Jet Set Go | What's In My Travel Beauty Bag?

When it comes to a trip away from home, what travel toiletries and makeup do you take with you?

I try to strike a careful balance. On the one hand, I always aim to pack light because I hate having to drag around a heavy case with me.

On the other hand, as a total beauty and skincare junkie my usual routine is quite involved and I hate to be without my key products. I do try to find things that work hard and smart or that do double duty.

I love to see what other people take with them on their travels, and so I’m going to share my own travel beauty and skincare essentials today.

Because I've always had jobs with an element of travel, and I have to go away with work fairly often, I’m in the habit of keeping a box at the top of my wardrobe which has travel-sized versions of products, and a toiletry bag that is packed and ready. It saves me a lot of hassle because I know I can just grab and go.

I also keep a rolling packing list saved on my OneNote app that I can check off in a hurry to make sure I have everything I need.

The Essentials Kit

I use two cases which everything packs neatly into - the clear sided Jet Set Go bag from Lily England for my makeup, and a similar large travel case from Beauty Pie for my toiletries. They are both really well made and ideal for travel, especially if you're flying, as they can be passed through security easily.

First up, the hygiene basics. The SlimSonic is perfect for trips away, as it gives you an electric toothbrush which runs off a regular battery, so it doesn’t need recharging. It comes with a capped lid to keep everything hygienic. This lives permanently in my toiletry bag so I can’t ever forget my toothbrush!

I have moved away from chemical deodorants, so this Salt of The Earth natural deodorant in a travel size is perfect, and I can’t go anywhere without my Gillette Venus travel razor either to keep everything de-fuzzed. I also carry a little case with kirby grips and some hair ties, plus my Optrex Eyedew refreshing eyedrops, which I use every morning when I wake up and also to freshen up before an evening out.

My skincare routine simplifies a lot when I’m away from home. The Nuxe Reve De Miel Face and Body Wash does double duty for cleansing and smells absolutely heavenly. I also use the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse as a multi-tasker - I use it on my hair every day, and also as my moisturiser for my face and body. It has a really unique non-greasy finish, so it sits fine under make-up.

One thing I can never go without is SPF each day, so I also packed my Soap & Glory Supershield SPF50+, which protects against UVA and UVB rays.

And I travel with a separate eye cream for day and night - this Elemis Peptide4 Eye Cream in a mini tube is my pick for bedtime. Because my eyes are prone to puffiness and always look terrible after a night in a stuffy hotel room, I’m also packing a sample size of the Clinique Moisture Surge Hydro-Filler for day.

Even with those, my undereyes can get really bad, so I’ve also made sure to pack the Beverley Hills V-Lift Bee Venom Instant Eyelift which can work minor miracles in seconds.

I packed a mini of the Eve Lom Cleansing Cream to double cleanse my makeup off at night , some of my favourite Molton Brown Bath and Shower Gel (this is ‘Dewy Lily of the Valley and Star Anise’, which smells amazing!) and some of the Ren And So To Sleep pillow spray. I always use a lavender pillow spray and an eye mask at night to help me get to sleep quickly.

This year my aim is to get rid of as many disposable, single use items as I can, and so I’ve stopped using makeup remover wipes or micellar water in favour of Face Halo reusable makeup remover pads. Each one can be used with just water hundreds of times as they’re made of special microfibre material and they really do the job well.

Finally, because I never get the chance to do them at home, I’ve packed a travel size tube of my favourite face mask - Glamglow Gravity Mud. This has a really beautiful lifting effect and is ideal to prep skin quickly before you head out. It's a great way to take advantage of a child-free night in a hotel!

Then I packed my hair brush and some mini sizes of the Bumble & Bumble Thickening Hairspray and the Pret-A-Powder dry shampoo to keep my tresses tamed and fresh. Finally a mini size of the Agent Provocateur Petale Noir, which is a favourite fragrance of mine and comes in a little egg-shaped bottle that’s easy to travel with.

The Beauty Kit

Travel beauty is an area where it's ridiculously easy to overpack. You start off all minimal and sleek and before you know it you ‘have’ to take eight different lipsticks and three palettes with you.

