Looking back on 2017, I’ve been on a whole load of trips this summer - I thought it only right that I dedicate a piece to the beauty products that have kept my face in place throughout the travel process. 

With weight restrictions (and suitcase size) on my mind, I used to spend ages deliberating which beauty products would make the cut and still end up bringing a kilo of creams and potions, most of which were barely used but brought 'just in case'. 

Sound familiar? The ongoing debate as to whether you need to bring the full skincare arsenal, or whether you can get away with just a tube of moisturiser. Those of you who have the full day cream, night cream, eye cream, serum routine wouldn't even believe it was even possible.

As a long-time beauty writer and skincare obsessive, I definitely fall into that category but I can safely say I've finally nailed it. Thanks to a series of trial and error on some recent travel breaks, I’ve now refined it to a trusted lineup of skincare superstars which I bring with me every time.

Obviously, certain trips are geared to more sun protection, more makeup glam or more outdoors inclined but when it comes to essentials, these are the ones that I will always need.

Take off time...

Air travel is notoriously hard on your skin, thanks to the dry air and dehydration. For anything over 4 hours, I always take off my makeup before protecting with a face oil or heavy cream.


Trilogy Rosehip Oil is one of my trusted facial oils. Certified organic and 100% natural, rosehip oil contains powerful antioxidants that help protect against the free radical damage of radiation. That, and a load of essential fatty acids that keep my skin hydrated and plump during the flight.

(If you have oily skin and hate face oils, Trilogy have also come out with a Light blend version too)





For long haul flights, I also use Christian Breton Deluxe Gold Mask when waking up onboard in the morning. Fortunately, I can pretty much fall asleep anywhere but when your skin needs a quick radiance & hydration fix, this mask is my go to. 

It's pricey AF but one tube has lasted me a year and I would buy with my own money. It contains little gold particles that add visible radiance to your skin. Just apply the cream to your face, leave and tissue or rinse off.

Touch down.

After 20 minutes with the radiance mask, I'll put my face back on - mainly so that I actually bare some semblace to my passport photo.

Instead of bringing a full makeup bag on the plane, I just bring my portable makeup pocket rocket - the Chanel Palette Essentielle compact which I dedicated an entire post to upon purchase. This, plus a mascara and an eyebrow pencil- inflight makeup kit is sorted without an overflowing liquid allowance bag.



Other than the palette, my FAVOURITE beauty discovery this summer was this Skin Defence Multi-Protection essence by The Body Shop. My new favourite and daily must-have in my skincare routine.

In a nutshell, it's the lightest SPF50 cream I've ever used, has antioxidants protection AND Vitamin C to slowly brighten my skin and reduce pigmentation with each use. It's billed as an essence but in my opinion, is moisturising enough for me to use a day cream. Dry skin may want to add a hydrating cream as well.

Cannot recommend this product enough, it protects your skin whilst slowly perfecting it. Check it out, on tour in Hong Kong.


After that, the only other thing is hand gel and eye drops. My favourite hand gel is Merci Handy - the least drying, most moisturising hand sanitiser that I've ever used. 

And eye drops, an essential for any contact lens wearer - I've upgraded to single use capsules instead of a bottle. They're more expensive but the bottles can only be kept open for 3 months (of which I use about half) and you can just slip a single use capsule into any handbag, whenever you need it.








And that's literally it. The 5 products that I always bring with me.

What do YOU think? Do you have travel essentials that you always reach for? IS there such thing as travelling light? Tweet me your thoughts @Zoe_Dubs or send me a comment on Facebook!

  

There comes that time in your life where you start to make a more permanent move from Tesco Value to Tesco Finest and, for me, it's the same with makeup.

Let me tell you what I mean. Although I've dabbled in the occasional Lancome or Benefit product, I've spent the majority of my makeup years buying beauty-aisle brands and online budget beauty. As I've progressed with my career I've started to branch out but the big leap from high-street to high end can only be immortalised by one brand - and that's Chanel.

That's right - it's taken me a few years to get here but this month I bought my first bit of Chanel Beauty. A little healthy-glow compact which came with it's own velvet pouch. Say what?! How have I not gone high-end sooner? 

What is this MASTERPIECE before me?

This, dear friends, is the new addition to the Chanel Les Beiges collection and the latest addition to my make up bag!

Hello Team! A bit of a busy week for me - my new job is going great but it's quite a change of pace with a much, much earlier start! Thankfully these longer summer hours have made it a lot easier because it looks like it's 3pm outside when it's actually 8pm. Brilliant.

Of course, with longer summer hours comes longer sun exposure and whilst that's great for my Vitamin D intake, it means more damage to my skin and..... ACCELERATED AGEING. Duh duh duhhhhh.


 I know you KNOW that SPF is important but let's be honest, we think of SPF and think sticky, heavy, pasty cream. I don't want that on my skin - it'll take years to dry and my skin will be all tacky and shiny right?

Wrong. My friends - let me introduce you to the SPF products of today. These products are light, they're velvet smooth, they now even come in different textures and different formats for any purpose and any part of your body!

Before you start wondering 'what parts of my body would i need to use SPF on?' - just keep reading and all will be revealed... 

 What you need in hot weather is light coverage, with a barely there finish - oh and shiz loads of sun protection!! 

The answer is simple, your summer salvation lies is the humble BB & CC cream. But which one?!

As a somewhat connoisseur of French pharmacy brands, think Bioderma, La Roche Posay etc, I am a bit of a Vichy fan. 

Have you tried mineral foundation? Made without chemicals or additives, mineral foundation is pretty much a load of ground up rocks but it's meant to be amazing for your skin. I am a testament to this fact - I started using mineral foundations back in 2007 and my skin only got better and better!

Mineral foundation fans will know the standard routine - dip, tap and buff. No, not three Geordie Shore dwarves.  Dip the brush into the powder, tap off the excess and then buff in circles into the skin. 

Dip, tap & buff is a foolproof way to get great looking skin but it can be REALLY MESSY- especially if you're a clumsy one like me.

Common clumsy stories involving me and mineral foundation:

1) One sneeze at the wrong time, and a cloud of it escapes everywhere
2) One misjudged swipe of my bear claw hands and the whole pot tips over
3) Mistaking 'dipping' for dunking and getting half the pot on the brush.




So how happy was I to hear the original BareMinerals foundation was coming out in a pressed compact version?!  HIYA.


What did i think of it?