I am interrupting my China series with a linkup to my friend Upasna‘s blog party. This month’s theme: travel packing musts!
I used to pride myself on being a super light-weight packer (1+ years as a full time nomadic traveler and all in a carry-on!), but lately, I feel like I’ve been accumulating more and more (useless, as D would say) things. Maybe it’s the fact that it has been so long on the road and I’m starting to crave some kind of resemblance to the life full of pretty things that I used to have. In any case, I’ve found myself shopping for girly things a lot recently, and things I didn’t need before are all of a sudden stuff I can’t live without.
(P.S. check out my previous super minimal packing lists here and here.)
Without further rambling, here are my travel must-packs: beauty edition:
Makeup items
You probably already know that I got all of my makeup stolen while on Boracay. It didn’t really bother me too much then since I wasn’t even using them all that much and no one wears makeup on the beach anyway!
But as I returned to a city, I felt the need to make myself more put together and to blend in with the super fashionable local girls. Before I could do anything about it, I got my LASIK surgery and couldn’t wear makeup for a month. But as I stopped wearing glasses, I started to really feel like I needed makeup again. In a way, black frames had served as decoration and a distraction from dark circles or blotchy spots, and now my face seemed a little too bare, the skin a little too uneven.
Now, I’m able to wear makeup again and I’ve been slowly accumulating items from the Asian drugstore. It’s been fun shopping new brands we don’t get in the US. (I may do a separate post about Asian makeup if anyone is interested!)
I’ve been trying to buy only what I need, so here’s what I consider to be makeup must-haves:
– tweezers: the first thing I replaced!
– a face powder (with SPF!)
– a blush
– black gel eyeliner, which I use the leftover on the brush to lightly fill in brows too
– a brown-toned eyeshadow palette
– lip gloss: I LOVE the Fresh tinted lip butters (not pictured because it’s in my purse and I forgot).
– eyelash curler (and mascara though I only use it for special occassions)
– a set of brushes
Hair items
My hair has a mind of its own. I have naturally wavy hair that decides for itself which way it wants to wave, especially when I’m in a humid environment. Most of the time, I just pin back the front of my hair (where the bangs are growing in) and put the rest in a ponytail. It’s not a cool look, but oh well.
Well guess what? Even my hair pins got stolen on Boracay! I could no longer pin back the front and they curled in horribly ugly waves.
So I got a mini hair straightener while in China! I used to use one everyday but decided to go without one for the sake of packing light. I don’t know how I lived without one for so long!
On a recent trip to Wuhu, I collected a ridiculous amount of hair accessories: headbands (are they even still in right now?! I so don’t care! They are in China, so there :P), hair bows, pins, and bunny clips. Colorful hair accessories are the easiest way to spruce up your look!
Other toiletries & skin care
A facial moisturizer | Yep again, mine was stolen, and I went without one for a bit (it was humid on Boracay anyway), but soon my skin became super dry + damaged. So I just bought a random facial moisturizer at a drugstore in China. I’m usually pretty picky with what I use as moisturizer (must be all natural, non–animal tested), but I was desperate. I quite like this actually. At least, it doesn’t break me out and my skin has healed nicely.
A body lotion | I could not resist the cute tin packaging of these vintage Shanghai lotions (found in Tianzifang in Shanghai)! The cream smells so delicious (mine is rose scented) and it’s super thick and moisturizing. I wish I could have gotten a few more tins of this in other scents, if only my luggage room allowed.
Crystal deodorant stick | A must for hot/humid climates! This is essentially just a block of natural mineral salt which prevents odor. It’s fragrance free and residue free. Wet it under water and rub under the armpits. It works wonderfully. (buy here
Natural bar soaps (not pictured because it’s in the shower) | This is another new obsession! We’ve been able to come across natural bar soaps almost everywhere we go. I really love the goat milk and coconut milk ones (I’m currently using a spice + herbs one). I like it in place of shower gel and it has to be all natural so it’s mild enough to use a facial cleanser too.
For the times we don’t find natural bar soaps in a certain place, we always have a block of African Black Soap
Travel washcloth (not pictured) | I use the Lunatec one that’s some kind of special material that dries super fast and doesn’t ever get dirty. I use it every other day to gently exfoliate my face with the bar soap (negates having to buy extra exfoliaters!). It works SO well! My skin always feels so smooth afterwards. It also works as a whole body loofah. (buy here
Nail Polish | Because toes in sandals just don’t look right without color.
Baby powder | This item is one of D’s must haves. As a boy, he sweats a LOT more than me, and let’s just say that certain parts get highly uncomfortable. Baby powder keeps it all dry and smooth. I also use it from time to time as dry shampoo on days when my hair feels greasy but I’m too lazy to wash it.
Go Toobs | And of course, we need something to contain staples such as shampoo/conditioner. We like the Gotoobs
So basically, I went from having none of that stuff in March (except for some of the toiletries) to everything you see here! Even though D grumbles that he now has to lug my significantly heavier bag up and down stairs for me, I know he appreciates the effort I make to look better. And I’m happy to no longer be living like the stereotypical hippie/unkempt backpacker.
What are your travel beauty must haves?
