City Break Beauty Travel Bag – Amsterdam

I recently went to Amsterdam for the weekend and it was amazing (a full blog on that coming soon!). Want to see the skincare and make up products that I chose to take with me? Right this way…

City Break Beauty Travel Bag

Let’s start with make up! I was given strict instructions from my husband that we had limited space in the suitcase so I really had to pare back my make up bag.

For base I took my favourite primers: Sofina Primavista face primer which has an SPF in and keeps my face from getting oily throughout the day (I bought this in Japan and unfortunately I can’t find a retailer in the UK); and the Urban Decay eyeshadow Primer Potion which is incredible at keeping my eye make up from creasing. I chose to take my No7 Beautifully Matte foundation as it gives great coverage but also has a wonderful glow and looks a bit more natural than some of my more high coverage bases. I typically use 2 concealers: 1 for highlighting and light-reflecting and 1 for covering my dark circles. For the highlighting concealer I took the Rimmel ‘Wake Me Up’ concealer and for the coverage I took the Maybelline Master Concealer as they are both super easy to blend and don’t crease (I got the latter in New York so don’t have a link sadly). I always set my concealer with the Bourjois Poudre de Riz de Java which also has light-reflecting particles to brighten any under-eye shadows.

Contour, highlight and blusher: I am still obsessed with my Sleek FaceForm contour and highlight palette* in ‘Fair’, the contour shade is the perfect colour for my pale skin and the highlighter is so beautiful. I love palettes like this as you’ve already saved so much space. I decided to take a separate blusher as the one in the Sleek palette is beautiful but not very subtle! I chose a Make Up Revolution The Matte Blush in ‘Nude’. I also took the GOSH Lumi Drops in ‘Peach’* which I have been OBSESSED with. They add such a nice glow and this shade adds a bit of subtle colour to my cheeks which I love.

Eyes and brows: The new GOSH eyeshadow palette* is perfect for trips away as it’s compact but has a wide range of gorgeous shades, from neutrals to darker shadows. I added in another of the new GOSH products for more definition under my eyes: the GOSH Forever eye crayon* in ‘Twisted Brown’. (You can see my review of the whole GOSH collection HERE). For eyeliner I chose my CanMake Strong Eyes eyeliner which stood up to my streaming eyes in the freezing weather with aplomb (again I bought this in Japan so don’t have a UK link). Although the new L’Oréal Paris False Lash Sculpt mascara isn’t waterproof it still held up pretty well, with no transfer or flaking. I always use Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof mascara on my bottom lashes – it’s the best IMO. For my brows, I took my Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (which is looking worse for wear as the spooley end snapped off – think this is a common issue?) and the Rimmel Brow This Way clear brow gel.

Lips: This was the one area I couldn’t skimp on. We were only there for 4 days but I took 7 lip products, which I still think it fairly reserved! I took: Sephora Cream Lip Stain in ’01’ ’12’ and ’13’, the MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in ‘Kooky’, Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in ‘L.U.V’, and 2 Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution lipsticks in ‘Bond Girl’ and ‘Love Liberty’. A nice range there, from nudey pinks to dark plums. All matte, of course!

Read on to hear what skincare products I chose to take away with me in my city break beauty travel bag…

Skincare morning: Bioderma Micellar Water – the classic and best. I use this to prep my skin every morning as my rosacea sometimes reacts to doing a full cleanse twice a day. Not pictured is a calming cream that I’ve been trying out for Merumaya for a new product trial (the packaging is a boring, temp bottle so I didn’t want to include it!) – I was using that first thing on a morning and also when we got back into the house and my skin was feeling chapped and cold from the crazy weather and it is *seriously* soothing. As it was so cold my skin needed a little oomph so I was patting a few drops of the Josie Maran 100% Argan Oil Light onto my forehead, temples and cheeks. I would wait until after my breakfast (to give the oil time to sink in) and then do my final step in my morning skincare – the mini of the Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturiser with SPF 47. This is a thick moisturiser that doesn’t aggravate my skin and doesn’t leave a nasty white cast on the face so I love it.

Skincare evening: I removed my make up with the Josie Maran Argan Cleansing Oil which I LOVE – it gets off all make up with no issues, calms my skin and feels so luxurious. I followed this up with some of the Eloquence skincare* products (which I’ve been testing out this month and will do a full post on soon): Firm & Tone Serum, Firming & Moisturising Eye Gel, Protect & Repair 24 Hour Cream and Nourishing Treatment Oil. Followed up, as always, with my Nuxe Reve De Miel lip balm.

Misc: The Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray is always with my when I travel, it helps cool my skin if I have a rosacea flare up so this mini size is my travel buddy! I’m still in love with The Body Shop Red Musk perfume oil. I just can’t stop sniffing myself when I wear it. Contact lenses and glasses are an absolute must: my eyesight is terrible so I always have these with me! I took a Gilette Venus Snap travel razor, which comes in this handy plastic travel case. The Korres shower gels are a bit pricey for what they are (in my opinion) but this mini of the Korres Guava gel was in my minis drawer (everyone has one of those, right?) and it smells amazing! I like to stock up on minis in Boots as they have tons and are such space-savers. I took a Head & Shoulders shampoo, an Aussie 5 Minute Miracle conditioner and a Colgate toothpaste mini. RIVETING STUFF, I know. I also picked up an Elnett hairspray – it’s what keeps my fringe in check – this mini can is perfect for a suitcase or handbag.

What would you put in your city break beauty travel bag? I have a mini product obsession, so enable me please!

Lex

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