THE WEEKEND BEAUTY BAG

It feels like a while since I talked through my beauty bag essentials, so I thought I'd do a little update on pretty much all of the products I've been packing lately for a weekend away! I've also got some tips on how to pack versatile / multi-tasking products, where I get my minis from and so on...

- MAKEUP -

First things first; I love using this Cult Beauty Medium Travel Makeup Bag | £18. I find it really chic and stylish but not at all expensive; it's also handy that it's transparent, so you can see what's in there without too much digging around. 

As my primer I like to pack this little mini of the Milk Makeup Blur Stick | £30.50 (for full size) | review. If you're considering spending a bit of money on a particular brand; I recommend checking out Cult Beauty, as they often give away free gifts if you spend a certain amount. I got this mini in a pouch with a few other bits after spending £30 on Milk Makeup. Space NK also give out deluxe samples with their orders that I often save up to use when I travel. Back to the primer! This is a really quick and easy product to apply; you just swipe it directly onto the skin in any areas where you have fine lines or pores you want smoothing out.

In terms of other base products; it's all about versatility for me. I tend to pack my Nars Sheer Glow Foundation* (Barcelona) | £33.50 | review | when I travel because I love how the coverage is so adaptable. You can sheer this out to something more natural (during the daytime) or build it effortlessly to a medium-full coverage (for evening wear). It's long-wearing and has a nice satin finish that makes my skin look radiant and perfected. A new favourite is the Milk Makeup Flex Concealer (Medium) | £23.75 | review. It has a slightly peachy tone to cancel out my dark circles and also has a nice brightening effect. I really like how it gives good coverage but still looks very natural. It also isn't drying under the eyes but lasts well on me without creasing. I always pack my BeautyBlender Bubble* | £17 | review | because it's what I use every single day for my foundation and concealer. I just dampen it a little and it really presses the product into the skin to give a nice, natural look.

For travel - I absolutely love a cheek duo! My current perfect pairing is the Too Faced Fruit Cocktail Blush Duo in Apricot in the Act | $30. In here there's a warm, rich gold highlighter; it does have some glitz to it but I don't find it translates too much to the skin once applied. There's also a satin-finish deep, warm apricot blusher. This applies really smoothly and lasts well on my skin. The trick is to go for a duo that matches a lot of the sorts of colours your wear so it's versatile enough to suit all of your makeup looks when you go away. Obviously I like my warm tones!

For eyes I have a do-it-all liner and a mini eyeshadow palette. My favourite liner is the Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Vivid Smoky Quartz | £16 | review. I somehow forgot to swatch this but check out the review I linked to see what it looks like! I do still sometimes pack a winged liner, however this twist-up pencil is my absolute must-have. I like that you don't have to pack a sharpener with it or have that extra faff. This is a warm deep chocolate matte colour and it's creamy to apply but long-wearing and non-transferring when it sets down. I use this on the water line and to tight-line, which makes my lashes look fuller. My go-to travel palette (so much so that I managed to break the mirror!) is the Huda Beauty Topaz Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette* | £25 | review. There's such a good range of pigmented, easy-to-blend mattes in this palette and the shimmers are stunning - they can be applied to the lid with my fingers and give amazing payoff, and there's enough versatility in them to create looks that look different to one another. I could even take this away for a week-long break and not get bored of it! 

In terms of eyebrows and lashes; when I travel, I just want to take my tried and tested favourites. I use the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (Ebony) | £22 | review | to fill in my brows. It has a spooly to brush through for a more natural look, plus the pencil is very fine and twists up so you don't have to sharpen it to get a precise look that's never too heavy-handed. To set my brows, or even on its own for more minimal makeup days, I like the Glossier Boy Brow Gel (Dark) | £15 | review. It isn't anything overly thick or gloopy but adds some volume, colour and hold to my brows. My current go-to is my L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara | £11.99 | review. I recently repurchased this and remembered how great it is! It gives amazing volume without making my lashes too clumpy. I also get a nice lift and some extra length in this formula.

I tend to pack two lip colours when I'm away for the weekend: something light, hydrating and fuss-free and something a little bolder for the evening. I love the Fresh tinted lip balms so there's usually one in my makeup bag! Here I have the Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Treatment in Spice | £19.50. This formula is so nourishing and it gives a wash of warm brown-nude colour. As my evening option I have a shade in my favourite liquid lipstick formula - the Huda Beauty Liquid Matte in Trendsetter | £18 | review. It's this beautiful reddish-brown colour and the formula is very opaque, easy to apply and reapply and doesn't dry out my lips.