The thing that I’ve found over time is that I don’t tend to do experimental looks when I’m away anyway - if it’s a business trip, I’m not going to wear anything too ‘out there’ and on holiday I wear as little makeup as I feel comfortable with. So there’s never a need to pack more than the essentials.

I’ve gotten to the point where this carefully curated small Jet Set Go make-up bag from Lily England is all I need - it only contains products that I really can’t do without on a daily basis.

First up, a good base is non-negotiable. I use the Deciem Hylamide Photography Fluid as a primer. It’s a little bottle of high tech wizardry that uses a combination of smoothing silica, hydrators and prismatic hue correctors to cheat a perfect complexion.

It's a transparent, slightly shimmery liquid that can be used under or over regular tinted foundation, and even be worn on it's own. The bottle is super practical for travel as well. I also use the Revolution Conceal & Fix Pore Perfecting Primer on my t-zone.

The foundation I take depends on where I’m going and what I’m doing, but if I’m unsure what I’ll need Mac Face & Body Foundation is always my choice - it's lightweight and doesn’t look too heavy but it offers a nice level of coverage and good staying power - and again, the light plastic bottle with a screwtop is ideal to take with you on the go.

Some other essentials from Mac - my ride or die concealer is Pro Longwear Concealer, so that has to come with me.

I take along the Mac Fluidline in Dipdown, which I use for shaping my brows, and the Mac Paintpot in ‘Groundwork’ - I use this for contouring my face as well as a cream eyeshadow because it's the perfect shade and has amazing staying power.

I use Mac Prep + Prime Fix Plus both as a first and a last step in my makeup, so I take a travel size with me whenever I go anywhere.

The Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look In A Palette is my must-have travel companion. It contains three eye shades, a bronzer, blush and highlighter so it covers all the bases. There have been a few different variations released and this one is the ‘Gorgeous and Glowing’ one - the warmer toned eyeshadows I find much more useful than the shades in the original version.

This palette is such a travel essential because it packs so much in and has a big, clear mirror in the lid that you can do your whole face in.

I also pack the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon Crayons in ‘Amber Haze’ and ‘Black Diamonds’. The first is a daily essential that I use as a liner for my eyes, and the darker one means I can do a smokey eye look in seconds for the evening. I carve out my crease using a warm brown, then literally scribble this on the lid and blend - and I’m done!

The crayon format is the ideal space saver and these don’t crease at all. I love the super sparkly finish too.

Charlotte has my pout covered as well - I take the Lip Cheat pencil in ‘Iconic Nude’ and these adorable mini versions of ‘Pillow Talk’ (my go-to everyday shade) and ‘Carina’s Love’ in case I fancy a red lip. They are so tiny, they take up zero space - you can often find these mini versions in the Christmas stock or sometimes at Feel Unique and I always grab them if I see them.

Talking of handily travel sized versions of key products, this mini Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder works well to set my makeup and leave me with a glow. It lasts for absolutely ages and is much more cost effective than the full size.

You may notice that I don’t take any mascara with me - and that’s because I don’t wear any! I have subtle lash extensions that work for day. Normally, that would be enough, but as I’m going out for dinner on this occasion, I also packed my favourite Velour lashes to wear for the evening - this is the ‘Would I Lie To You?’ style which is light and wispy, very wearable. Velour glue and lash tweezers have to come as well!

I have some lipgloss to change up my look for evening - Smith & Cult Lip Lacquer in ‘Hi-Speed Sonnet’ is just the right amount of shimmer for going out.

I also pack a liquid liner pen as they’re so fuss-free - the Revolution Renaissance Flick is my absolute favourite, it's such a fine tip so you can do everything from a subtle sweep to something bolder, it's super-black and it lasts all day.

Lastly, I could not go anywhere without a tin of Vaseline Lip Therapy. This little container does so much for me on the go. I use it as a lip balm or a gloss on top of lipstick, to tame my brows and as a natural looking highlighter as well.

For my brushes, I take the Beauty Pie Pro Travel Brush Set. It has all the essentials, is really high quality and all packs in this little black leather case. All I add in is my Japonesque HD travel lash curler and a BeautyBlender and I’m done.

With these essentials, I feel like I have all the bases covered but I’m travelling light as well.