Today I’m sharing what makeup I packed for a week of travel in December to California! I’ve also included a closer look at three of my favorite makeup bags that I’ve used numerous times for travel. When it comes to travel and makeup I bring more than I need because I’m always testing products even when I’m on vacation! I don’t always manage to blog or post reviews while I’m on-the-go but behind the scenes I’m always testing and trying out product. For those who want to know sweater worn above is the Everlane Cashmere Crew in Light Oatmeal, size I ordered is XS and it’s a perfect fit! The customer reviews online helped me decide what size to pick based on height and weight.
My recent travel skincare favorites are in this post here. Today’s roundup is all about makeup! I fit most of my makeup into 3 key makeup bags that I have used on many trips including:
- The Daily Edited Transparent Travel Case $90 (original version, current one has a wider leather strip on one side)
- The Daily Edited Large Cosmetic Case $120
- Truffle Clarity Jetset Case $88
All three pouches are ones I bought myself and since I ordered them the prices have gone up. If you see different prices on older posts it’s because they have changed! I do think they were all worth the price because all three have held up really well. If you click on the Travel Packing category you can see what I’ve packed on previous trips. I also usually bring a few of the cute Glossier Pouches that come with online orders because they’re nice to have to protect compacts or fragile items.
Beauty spill of items I packed. I brought my Dyson Supersonic Dryer with me because we were going to be staying with family for a large portion of the trip. Both of them were our brothers who have short hair and don’t use dryers because they don’t need to! For brushes I brought the T3 Vented Brush with me.
Truffle Jetset Clarity Case
An overwhelming number of you asked me about the photo I posted on Instagram above, in particular you wanted to know what brand of makeup bag held all the brushes and if they were full size or travel size tools. I always tag items in Instagram photos so all you have to do is tap the photo once to see brand tags. This one is the Truffle Jetset Clarity Case. It measures 7.5 x 5.25 x 2 inches and has one open compartment inside. The top and base has a clear plastic window so you can see what’s inside. I’m able to fit a lot inside, I have a bag spill of everything I was able to put in it.
All the brushes I brought are the full size options. Lately I’ve been really loving the Laura Mercier Makeup Brushes*. She redesigned them sometime last year and they’re what I’ve been reaching for the most. They’re synthetic and pick up powders really well for smooth application. I still also really love Wayne Goss Makeup Brushes* because they’re ultra soft and well made. Mine have held up over a few years and many washes. I’ve reviewed them here and here.
Other makeup products I fit inside include the:
- Pat McGrath Perma Precision Liquid Liner
- L’Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara Waterproof
- Tom Ford Waterproof Extreme Mascara
- Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Stick in Rosegold
- Sisley Waterproof Eyeliners x2*
- Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk
- Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel
- Anastasia Tweezers
- MAC Eyelash Curler
The Daily Edited Transparent Travel Case
I also really love The Daily Edited Transparent Cases which are a great dupe for the Anya Hindmarch Inflight cases, both compared and reviewed here.
It has two zippered compartments, one is deeper than the other. In the top I’m able to stack 2 Hourglass palettes, shadows and several foundations. If you’re packing liquids you’ll most likely have to put this into checked luggage. The bottom fit some Armani eyeshadow singles and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Palette perfectly.
Things packed inside include:
- 2 Hourglass 6-pan Palettes (holiday 2018 editions reviewed here and here)
- Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in 6.5
- Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Foundation* in Buff
- Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (review here)
- NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger
- Armani Eyes to Kill Stellar Eyeshadows x4
- Hourglass Scattered Light Eyeshadows x5 (review here)
- Anastasia Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette
- NARS Velvet Lip Glide in Roseland (review here)
- Fenty Beauty Gloss Bombs in Fenty Glow and Fussy (beauty looks here)
- Hourglass Arch Brow Tinted Brow Gel in Soft Brunette*
- Tom Ford Boys and Girls Lipstick in River (review here)
- Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in Pillow Talk
The Daily Edited Large Cosmetic Case
I’ve owned The Daily Edited Large Cosmetic Case one for a long time now and after using it on many trips and several moves I still find it’s one of my favorites. You can monogram these and I’ve picked the smaller size font sometimes with the blind embossing instead of the gold. A number of you have asked for a review on the Cuyana Makeup bags which I still plan on doing, but for this trip I wanted to bring ones I knew would work for me. This one is roomy and sturdy for all a number of things I want to bring. I sometimes pack a couple to separate and organize products.