I think I may make a packing guide mini series, as well as putting it all together into a massive resources page, so be on the look-out for the next one!
Your hair accessories look so cute! Haha, my hair decides when it’s wavy too. Sometimes it’s different sections, sometimes it just dries almost perfectly straight. Stupid unreliable hair. I love coconut milk soaps! I bought so many in Thailand. But these days, I’ve been loving Nubian Heritage soaps. I also just use some oil – almond or grapeseed – for my face/body when I’m traveling.
Ugh I know… all people with straight hair say they want wavy hair, but they don’t know how frustrating it is because it never just falls in perfect waves! I used to use the Tarte Majorca oil as moisturizer and loved it. I’ve heard good things about grapeseed oil… I’ll have to check it out if I ever run into some!
Wow, you are so organized! Wish my stock of beauty supplies looked like this! And I also carry a nail polish wherever I go :)
I’m not organized at all! All of these just get thrown into my bag on travel days :P. One thing I really miss about having a place to call home is being able to build up a cute wardrobe and makeup collection!
Love your hair accessories! I use a lot of hair ties and different headbands when in a hurry. I swear, every time I travel, my hair gets crazy frizzy. No idea why!
Thanks so much Andrea for stopping by. :) Yay for headbands! I really like them even though I realize I’m almost 30, hehe.
You know, if you are feeling lazy with make up, you can always get a pair of lens-less glasses, just as an accessory to make you look like before. And sometimes, a pair of glasses makes girls look sexy XD ..
I actually did try on some of those fashion glasses with the plastic lens! Unfortunately I didn’t find a pair I loved. And I don’t know if I’ll feel silly being all hipster-like wearing fake glasses, lol.
I always like seeing what other travelers use! I pack lightly when it comes to makeup… mascara, a small eyeshadow pack, BB cream (packed in a contact case!), and mineral powder w/ a brush. My husband & I share shampoo & soap when we travel, so we just have small containers of those we pack together. I take some face lotion, face wipes, deodorant, and some small bottle of perfume or body spray! Sometimes hotel/hostels can be stinky, haha. As for my hair… well it never looks cute when traveling, and I’m too lazy to learn how to fix it up! Maybe I need some cute accessories like you have!
I used to hardly wear any makeup when I travel, but maybe it’s becaus Asian makeup is all so new and interesting, i really couldn’t help buying some! And girls in China are so primped up too! My hair never looks cute either. Headbands are an easy way to make it cute! Even then, I find that I always just end up typing it back by the middle of the day anyway, because it’s so hot!
Lurvee your list. So girly! And thanks to you, I discovered the lunatec washcloth and the GoToobs. Brilliance!
Thanks so much for linking up to our #BlogAlong this month! :)
Ack, I had some trouble getting your comment to show up. It’s showing up fine now, so so sorry if you’re getting multiple replies from me!! Here’s what I said before:
Hi Shruti! Thanks so much for coming by! The washcloth and GoToobs are the best… if you get them, I hope you’ll like them! :)
One thing I look forward to about long term travel is leaving the make up behind. Even now when we go somewhere for a few days, I tend not to bother. Except maybe a little eyeliner :)
It was quite nice not to worry about makeup for a while, but I think because it has been so long now, I want to live less like a backpacker and more like a normal girl! I’m really enjoying playing with makeup again!
I only straighten the front of my hair because my bangs are growing out and that part never waves in the right way. When I was in Taipei, I saw the cutest ponytail clips and now I kind of regret not buying one ($10 sounded like a lot at the time for just a clip) because that would have been such an easy way to throw up your hair and still make it look cute!
You’ve stocked up nicely in just a few weeks. Did you find it difficult to avoid skin-whitening moisturizers in China? In Malaysia, it seemed like all body lotions and facial moisturizers had whitening ingredients. My must-pack items are a tinted moisturizer, mineral facial powder, Tarte gel stick blush, and Stila waterproof, smudgeproof eyeliner. I recently joined Ipsy, a makeup sample subscription service, and like the It Cosmetics eyebrow pencil they sent me this month. And for all those days when I don’t feel like getting made up, not wearing glasses or contact lenses just gives me an “airbrushed” (out-of-focus) reflection whenever I look in the mirror.
Hahahaha love it, as long as you good to yourself, right? ;)
I just bought a random moisturizer and it seems to be a normal one, but in general, yep, Asia is so huge on skin whitening products. Asia has this really cool pressed wet foundation thing (that I haven’t seen in the states), but unfortunately they were all too white for me. I’ve heard of ipsy! It sounds like fun to get new products every month!
Lip balm / lip gloss, face powder and black eye liner are absolute must-have-at-all-times for me!!!
I NEVER leave home without them :)
Great packing list, Anna. Thanks so much for joining us in the #BlogAlong last month, and the topic for the next month is “Comfort Foods”… would love to host you again :)
Those are my must haves too! I think some powder, lip gloss, eyeliner, and blush does so much to perk one’s face up!
And ooh I love the next topic!! I already know what I want to talk about! :D
I completely understand you! After eight months on the road with only carry on luggage, I’m missing too the beauty and girly things I left behind. Cool that you found some that fit in your luggage, thanks for the tips!