Your Best Makeup Travel Tips

Planning to Travel?

The holidays are just around the corner! This is a popular time for millions of Americans to travel. Packing your bags and jetting off somewhere? Or maybe just hitting the road? Regardless of how or where you plan to travel, consider these 5 tips for packing your cruelty-free makeup essentials to effectively and efficiently (and dare we say flawlessly?) conquer the Labor Day look.

1. Pack the Compacts

Rather than carting around messy, loose powders, an array of various makeup brushes, and tiny mirrors – which are never locatable in the cosmetic bag – pack compact products instead. Some products come equipped with travel brushes and mirrors that eliminate the disarray and the mess of a cosmetics bag or purse cluttered with free-floating colors and tools.

2. Neutral Shadows, Colored LinersSaving space is commonly the goal when traveling any sort of distance, and especially when limiting yourself to carry-on only. But it’s not easy! We can sympathize. But one way to cut down on packing bulk is to de-volume your makeup bag – here’s how: pack one or two neutral eye shadows (a lighter tone for all over color and a darker complement for adding drama) and a few colored eyeliners. Not only are colored liners an easy way to ramp up your look, they occupy very little space in the makeup bag. Plus, no mess!

3. Ditch The Liquid FoundationWe’ve all been there – you carefully secure all of your liquid cosmetics in perfectly TSA approved quantities, tuck them nicely away in your carry on bag and take off…You land, reach for a touch up, and boom! Foundation makeup everywhere. Rather than risking the mess of a liquid-gone-bad, pack a cream, face foundation as an alternative. No TSA restrictions will keep this foundation from travelling, and thankfully, rapid air pressure changes won’t incite an eruption. Not to mention, it’s a compact – mirror and applicator included.

Two Lipsticks, Two Lip Glosses

You have dozens of lip colors – more than you could likely wear in a month – so how to narrow it down for a long weekend? We know, it’s hard. But trust us on this one, you need not bring more than four colors – just four – two bold lipsticks and two lip glosses. Choose one, bold lip color (a classic red, fun pink, or trendy orange) and one neutral (your favorite beige-y pink should do the trick). In addition, choose one gloss to wear over each. Simple as that! You’ll have glossy sheer or bold pigmented options for any occasion.

Don’t Take All of Your Favorites!The fifth and final tip is quite possibly the most important. Never, and we repeat never, put all of your favorites in the same bag. It’s tempting (we know) to pack all of your go-to’s, your faves, your #1’s for a weekend away (gotta look great in the pics, after all). But consider this, on average 1 in 150 airline travelers lose their luggage. That 1 could be you and it could also be your makeup (eek!). Instead of risking having to re-buy an entire makeup wardrobe, try packing the essentials, but those you could potentially live without. Always better to be safe!

Happy Holidays!

Look forward to looking great this holiday season with Cate McNabb’s natural makeup products!