Carry-On Makeup Must-Haves To Pack When Travelling Light

Building a travel makeup routine is all about organisation and prioritisation. Most of your precious packing time is spent deciding which products you’ll have to leave at home and which ones you’ll have to decant into smaller containers. It’s rough. But you don’t always have to compromise when it comes to carry-on makeup! There are ways that you can bring all of your essential items without going over those dreaded liquid and weight limits. Here’s how…

Primer

Most primers come in liquid form, which is not ideal when you’re trying to minimise the amount of liquid items you’re packing. Luckily, the NYX Professional Makeup Blurring Vitamin E Infused Pore Filler Face Primer Stick avoids this issue.

Not only is it a solid, it’s also not as chunky as some other stick primers like the Milk Makeup Blur Stick or the Revolution Pro Blur Stick. This means it takes up very little space in your luggage!

Foundation

If I need to save space, I’ll usually skip primer and go straight in with foundation. Using a silicone-based moisturiser tends to smoothen your skin anyway, so if you’re really tight on space I would recommend just packing this instead!

Foundation-wise, I’d either pick a cushion compact – you can find my top cushion foundations for oily skin here – or a smallish liquid foundation that would be easy to pack.

For my upcoming holiday I’m bringing the Typology Tinted Serum with me – read my review here. But previously I have opted for the YSL Fusion Ink Cushion Foundation, just because it’s so portable.

Concealer

Concealer already comes in a pretty small tube, so – if possible – I recommend packing the one you normally use. It’s always the worst when you bring a new product on holiday with you and it’s the complete wrong shade/consistency so I think it’s best to play it safe with this one.

I’m taking the tried and tested Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I find this one to be great for covering both dark circles and redness so it’s definitely going in my travel makeup bag.

Powder

Translucent powder is a must if you know you’re not going to be able to touch up your makeup throughout the day. I really like the Rimmel Kind & Free Pressed Powder because not only is it super affordable, it’s pretty firm too, meaning that it’s not likely to crack or break as you’re lugging your stuff around.

Bronzer

When travelling, you want to keep everything as compact as possible. The Benefit Hoola bronzer makes this possible by having its own little brush that sits within the case. I find this so handy as it means I don’t have to pack extra tools and accessories in my already space-limited bag.

You can buy this in a mini size too, but unfortunately I think this is only an option for the original Hoola bronzer. I still think the full size version is totally travel appropriate though! My Hoola Lite fits perfectly in my tiny makeup bag!

Blush

As much as I want to bring my Glossier Cloud Paint, I’ve decided to swap this out in favour of a powder blush. Where possible I’ve tried to avoid liquids in my travel makeup routine, and this is one of those products that works equally well in cream or powder form.

The Benefit Galifornia blush is one of my all-time faves – it’s amazing for achieving that healthy, summer glow. And, what’s even better is that – like the bronzer – you can buy this in a travel size form to save even more space.

Eyeshadow

I tend to keep my eye makeup fairly light and natural when I’m travelling, so a full size eyeshadow palette would not be an effective use of space in my carry-on case. Instead, I’d go for a one-pot product like the Charlotte Tilbury Eyes To Mesmerise Cream Eyeshadows or a small eyeshadow quad like these NARS ones.

For some drugstore alternatives, check out the Rimmel London HD 5 Pan Eyeshadow palettes or the Revlon Colorstay 16 Hour Eyeshadow Quad. These are both the perfect size for sticking in your makeup bag.

Mascara

Like concealer, I don’t think it’s worth switching out your regular mascara since most of the time they contain less than 10ml product anyway. However, I would say that you’ll want to carefully consider the type of mascara you bring. If you’re going somewhere rainy or extremely humid, choose a waterproof mascara that will withstand these conditions.

Brow gel

Instead of packing 5 different brow products, I’d condense them into one great brow gel. This way you can still get the desired colour, shape and definition for your eyebrows, but without wasting all that makeup bag space.

My favourite at the moment is the Bobbi Brown Natural Brow Shaper and Hair Touch Up. It looks so soft and natural!

Lipstick

When it comes to lip products, I’d choose just one neutral shade that will match any makeup look you try to create. For me this a kind of rosey pink that complements my natural skin tone. So I’d generally go for something like the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk lipstick or the Max Factor Colour Elixir lipstick in Nude Rose.

What are your carry-on makeup must-haves? Let me know in the comments.

And, if you enjoyed reading this, be sure to check out my Affordable Travel Skincare Routine For Weekends Away.