made my skin. I typically use them on my arms day and night, and though they are lotions they are quite thick and take a while to sink in, you really have to rub at them. I didn’t mind as I tend to use them while in front of a YouTube video, and they leave the softest skin behind so the work pays off. The Wild Rose scent is a bit too full on for my taste, but the Pomegranate and Citrus scents are refreshing and different to the usual scents I see on the market. Sea Buckthorn is definitely my favourite from the quartet, and I am pleased to report that the lotions are all natural, vegan, are not tested on animals and are free from parabens. Weleda, pat on the back!

The Weleda Travel Lotion pack retails for $24.90 with free shipping at Echolife!

 

 

*I won this pack from Echolife and opinions are my own. Honesty, always!

Sydney Skincare // What I Packed for IMATS & BBU

As those of you who follow me on Twitter (here!) would know, I spent the last week in Sydney to attend IMATS and Beauty Blogger Utopia. IMATS is a trade show for makeup artists that travels the world and is a haven for makeup lovers, while BBU was organised by Makeup Utopia and is a beauty bloggers conference to learn more about both beauty and blogging, while spending time with likeminded folk. I was a good girl and took care of my skin while on holiday, and thought I'd share what I took with me!

Oh, there is also some haircare and body care in there, but ya know they have skin too!

I knew that this wasn't going to be like my tropical holidays where I take basics and make do. I wanted my skin to look its best for the weekend, but as luck would have it my skin decided to be a little shit anyway. At least I tried my best! As you can see a lot of these are sample or travel sized products, most of which I use at home but some I just brought because of their size. A sidenote, the tub of Alpha-H is actually my Kerastase Nectar Thermique sachets decanted ;) Cheeky!

It is only when I get my skincare together for its family photo that I realise how French-heavy it is-what can I say, I love the stuff! Kiehls is also heavily featured (though most was left at home for this holiday) and I am enjoying trawling through their products and finding what my skin likes to snuggle with. The Bioderma Sebium H2O is similar to the Crealine cleansing water but contains more ingredients, colour etc and is therefore not eye safe. I decanted some of my (crappy) Garnier eye makeup remover to use on the eye area as a substitute but it leaked before we even left for the airport! I went to a store and bought some Clinique dual phase eye makeup remover to replace it and I am impressed so far.

Had to bring one of my Haus of Gloi sample pots along for the ride, I used this a lot while lounging around in the hotel room and the Ghost Puffs scent is approved by Chris' nostrils as well as mine! The Jurlique mask tube is neverending, it's the Intense Recovery mask and I use it to hydrate (and say sorry to my skin if I have a glass of champers!) I couldn't go anywhere without my Mario Badescu goodies, I pop the Drying Lotion on any spots before they erupt to make them vacate, and I use the Buffering Lotion every second evening to stop the bumpy skin action from happening!

 

So this turned into a skincare ramble (I love to read these, hope you do too!) but if you would like to know details of products I took with me, ask away in the comments below and I can elaborate (ie chat away some more with you!)

 

Hope your skin is lookin' ace today!