I was so excited to be invited to the rewardStyle conference this year in Dallas, Texas. They hosted an incredible event and I felt so lucky to meet so many talented individuals. Personal highlights (and fan-girl moments for me) included meeting the lovely ladies from Beauty Professor, Liana Beauty, Essie Button, Fleur de Force – all of whom I’ve followed and admired for years. I didn’t get as many pictures as I had hoped during all the excitement but if you search for #rsthecon on Instagram you can see snapshots of the past weekend’s events from those who attended.
Many have asked for me to share what I brought with me on my trip. For me packing is somewhat of an ordeal and I’m in awe of those who travel frequently. I usually bring what will fit into my Bobbi Brown travel case which helps me limit what I bring and keeps everything organized. This case was one of the first gifts my husband gave to me when were dating in our early 20’s. (Black version is not currently available, but there is a gold Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood Train case version available.) All liquids are usually stored in a clear quart sized bag. If you have any travel beauty tips I would love to hear what they are. It always pains me that I can’t bring what I love for hair and skincare. My skin often turns into a nightmare-ish wreck by the end of my trip (no matter how short).
For this 4 day trip I was totally unorganized with my beauty. I packed in a rush, didn’t plan in advance and ended up with duplicate brushes, tools, way too many eyeliners and highlighting products. How this fit in one case is a mystery to me, but it did. Be warned this is a lot. I’ll be sure to tell you which items I actually used.
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- Giorgio Armani Regenessence Lotion – I keep a mini sized container from one of the many gift with purchase events, I use it to refill with the full-sized version of toner when I travel
- Caudalie Lip Conditioner – easy to apply without having to use fingers (review here)
- Caudalie Cleansing Water – part of the favorites set (review here)
- Moroccan Oil – a must-have for me, although it didn’t quite help with the Texas humidity (review here)
- Chanel Makeup Remover decanted into a mini size container
- Ole Henriksen Truth Serum – part of The Works Set, I’ve been testing this for several months now and have added it to my daily skincare routine, I apply under moisturizer and found the serum helps extend the wear of my foundation and keeps moisture in better
- Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation – also part of The Works Set, love these travel/trial sized sets (review on the full set to come soon, more value deal and trial sized beauty options here)
- Caudalie Divine Oil – mini version (review here)
- Lancome Visionnaire Blur (press sample tube) – helped blend out my skin freak outs from travel a bit smoother (see review here)
- SK-II Facial Treatment Cleanser squeezed into a small container
- Chanel minis of Le Weekend and Sublimage Texture Fine
- Edward Bess Bronzer in Daydream (original version)
- MAC Skinfinish in Fairly Precious – the perfect pink glowy highlighter, so surprised that it is still online at Nordstrom! (review here)
- Tom Ford Flush Blush – bright but natural coral peach with a hint of shimmer
- Chanel Les Beiges 20 – review here
- Edward Bess Mousse Foundation in Light scooped into a small recycled container (now available at Neiman Marcus)
- Dolce and Gabbana Powder Foundation in Warm 100 – my holy grail of all powder foundations (review here)
- By Terry Cellularose Blush Glace in Frozen Petal 3 – the perfect natural glowy peachy color in a gel blush formula with long wear (these sell out on a weekly basis both online and in store, it took me several months to track down all three shades)
- Cle de Peau Concealer in Beige – the only concealer I’ve ever repurchased
- Tom Ford Foundation Stick in Bisque 04 – check out my review and swatches here
- Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation in 30 – detailed swatches and review here
- NARS Matte Multiple in Vientiane – swatches on contouring discoveries here
- Edward Bess Afterglow Illuminator Compact – my all time favorite glow product, I’ve hit pan multiple times with this one
- NARS 413Blkr Illuminator in a mini Chanel sample container
- Tom Ford Fire Lust in a mini Chanel sample container (another one I didn’t use, but review from last year’s version here)
- NARS Narsissist Eye Palette – the only eyeshadow I brought with me, this palette did it all for me, I didn’t use all the colors, only 7 of the shades were used during this trip, but I found it served me well as a one palette to do-it-all kind of thing, many have asked if I found issues with pigment or application, I found them to be very good in quality, the matte shades were a bit difficult to get a large brush in but I swished it around (let me know if you want a full detailed review in the comments)
- NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner in Via Appia – part of my eye essentials post here
- Chanel Le Stylo Yeux in Ambre Dore (new for spring, review soon)
- Chanel Le Stylo Yeux in Santal – swatched here
- Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara Stretch – part of my eye essentials post here
- Edward Bess Illuminating Eye Base in Suede – reviews here and here
- RMS Cream Shadow in Solar – review here and here
- Chanel Illusion d’Ombre in New Moon – new for summer, review soon
- Chanel Illusion d’Ombre in Initiation – review here (note it’s being discontinued)
- Chanel Tutti Frutti Le Vernis for Summer – review soon
- YSL Rouge Volupte Shine in Pink in Confidence – swatches here
- Tom Ford Pink Lust Lip Lacquer – limited from last year, swatches here
- Dior Addict Fluid Stick in Frisson – recent review/swatches here
- Dior Addict Fluid Stick in Tiny Pink – recent review/swatches here
- Dior Addict Gloss Bed of Roses – recent swatches here
A few more snapshots of my makeup mess scattered throughout the week, let me know if you want the breakdown of the tools I brought, I kinda just threw a bunch of random clean tools into my makeup box before I left.
Recap of what I used: Aside from the staples (mascara, foundation, powder, skincare) I found I got plenty of use of the NARS Eye Palette, Chanel Illusion d’Ombres, MAC Fairly Precious, Edward Bess Daydream and Tom Ford Flush blush.
What I could have skipped: I could have skipped all but one eyeliner, most of my tools were redundant, I probably only needed 5 brushes at most. I had highlighter overload as well and grabbed a bunch of minis that I had made over the past few weeks.
What I wish I brought: More skincare, more hair care products. Next time I need to do better planning with finding or collecting small sample containers that I can use for travel. Also I rarely use mattifying products – the warm humid weather wasn’t something I was used to in Dallas and definitely needed something to help keep the face more matte.
Do you travel a lot for work or fun? What are your beauty travel packing tips? Do you have a checklist to help plan or a travel pouch that helps organize and limit what you bring with you? Or are you the kind of person that checks bags so contents/limits don’t matter?
I’m all ears for your tips, tricks and experiences. I haven’t had to travel frequently in the past but it’s on my list to do this year (for fun of course). If you want to see what I brought on past trips, click on the TRAVEL tag below the post.
Quick update for those who asked about my Bobbi Brown train case, there is a luxury Gold Old Hollywood version available now (quite pricey), the one I have is from over 10 years ago, keep an eye out for similar versions around holiday or seasonal releases. For now a few other suggestions below.
