Cut Down on Your Beauty Baggage
Heading off on holiday? Here are 5 clever ways to cut down on your beauty baggage. These innovative products will help you streamline your suitcase.
Unless you’re heading off on some kind of digital detox or remote retreat, where makeup is the last thing on your mind, packing for an Autumn escape poses a bit of a conundrum.
You want to look (and smell) good on your holiday, yet you don’t want to be carting away the entire contents of your bathroom cabinet – particularly if all you’ve got to play with is a budget airline’s measly cabin baggage allowance.
Fear not, however, because there are lots of space-saving products and handy tools to help you condense your cosmetics, so you only pack the absolute essentials and can spend less time stressing over your suitcase…
1 Travel-size bottles
The clue is in the name, of course. These mini tubes and bottles never go over the 100mlb airport security limit, but they’re big enough to see you through (depending on the product) a fortnight away.
1> Nuxe My Travel Essentials Gift Set €17.90, visit escentual.com This excellent-value five-piece set from French brand Nuxe features a mini shower gel, cleanser, moisturiser, hand cream and the brand’s cult favourite body oil.
2> Sunday Riley Wake Up With Me Kit €75, visit arnotts.ie Can’t bear to abandon your multi-step skincare routine while on hols? Sunday Riley’s luxurious new six-piece set has everything you need to cleanse, exfoliate, hydrate, brighten, soothe and firm your complexion.
3> Mother Reusables Leaf Freak Bottle €26, visit motherreusables.com Cute but tough, these bottles are perfect for on-the go sipping and can fit neatly into any handbag. Finished with a scratch-resistant matte effect and fitted with a straw for easy sipping.
2 Beauty bars
Not only do they help cut down on plastic packaging, but solid beauty bars are also ideal for travel too, especially if you opt for mini versions.
4> Ethique Tone It Down Shampoo Mini €3.55, visit ethique.co.uk Sustainable beauty brand Ethique has a huge range of 15g mini bars, including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, cleanser and serum.
5> Lush Sleepy Face Naked Cleansing Balm €10, visit lush.com While many skincare bars weigh in at a hefty 100g, all Lush cleansing bars are suitcase-friendly 35g. We love the lavender-scented Sleepy Face.
6> Eco Warrior Mini Cube €9.40, visit littlesoapcompany.co.uk Great for couples, this quartet features shampoo, shaving, cleansing and exfoliating bars in 30g cubes.
7> Faith In Nature Shampoo Bar €6.99, visit inishpharmacy.com Faith in Nature Shampoo bars are handmade, vegan and offer a natural non-plastic alternative to your regular shampoo. They’re also paraben and sulphate free.
3 Portable palettes
There’s no point packing a huge make-up palette when you know you’re not going to use the whole thing. That’s where refillable sets come in really handy.
8> Benecos It-Pieces Pretty Coldpalette €14.99, visit ecco-verde.com The Benecos It-Pieces collection lets you choose up to eight pans to insert into an empty palette (€5.49), from a selection of eyeshadows, powders, blushers, bronzers and highlighters, with refills starting from just €3.49. Alternatively, you can select one of two ready-made palettes.
9> Hourglass Curator 3-Pan Custom Palette €110, visit hourglasscosmetics.com New from Hourglass, curate your own three or five-pan eyeshadow palette, selecting from 40 different wearable shades in matte, satin, metallic or shimmer finishes.
4 Skincare capsules
The ultimate in space-saving chic, individual skincare capsules ensure you don’t take away a drop more product than you need.
10> Eve Lom Cleansing Oil Capsules Travel Pack €23, visit spacenk.com This luxe travel kit provides 14 biodegradable capsules filled with nourishing cleansing oil and a seven-day dispenser.
11> Elizabeth Arden Celebrate With A Twist Ceramide Capsules Set €29.50, visit elizabetharden.com Worth €40, this great value set features four tubes of seven capsules, each containing a different skin-boosting serum from the Elizabeth Arden ceramide range.
5 Perfume decanters
Even small glass perfume bottles are often on the heavy side, and mini versions of fragrances can be over-priced. Take your signature scent on holiday by filling a 5ml atomiser, which equates to around 65 sprays. Solid perfume bars are a great option too, as well as being eco-friendly.
12> Travalo Perfume Pod Spray €6.20, visit escentual.com
13> Travel Perfume Pod in Silver €10, visit boots.ie
14> Arona Solid Perfumes €89, visit aronanaturalfragrance.com