Beauty Addict Packin' Light

I'm leaving for my Ontario trip in one week! Hard to believe how quickly July has gone by. I have begun to think about what I want to pack for my trip. Partly to save myself some stress the night before I leave and partly because I truly enjoy picking out my beauty products that I will bring along with me. It helps me to see what products I truly love and consider to be "can't leave without" products.  My goal for packing is to pack REALLY light. I'm only bringing a purse and one large suitcase. I want to keep the suitcase fairly empty so that I have lots of room for whatever I end up buying.

 All of my makeup fits into this Quo bag that I received as a gift for purchasing quo brushes at Shoppers Drug Mart. I have used this bag quite a lot since I've received it. I like how compact it is and I like that it is both long enough and wide enough to fit most makeup products. For some weekend trips to my hometown this has also doubled as a brush holder since it is so long enough for brushes. For this trip, I will be using my Sigma Dry and Shape to hold my brushes. I do not have them included in this blog as they are dirty and need to be washed before I leave.

This is a side profile of the makeup carrying case. As you will see, it hardly takes up any space. In yet, it is holding quite a lot of stuff!

See? It holds a lot of stuff. I also told myself that this actually had to be able to close. I had to downsize and take out a few items the first time I attempted picking out my items.

So what all is in the bag? First up: my face products. I must be the lightest packer among beauty addicts when it comes to face products. I don't wear foundation so that didn't need to be packed. I also didn't want to bring tonnes of face products because it is very hot and humid in Ontario and I don't want makeup melting off my face. I have been wearing minimal makeup this summer as I have a bit more colour on my face from the sun. Pictured here I have my Garnier Anti Dark Circle Roller. I love this and can't be anywhere without it. It is one of the few things that doesn't fall into the fine lines under my eyes. It covers my dark circles (mine aren't severe) and makes me look slightly more awake. I also have my NYX concealer in a jar for blemishes. Finally, I have my Maybelline face powder which I sometimes use as a powder foundation. I also use it to reduce the redness around my nose and to take care of any oil issues. I really love this powder and have had it for ages. It is one of the few face powders that doesn't make my skin look powdery.

I'm only bringing two blushes. This one is from Essence Cosmetics and is in the shade "Secret It Girl". I chose this peach blush because I find that peach blushes go with nearly any eye look. I wanted to bring blushes that were versatile to cut down on the number of things I needed to pack.

This is my Hard Candy Baked Blush in "honeymoon". I love this blush and wear it often. It also doubles as a highlighter because it is quite shimmery. This product can also be used on the eyes as a highlight as well. I love multi-use products!

On to eye stuff. This is a sample size of Urban Decay Primer Potion that came with my Book of Shadows IV. I am determined to use up all of my sample primers.  I  used up the one that my sister game me ages ago and I used up another one that came with my Naked palette. Until I opened this one, I had been using Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Palladio Herbal Eyeshadow Primer and an ELF Primer. Normally I would argue that all of these primers perform about the same, but I have noticed that Urban Decay is the clear winner in the summer time. I've noticed my makeup has been holding up a lot better in the hot weather since opening this tube.

 For eyeliners I'm bringing two Urban Decay 24/7 liners. These were part of a kit which came with 5 deluxe sample size liners. They are about half the size of a regular liner. I have used these two shades a lot, so they have been sharpened quite a few times. One liner is a black called "zero" and the other is a rich dark brown called "demolition". I find these liners to be pretty smudge proof and long wearing. They are also ultra creamy and easy to use on the water line.

This is a re-discovered favourite. Lisa gave me this mascara as part of a makeup swap that we did last year.  (Yes I keep makeup forever). This is the Wet n Wild Mega Plump mascara in "black". I had used it a few times and enjoyed it and then stashed it away because I'd bought other mascaras. I have been using this mascara all of July and LOVE it. I think it is one of those mascaras that is just average upon first use and then becomes wonderful as the formula dries a bit. This one also doesn't flake or smear on me. I have tried to pick items that will withstand hot, humid weather.

On to eyeshadows. I can't leave anywhere without my favourite two eyeshadows of all time: MAC Phloof (best inner corner colour EVER...no seriously. If you don't have this you need it.) and Satin Taupe (best taupe ever invented and can be worn so many different ways. It was an xmas gift from Lisa).

