What’s In My Bag: DC Travel Edition

Hello my loves,

If you’ve been following me on social media (shameless plug below) then you’ll know I’m in the midst of my grand tour of America. I found a moment to calculate and reflect and have concluded that out of this entire month I’ll be traveling for 25 days on 3 Trips through 3 Time Zones and 4 States. As I write this I’m miles in the sky headed back home from the other side of the country, continent even, returning from my first leg of these trips in Washington DC.

I went as a participant of the NCCWSL conference held by AAUW and if we’re friends on any social platform I’m sure you’ve seen bits and pieces. It was a humbling, educational, and thought provoking series of days and I’m so grateful to have gotten this opportunity to bond with a sisterhood of women. I will probably be doing a full blog post later so stay tuned! If you’re still not convinced that you should follow me, I’ll leave some pictures below to show you what you’ve been missing, and more importantly I’m a few followers shy of 1k on Instagram. Growing my social media has been an incredibly frustrating and difficult process, so this small milestone would mean the world to me. Once we hit that magic number I’m planning a special giveaway so go, go, go!

Unfortunately though since life has been incredibly eventful, as always, the content I’ve planned on putting up had to be switched around. Instead, I’ve thrown together an impromptu “What’s In My Travel Makeup Bag”, summer / minimal (for a chronic over packer) edition. I haven’t put one together since last summer and I figure with everyone traveling soon, this would be as good as a time as any. Also, my last version was catered more towards the obsessed makeup junkies like myself and I feel like this more simplistic bag is more suited for all types of travellers. It is also more summer friendly with lighter base and heavy duty primer options! I hope you find this helpful for your packing needs and let me know where you’re traveling in a comment below!

 

Ps: I apologize for the ugly photo backgrounds. We stayed in the dorms at University of Maryland for the conference so I didn’t have very many aesthetically pleasing options.

Other Ps: I apologize in advance for the number of times that you are going to read the word “travel” so brace yourselves.

Primers:

(I forgot to put the last two in this picture, but they’re pictured elsewhere in this post).

• Lancome La Base– This is one of the best bases I’ve found that prolongs makeup wear time, even under extreme heat. It’s pricey but if you want a stay put base and are willing to invest, give it a go.
• Smashbox Photofinish Blemish Control– I don’t know about you, but in the summer when my skin is oilier, I’m prone to more acne. This primer contains salicylic acid which works to treat acne while priming the face. This is also the travel size which is convenient for this exact purpose.
• Urban Decay Primer Potion– This is the baby sample version and is the perfect size just for this. This is just my standard eye primer which helps prolong the wear of eyeshadow colors, especially when they are prone to smudging off during the warmer months.
• Coloupop Lippie Stix Primer– For these warmer months I’ve been favoring a lighter eye look with a statement lip to keep the amount of labor down. If you don’t spend 10 minutes just blending to get that perfect crease transition, that’s 10 more minutes for summer adventures, am I right? Anyways, since I’ve been frequenting this style, a lip primer helps prolong the weartime and prevent feathering for lipsticks, which is handy when you’re attempting to taste everything on the menu while on vacation.

 

Base Products:

Note- I’m trying out a few different bases at the moment, and also dealing with trying to make makeup stay in a humid environment for the first time. I recommend either one or a pair of these options.

• It Cosmetics CC+ Cream– After my last favorites post I mentioned that I was going to pick up the full size of the It Cosmetics CC Cream, however I found the next shade up to be too dark, so I decided to try something new (see below). I found it to be the slightest bit too light coverage for me though so I decided to go up half a shade in that and then buy another mini of the It Cosmetics to mix in and get a happy medium. This has a very high SPF content, great ingredients, serum texture, and a nice medium-full coverage. If you can find it in your shade and you are religious cake face girl (me!) but want a lighter option, give this a go.
• L’Oreal Lumi Cushion Foundation– This was in a past favorites post as well and this is a repurchase. It is great for on the go since the compact makes it easy to transport, less messy, and has a mirror and puff right at your disposal. This is great for touch ups (especially if you find yourself in humid or hot weather) or on its own. It’s a very lightweight liquid and provides a medium to medium-full coverage. I’m not sure if it has SPF though.
• Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue– This was a recommendation from LucieLeanneXo’s post and this is a solid summer base for your everyday gal. It has a medium coverage, is a lightweight mousse texture, contains SPF 30, and has a wider selection of undertones and shades to choose from than the It Cosmetics.
• Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer– This mini size is a nice leightweight formula that provides a full coverage. This shade is light enough that I can subtly highlight under the eyes but still within my shade range that I can also spot treat. I recommend bringing a shade that can do double duty like this one to save on space.