Inside this one:
- Atelier Travel Size Colognes, I love their Vanilla Insensee and Bois Blond for this time of year
- Urban Decay All Nighter Spray (mine was from a GWP), but they do have the travel size option with 1 oz/30 ml available individually
- IGK Jet Lag Dry Shampoo (mine is the mini)
- Kopari Coconut Deodorant Mini (full size reviewed here)
- Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Glow Powder*
- Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in Diamond Milk (on the lips here)
- Moroccanoil Treatment mini size
- Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quad in Honeymoon
- Clinique Take the Day Off (also from a GWP)
- La Mer Pressed Powder
- Chanel La Creme Main Hand Cream
- Tatcha Mini Lipstick
One last look:
Overall I think I packed everything I could have possibly needed for this trip. We tend to travel and dress casually otherwise I would have brought some bolder lip colors. I could have packed a lot more lip gloss or lipstick but I felt like I kept reaching for the light and glossy gloss bombs from Fenty Beauty. The IGK Jet Lag Dry Shampoo was a life saver for me. I’m one who prefers to wash my hair daily but there were a couple days we were so tired by the end of the day all I could do was wash my face before passing out and falling into a deep sleep. The dry shampoo was great for 2nd and 3rd day hair in the mild California climate.
Hope you liked this post! Do you have any go-to travel makeup bags? When I traveled with a couple girl friends I was really surprised to see they use these large canvas zip organizers that unfold and hang to fit all their beauty needs. It literally fits EVERYTHING inside. I like to keep my things separated in little pouches but perhaps I need to investigate the larger beauty organizers for travel.
Press samples have a * next to them. All other items purchased on my own.










I can’t get over how gorgeous that Hourglass palette is!❤️
Arianna | Southernbelleforever.com
Dumb question…using the Daily Edit for your make up brushes and finding the case covered in make up powder when you get home? I use a dedicated make up brush cylinder for my brushes when traveling but it is a bit smaller than I would like. How messy are the cases when you get home?
Hi Sunny, the powder from brushes will transfer to any bag, but it’s easy to clean! Sometimes I bring a tiny bottle of the spray brush cleaner that you can find at Sephora for quick cleans on the go. When I got home the bag wasn’t too dirty. Also I keep my beautyblender in the case while traveling so foundation doesn’t get anywhere.
Loving these. Do you prefer that particular bag just for brushes? I have missed ya’ll! I got my dream job. A concierge!
CONGRATS!!!!
I traveled to Asia for three weeks over the holidays and did something similar to you:
1. The Daily Edited transparent case for cosmetics — makeup in the deep side and brushes in the bottom compartment. I challenged myself to limit my color products to what would fit into the deeper compartment and ended up using maybe a third of them, haha. This really makes me think I can get rid of so much and just stick with the tried and tested!
2. The Space NK clear travel bag, similar to your Truffle one for all my skincare — minis or decanted into travel sized pots/bottles.
https://www.spacenk.com/us/en_US/accessories/bag/bag/space-nk-travel-bag-UK200021539.html
3. The Cuyana Leather travel case set — the large one for bath toiletries and the small one for meds and first aid items.
Thanks for sharing! I always enjoy your packing posts. 🙂
You sound like THE expert packer! Love that you challenge and limit yourself to bring only what fits inside your pouches. I do that too 🙂
I’m going to have to check out the Cuyana Travel set, the one I bought seems a little too small for my overpacking self.
Best make up collection. You are so organized!
Thank you Laurence!
I’m bummed by the price increase on the transparent cases without any major upgrades…. but dang it they are still on my to buy list before a trip I have in May! 😂At least it seems like yours has lasted well!
They occasionally have promos/sales during holiday weekends and such. I know we’re all overwhelmed with email lists, but if you’re subscribed to either brand’s newsletter you’ll get the alerts whenever they have sales.
I definitely want to get the Black/Clear TDE case when I am finally able to travel again. I do wince quite a bit at the price point (I have the Sephora Collection Weekender case in black from a while back and that was under $40 but they only make ugly, hyper-printed versions of it now…) but if it holds up for long term use I think it could be worth it.
The price is definitely a splurge!
I’m a carry on traveler unless I absolutely must check my bag (there’s just some trips where your stuff won’t fit into a carry on size) so I rarely use my hanging case anymore.
I had the TDE case on my radar but was never able to get one, they always seemed to be on backorder or preorder or something weird like that. And the prices kept going up, so I gave in and got one of those small Away travel cases when they had that sale that was too good to skip, I haven’t used it yet (thanks to the furlough my January trip was cancelled) but I envision being able to put everything in there that isn’t liquid. It’s a decent size, too! I think the case exterior will be good at keeping the contents from getting crushed and it’s big enough to fit everything I need along with something to keep stuff from bouncing around–like a microfiber face cloth.
Yes, the TDE is frequently sold out 🙁 Sometimes they have the preorder option available!
You’re so organized! I really like this post and your neat style 😊 by the way, I’m in love with the TDE case 😍
I love the bags that you store the makeup and brushes in!
http://www.upyourvlog.com
You are so organized!, I had dupe of Anya H. bag as well and really love it.