For a cream shadow, I have chosen Tarte Emphaseyes Clay Shadow Stick in "champagne". These shadow sticks are seriously amazing and I NEVER use them. I bought a set of 6 of these for a really great price from QVC last year. I don't know why I never use them. They are long wearing, do not crease and come in really beautiful shades. This week I am going to incorporate them into some looks and plan to use this one while on my trip. I wanted to bring a few other colours, but some of the colour families were similar to things I had already packed.

L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadows. I now consider these must-haves at all times as I've used them a lot this summer. The shades I've chosen to bring are "Hour-glass Beige" (pretty beige/champagne colour), "Burning Black" (gorgeous black/burgundy shade), "Sahara Treasure" (a nice golden taupe- you can never leave the house with less than five taupes), and "Flashback Silver" (a beautiful silver with a lilac undertone).

 For palettes, I have chosen two Sleek Cosmetics palettes. I love these because they are SO compact and hold 12 colours each. This one is in "Au Naturelle". I love the neutral colour scheme here. I have been wearing a lot more neutrals these days. I'm not sure if it is because my makeup tastes are changing or if I find neutrals to make for quicker eye looks in the mornings when I have very little time.

The second Sleek Palette is the "Storm" Palette. This has mainly neutrals again, as well as a few colours. I may only take one of these palettes, I haven't decided.

For lip products I am going very minimal. I have chosen a L'oreal Colour Riche Balm in "Caring Coral". I have chosen this because peachy coral lips tend to go with many eye looks. This colour is also very sheer, moisturizing and has SPF 15.  I have chosen a Revlon Lip Butter in "Cupcake", which is a bright blue-based pink.  Finally, I have a Smashbox lip gloss in "Radiant". I love layering this gloss over "Cupcake". It has been one of my favourite lip combos this summer. Usually I just wear one lip product, but I really love this combination.

That is all of the makeup products I will be taking on my trip. The only makeup related items that can't fit in this bag are my makeup remover wipes and my brushes.

Next I thought I'd start thinking about toiletries. I figured I would have to buy a few travel sized items for this journey. I was ecstatic when I found this kit at Walmart. All of these items (minus the hand sanitiser- I added that in) were $4.98. This was a much cheaper option than buying the items separately. This bag is very compact and contains nearly everything I need.

It contains a razor. A decent one too! This is a schick razor with four blades and smells like raspberries :). It should be perfect for the week.

It contains a fold up toothbrush. This is pretty neat and saves a lot of space. The pink portion comes off and can be snapped on the other side to be the handle of the toothbrush. The bristles are really soft too.

This is the only product I didn't really need but I'm kind of weird about breaking up sets. This is just a moisturizer. I do tend to get dry feet though so this will be nice to have on hand if I need it.

This is a vanilla body wash. Such a great little compact size and I love vanilla scents. I'm happy that I won't have to lug around a large body wash.

A tiny toothpaste. I didn't want to have to buy another tube and this amount is perfect. I hope it tastes ok! I can't raid my own stash in the bathroom or my boyfriend will have nothing to use while I'm away.

A half sized deodorant! Love the scent of this and this particular brand is one I buy often anyway. This size, again, saves space!

Small shampoo and conditioner. These are slightly bigger than you find in a hotel room. The scent is really nice and I'm excited to try out dove hair care products. I am happy that I do not have to lug around big shampoo bottles.

This hand sanitiser was not in the kit. I added it. It smells great and I think you should always have hand sanitiser where ever you go. Who knows what germs Ontario has :)  I may put that in my purse since it is under 100ml.

I highly recommend purchasing one of these kits. I've seen that at Walmart and Superstore here in Canada.  I have noticed there are different versions and there are usually some options for different scents and products. This basically has everything I need for toiletries except I need to bring floss, sunscreen, a heat protectant spray for my hair and my Moroccan oil for my hair.

Together, these two small bags contain all of my makeup and nearly all of my toiletries.  I think I've done pretty well for packing light so far!

I hope you have enjoyed this post and that I'm not the only one that is this neurotic about packing. I hope this may have given you some ideas for ways to pack light.

Until next time...

xoxox

Nicole