A Beauty Editor's Travel Beauty Essentials

Packing for a holiday is the travel equivalent to getting ready for a night out. It’s the moment your holiday starts to become real - from months of planning and envisioning sundowners on the beach, to deciding what you’re actually going to wear for said sundowners.

With that said, it’s all too easy to let the excitement get the better of your judgement. You start packing six pairs of shoes for a weekend away. You um and ah over that dress - the one you’ve never worn but bring with you on every single trip nevertheless. You pack your hair tongs in case you want to do a beachy wave (you won’t) and get conflicted over which perfumes will be heady in the heat - so pack them all. 

To make things easier - and to avoid excess baggage fees - I’ve put together the ultimate edit of the seven beauty products to take on a summer holiday based on my 10 years experience as a beauty editor and lifetime of being a beauty obsessive (there was a time when I travelled with a minimum of five cosmetic cases - so for a product to have made it down to this list means it must be pretty special). 

Plus, they’re all under 100ml, so are friendly for hand luggage-only travel (and means you can keep them with you at all times to eliminate the risk of them being lost in transit).

Customizable tanning drops

I love tanning drops for a travel-friendly alternative to a full-size mousse or lotion. They are so much more versatile - you can drop them into any medium (your nightly face cream, or even your body lotion) for a subtle, sun-kissed glow, or apply them neat for a ‘tantoured’ effect and add definition wherever desired. 

Awesome Bronze™ Gradual Self-Tanning Drops contain natural DHA with Hyaluronic Acid, prebiotic Banana Flower Extract, resurfacing Red Seaweed (to prevent any streaks), plus super nutrient Spirulina AP, Amino Acids and Oligopeptides (so they’re basically skincare). The healthy glow they create is unmatched (and they don’t have that self tan smell). 

A hardworking SPF

Multitasking products are the name of the game when it comes to packing. You want one product to do the job of two, or even three, to minimize quantities. So when I’m choosing an SPF, it can’t just be SPF. It has to be so much more than that. It has to be broad-spectrum, high SPF (obviously). It has to offer skincare benefits. And ideally, it has to give me some kind of coverage so I can confidently leave my foundation at home (who wants to wear heavy makeup in the heat anyway?)

Luminous Mineral Skin Tint Broad-Spectrum SPF 40 Sunscreen is all of these things. It’s a broad-spectrum mineral sunscreen, with Hyaluronic Acid, antioxidant Vitamins C & E, Freshwater Microalgae to help firm, plus Polyphenols, Phospholipids and AHAs to help smooth, illuminate and protect. And, it has the most radiant, skin-perfecting tint to it. It’s SPF perfection. 

A one-cream-wonder moisturizer 

Speaking of multitasking products, your moisturizer should be able to cover all bases for a week or so while you’re away. It needs to provide multiple benefits, including being able to provide enough hydration for parched skin without being so heavy that it makes you feel greasy. 

Super Healthy Skin™ Daily Moisture Lotion is my ultimate summer skincare staple. It’s a multi-active skin-boosting super-lotion packed with youth-boosters, hyper-hydrators, Shea Butter, powerful Plant Stem Cells, antioxidants and Physavie to help fight inflammation. It’s great on all skin types, even when your skin is feeling a little sensitive from the sun. I even use it as hand cream and on any areas prone to dryness (elbows, ankles and knees). And it works in perfect tandem with tanning drops. 

A pop of colour

Another great way to condense your beauty stash is with a multipurpose pop of color, i.e. a product that can be used on your lips and cheeks. The new Jelly Lip & Cheek Shot in Raspberry Crush is exactly that; it delivers an instant pick-me-up to lips and cheeks and is supremely blendable and buildable. I love doing a really intense stain on my lips with a sheer wash on cheeks. 

Oil it up

This may be my ultimate penny-drop holiday beauty moment. I always used to pack so many hair products and tools to try and ward off any holiday hair hazards (humidity is not my friend). I realised, instead, it would be far easier - and better for my hair - to embrace holiday hair and go for a slicked back, wet-look using an abundance of hair oil. Not only does it look oh-so-chic (leave it tousled and loose on the beach, and comb it back for a sleek updo come evening) but it also protects and nourishes my hair rather than damage it further. 

The Super Healthy Hair™ Seven Oil Hair Elixir has Macadamia, Jojoba, Peach Kernel, Rosehip, Wheat Germ, Olive and Rice Oils for smoother, shinier, softer, healthier looking hair that also smells incredible. 

Waterproof Mascara 

For everyday, I love tubing mascaras but when it comes to holidays, I always switch to a waterproof mascara. The last thing you want to be thinking about on the beach is whether or not your eye makeup has smudged - and our The Perfect™ Waterproof Mascara really doesn’t, ever. It’s literally unbudgeable. And it delivers natural volume and beautiful separation so it’s an all round winner. 

Sheet Mask Saviors

Not only do they not take up any space, they’re also a great way of delivering powerful ingredients to your skin as a hydrating quick-fix. Plus, they’re fun. I always pack a few of the Japanfusion™ 10-Minute-Miracle Sheet Mask - it’s infused with Plant Squalane, Phospholipids and hypoallergenic White Mushroom Polysaccharides (which is more hydrating than Hyaluronic Acid). I use one on each flight and keep one in keep in case of emergencies (i.e. accidental sun exposure).