 

Setting Products:

• Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray– In the heat, setting spray is a must. It not only locks your makeup into place, but it’s also really refreshing. I just refill this mini size periodically, or you can even get those small spray bottles in the travel section at Target.
• Tarte Smooth Operator Powder– This is my go to setting powder. It helps mattify the skin and keep oil at bay to prolong makeup wear.

Eyeshadow:

• Tartelette in Bloom Palette– This palette has been a favorite for a while and I reach for it consistently. It is a majority warm toned but it has a great shade selection of lights, mediums, and darks. There’s a few shimmers which are absolutely gorgeous and so buttery smooth and the rest are mattes which are great for blending. This palette worked well for me because it had enough variety to go from day to night and as I said before, I was focusing primarily on the lips instead of the eyes so I allowed my self to travel light with just one neutral palette. When you’re traveling, already have an idea in your head of a few of the goals you want to accomplish with your makeup so that way you can plan accordingly.

 

Miscellaneous Eye Products:

• Kat Von D Tattoo Liner– This baby size is from a gift with purchase bag, so I’m not sure how to get this size otherwise, but it’s a good size to take traveling nonetheless. Usually if there is a gift with purchase that has a miniature of some of my favorite products that I know I like, I try to get them in order to have a size for on the go. This is my standby liquid liner. It’s a rich black and stays on FOREVER! I like the formula for travel since it is so budge proof that you don’t have to worry about it coming off if you’re traveling to warmer climates.
• Colourpop Brow Pencil– I’ve been trying several new brow products lately and this is what I’ve been gravitating towards out of what I’ve been trying. I prefer a brow pencil for travel because you have everything you need in one product: the pencil and the spoolie on the other end.
• Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara– I just started using this after pulling it out of my backup drawer the other day and I LOVE this stuff. This is the first drugstore mascara I’ve found to hold a curl really well and give me a ton of length and definition! This is the waterproof version as well which is great for traveling since you don’t have to worry about it smudging.

 

Cheek Products:

• Makeup Revolution Sugar & Spice Blush palette– Typically, I don’t bring a ton of blush options unless I know I’m going to be doing both cool and warm toned looks, but the size of this palette is very convenient for travel. It does have that variety of warm and cool tones if you need it and two highlights as well. It’s very thin and compact so although it is long, it does not take up any more room than it has too. The reason I mostly brought this for, was for the mirror since it is such a large size. If you are traveling and you don’t know what the mirror situation is going to be, I suggest taking a palette of some sort that has a decent sized one built in.
• Becca Highlight in Opal– This is also a mini size but you can find it in the aisle of doom at Sephora. The other route I take when getting miniatures, is to start off by buying the small size and then seeing how I like it. If I like it enough, I’ll buy the full size and use the smaller for traveling.
• NARS Laguna Bronzer– I also got this in a bag of samples. I would have probably preferred my Too Faced Chocolate Soliel, as the neutral undertone and matte formula make it better for contouring and bronzing, but since I wasn’t going to be doing much contouring on this trip I just threw this in.

 

Lip Products:

• NYX SMLC in Cannes– When I travel I always be sure to bring three lip options: a nude, a pink, and a red. I fell like this gives me the most variety without bringing too many options. This is an ideal nude for me to travel with because the formula is comfortable so I don’t have to worry about flakiness or smudging throughout the day. I was at conferences most of the time in DC and this was a very wearable shade that pulled my daytime looks together.
• Colourpop Lippie Stix in Punky– Fun fact, I dropped the cap while I was in DC so I no longer have the top to this lippie stix haha. Also, it was not the color I had intended on bringing, I was planning on I Heart This, which is my favorite pink of all time, but packing last minute resulted in this. I ended up being able to mix this with the red shade though to get that magenta.
• Colourpop Lippie Stix in Trust Me– This is the new Matte X formula, which means it is a super dry texture. I like this red because the formula gives me a long weartime, perfect for any late nights out.
• NXY Lip Liner in Plum– This is a deep red lip liner that works for both berry and red shades, which is why I like it for it’s dual purpose. I used this liner with Trust Me to stop feathering on the edges.
• Colourpop Lip Liner in I Heart This– Like I said before, I was planning on pairing this with its matching lipstick, but life had other plans. It all worked out, though and this color is absolutely stunning and the formula is very comfortable to wear.

 

 

Alright, I hope you enjoyed taking a peek into my makeup bag for my DC trip. Be sure to let me know if you have any summer vacation plans (or if you’re from down under, any holidays at all) in a comment below!

 

All my love,

Megan

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