Travel Essentials

I'm back after a short break as I've been interning in London for the past two weeks (more about that later in the week). Travelling to and from London everyday, spending around 12-14 hours out of the house, I quickly perfected my travel essentials.  

I kept my make up minimal whilst working so that getting ready didn't take too long in the morning.  For touch ups during the day, I packed the essentials. For concealer I've been using the Make Up For Ever 'Full Cover', which is extremely high coverage, even able to cover scars and tattoo's if needs be.  My skin has been a bit all over the place over the last week thanks to mother nature and I feel like I've had Mount Everest growing upon my chin, so this has been a godsend at hiding the redness. The weather has been gorgeous this week, but alas it meant sweaty looking skin - not a good look when surrounded by groomed-to-perfection fashion and beauty journos.  To mattify my skin I took my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural and used the Real Techniques Contour Brush to apply the product. Although it's meant for contouring and highlighting, the brush wasn't bulky like the Powder Brush and allowed me a more precise product application.  I also popped in a sample size of Make Up For Ever's Smoky Lash mascara incase my lashes needed a pick me up and the lipstick of the day.  I've been loving this Jemma Kidd Hi-Shine Hydrating Glosstick in #04 Hibiscus, which admittedly I was given whilst at More! magazine after doing a favour for the beauty team.  It's a gorgeous product, creamy and highly pigmented and not at all sticky like a lipgloss.  

I always try to remember my perfume as it's always nice to freshen up at lunchtime or after stepping off the tube on your way home, with a spritz of your favourite scent. My go to everyday perfume is Stella McCartney 'Stella'.  I bought the Phil Smith Tame the Frizz serum a while ago as it's a handy travel size product and used it to manage any fly aways or hot weather frizz.  I never go anywhere without Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream now. It's a great lip balm, hand cream, cuticle cream and it's even good if you manage to cut yourself.  

On my first day I picked up some mints.  You've all been there, when someone's had something garlicky for their lunch and it's all you can smell whilst they are speaking to you.  Definitely not the embarrassing situation I wanted to get myself into.  Blister plasters, or plasters in general are always a must - there's nothing worse than limping around the office because your shoes are rubbing.  Paracetamols a given, no need to endure a headache when you've got plenty of work to be getting on with.  Hot weather + hair = frizzball, or at least it does for me anyway. I always carry around a hairband on my wrist or in my handbag for such occasions, or just to get my hair up off my face.  

Do you have any travel must haves?

A Spanish Beauty Haul

If you read my Sephora Wish List post (here) you would have known that as well as the blazing sun, I was excited to visit the local Sephora.  I was finally able to get my hands on some long sought after Make Up Forever products, as well as some other bits that had been high on my wish list for a while.  I also visited the duty free shop at Malaga airport too.  I posted a photo on Instagram of my Sephora bag (which, yes, I kept...) and was asked to write up a haul post, so without further adieu.  

SEPHORA

I wasn't in the market for a new primer, even though both my Porefessional and MAC Prep and Prime were running low.  While the make up artists - who by the way were extremely friendly and helpful - were trying to match me up, they used this green primer (shade #1) to neutralise the pink undertones in my skin. I would have said no to it, but they showed one side with and the other without it.  The side without the primer was distinctively orange, not a good look so needless to say I was sold on the primer.  

What I was in the market for however was the MUFE HD Foundation.  I was matched up to shade 117. Something I did notice about MUFE products - their shade numbers are all jumbled, they are not in numerical order from lightest to darkest, which might be something to do with the undertones in the products but it still made it confusing.  I've now used this foundation twice and I like it so far.  I will be reviewing this in a few weeks time to give it a fair trial.  

I also wanted to pick up the MUFE Full Cover concealer after hearing great things about it.  I was matched up to shade 4 (again, shades aren't in numerical order).  I've also used this twice now and on first impressions I think the packaging is great.  It has a long, thin nib which dispenses the product in small amounts, perfect if you hate wasting product because too much has come out of the tube.  

For a very long time, I've wanted to try the infamous YSL Touche Eclat.  I'd saved some euro's specifically to spend in Sephora and decided to finally cave and buy it.  I picked up shade 1 and like the other products, have used it twice now.  I really like it so far - I'm quite freckly after being in the sun everyday and I find it covers up the ones under my eyes perfectly and also illuminates the eye area.  The packaging is so luxurious - gold with a velvet 'Y' shape on the back, definitely an indulgent product.  

I picked up some Yes To Cucumber wipes as I've heard a lot of good things about them.  I find that they remove a lot more than standard wipes from Boots and they aren't that much more expensive. I might stock up on ASOS next time they have a 20% student event or something similar.  

I also managed to get the Sephora Professional Mineral Powder Brush #45.  I have yet to use this, simply because I wanted it clean for this blog post.  Like I mentioned in a previous post, YouTube guru meganisobel raves about this brush for both liquid fondation and also cream product application so I thought I would give it a go.  Because I bought 3+ make up items, I got 40% off of it, which was an added bonus.  

What I love about Sephora, is that they give samples with purchases.  I received a deluxe size Porefessional which was welcomed as my full size is running low and I love the product.  

DUTY FREE

I didn't pick up much in duty free.  I was hoping to get one of the MAC travel sets, but they didn't have any at Malaga airport.  I needed a new bottle of Stella McCartney's 'Stella' perfume, as the one I purchased in the January sales was running low.  They only had the 30ml bottles in the limited edition prints, which I didn't mind as they are beautiful.  

Whilst on the plane out to Spain I spied this Elizabeth Arden kit and decided that if I had some euro's left over on the way back I would buy it.  Miraculously Sephora didn't bankrupt me (although, it was hard not to buy everything) and I bought this kit. Another holy grail product for so many women that I had yet to try. You get the original Eight Hour Cream, the hand treatment and a lip stick which has SPF 15 in it.  

I'm looking forward to trying out all of these products and sharing my thoughts on them with you.  Are there any products in particular that you would like to see a review on? 

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