- SKINCARE -

I also have some skincare minis which I've picked up through a variety of sources - beauty subscription boxes, Christmas gift sets, spa visits etc. I generally pack a micellar water and a multi-use cream cleanser that I can use in the morning but that can also remove makeup when paired with a face cloth. Here I have my Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water | £5.10 (100ml) | review. This product is as gentle as water but also really effective at removing any traces of makeup after cleansing or as a lazy one-step option! I also have the Aurelia Miracle Cleanser* | £22 (for 50ml) | in a 30ml tube | which is a lovely, gentle formula that you can use to remove makeup or just to clean and soften the skin.

Instead of a toner in a bottle with cotton wool pads, I find it quicker, easier and more space-efficient to pack a mist. I'm a big fan of the cult Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist* | £15 (travel size) | review. It's lightweight, it's hydrating and it smells amazing! I love giving my skin a generous mist of this to leave it soft and moisturised after cleansing. 

I also have a few other skincare minis that I deem to be essential! The first is a serum and recently I've been packing the Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum* | £67 (for full size) | review | from a set I have. It's great for brightening the skin and making it softer and smoother, giving it that healthy look and feel. I also love my Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre* | £12.99 (30ml) | review | because it serves as a moisturiser, a primer and a night cream. It's non-greasy, smoothing and softening, giving my skin really amazing hydration without being at all heavy. Finally for facial skincare I have the Saturday Skin Wide Awake Brightening Eye Cream | £36 (for full size) | review. This is really great for hydrating and depuffing the eye area in a way that doesn't make it greasy.

- EVERYTHING ELSE -

For the body I have a handful of essentials. I have a little mini of the Caudalie Fleur de Vignes Shower Gel | £8 (for full size) | which is hydrating and smells absolutely gorgeous - it's a very fresh scent with white rose and rose pepper. I also like to have a personal fragrance with me when I travel and have some minis from a gift set I got. Here I have the Clean Reserve Blonde Rose Eau de Parfum* | £22 (for 10ml). This size isn't currently available anywhere but there are larger travel minis you can buy of their scents. I love the clean, fresh vibe of their fragrances and this one has a hint of rose mixed in. One of my favourite scents of all time is Comfort Zone's Tranquility and I nabbed a few of their products from this range when I stayed at a spa that used their products (which is also how I got a good few minis of Caudalie products!) Here I have a little mini of the Comfort Zone Tranquility Hand Cream | £17 (for full size) | which is hydrating but not at all greasy. I love the fragrance - it's very aromatic with cedarwood, sweet orange, rose and more. I also like to pack an all-in-one miracle oil for my hair and body. This is the Nuxe Huile de Prodigieuse Multi-Usage Dry Oil | £18.50 (50ml) | review. It smells incredible (its ingredients include sweet almond, hazelnut and macadamia) and is sooo nourishing but dries down on the skin and doesn't overload the hair. The spray bottle is really handy when you're on-the-go too. I also keep the Lanolips 101 Ointment Multi-Balm Coconutter | £7.99 | on-hand as a lip balm and to use on dry patches of skin - it smells so good!

Finally, we have hair! I wash my hair every other day so if I'm going for the weekend - I tend to just wash it on a Friday morning and then when I'm home on Sunday evening so I don't have to bring a load of extra products. If my hair needs a bit of a refresh on Sunday morning then I reach for my IGK Hair Jet Lag Dry Shampoo | £10 (travel size). I don't use dry shampoo very often but when I do: it's this one! It doesn't irritate my sensitive scalp and has a very fine, transparent mist, whilst still soaking up any excess oils and adding some volume to my roots. I also have the Hair Secretz Hair Podz Diamond Brush* | £9.99 | which flips out and has a handy travel mirror on the other side. This is just great for gently detangling my hair in the morning. And last - but certainly not least - I don't go anywhere without at least one Invisibobble Power | £5.95 (for 3). These traceless hair rings cause less breakage than traditional hair ties and this extra-strong version holds its shape for longer and is just more durable to me than a standard Invisibobble. 

What are your beauty essentials if you're away for the weekend?

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Disclosure - products marked * were gifted to me as unpaid advertisement for the brands / websites mentioned. All opinions expressed are my own. Please read my disclosure page for more information.