We are deep into the summer months and that means more vacations, beach trips, weekend trips and a whole lot of down time! That all sounds amazing but the worst part about all of this is hands down all the packing associated with vacations.

I’m already an over packer but now I have to pack for my toddler and that usually means wayyyy too many bags! I guess my motto is ‘it’s better to be safe than sorry.’ The one thing I’ve been working on is reducing the amount of make-up/beauty products I take with me on trips. Let me tell you, it’s the hardest thing ever since my vanity is super full with so many products, I can’t decide what I really need. My sister packs so many products that her entire carry on is full of beauty supplies which is insane. So I have challenged myself to pack the bare minimum which has encouraged me to streamline my skincare and beauty routine.

The good news is I was able to downsize my beauty kit by swapping out a few products and without having to sacrifice too much. I can fit everything into a small case and call it a day. Here are 6 tips that I’d recommend you give a try for a minimalist travel beauty kit.

Swap liquid foundation for stick

The best part about swapping the liquid foundation for stick foundations is that you don’t have to lug around glass bottles that may break in your bag and cause a huge mess. I sometimes use my fingers to blend in the foundation if I’m just covering spots but for a full face, I’ll take a brush that I can use to blend in foundation and concealer.

The stick foundation I’m loving right now is the Hourglass Stick Foundation. It blends so beautifully and has a great smooth finish. The packaging is so simple and easy to just pop in my make up bag. Another good option is the Make Up For Ever stick foundation

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 Hunt for travel size products

Travel size products is major key! Even if you just have a separate collection for travel size products, that’s great. There’s no need to take full size products that will just take up so much unnecessary space and not to mention they weigh a lot more. Travel size items can include eyeliner, mascara, lip products, eyeshadow palettes, etc. Pretty much everything I take is travel size except for the foundation.

Sephora and Nordstrom carry smaller versions of the high end brands that I love including Bobbi Brown mascara and Kat Von D eye liner.

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Eliminate bulky packaging with compact palettes

Another awesome way to eliminate bulky packaging is to swap out big palettes with compact ones. There are so many palettes that have all eyes, cheek and lip products into one which is so ideal for travel. It’s better than having to carry 1 palette for highlight, one for eyeshadows, one for blush etc.

When I’m on vacation, I don’t even worry about all of that stuff, I just take one compact eyeshadow palette that I can use for all things like cheek and highlight. My favorite right now is the Huda Beauty Muave Obsession Mini Palette. These colors are my go to colors for a natural or all out glam look. I can use the light colors for highlight and the soft colors for blush. I also love the Naked Basic palette. It has all the neutral colors for when I just want a simple ‘awake’ look rather than a glam look.

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Pick everyday lip products

I can easily get carried away with lip products especially when I have 174937 of the same ‘Nude’ shade. What I decided to do was go with 2 shades, one natural every day color and one neutral bold but not too bold color. By doing this I was able to make sure I only take colors I know I will wear and will look good with every look.

My all time favorite lip products that also happen to be travel size, is the Kat Von D liquid lipsticks. Although they don’t sell the entire kit anymore (it was a holiday special) the individual colors are still available. My got to lip color is Lolita. I also love the Huda Beauty liquid lipsticks. There are so many great options.

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Essentials for skincare routine

To be honest, I literally don’t have a skincare routine. I just need something to wash my face with in the morning to get rid of all the oils and something to take my make up off in the evening. I pretty much don’t use anything else except for masks but I don’t take that with me to travel cuz who has all that time?! So this part is super easy because all I need is my Fresh Soy Face Cleanser and my Simple makeup remover wipes.

I absolutely love the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. It does a great job at eliminating oils and left over make up and leaves the skin feeling super soft and fresh. I guess they call it Fresh for a reason!

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Use hand face and body lotion

How many of you take a separate lotion for the face, hands and body? I used to do that but then I always ran out of space in my luggage because all of those things come in huge packaging and they all serve the same purpose! I decided to go with a lotion that can be used for all 3. I actually use my daughters, Honest Company hand face and body lotion. You can use it for all 3 places and it does the job pretty great! I would have never thought to use it until I started getting it from my daughter.

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What are some of you favorite beauty products to bring along with you when you travel?

XOXO