The Beauty Products I Pack When I Travel Carry-On Only
A breakdown of the exact products, and kit, I used on my latest trip
As much as I love talking about packing carry-on only, I haven’t posted much about the beauty products I pack when I’m traveling light.
When I got this question recently on Instagram, I thought it was time to finally put together my go-to formula for beauty product packing when you’re going carry-on only.
My Tips for Packing Beauty Carry-On Only
Start a Travel Size-Only Bin
The first piece of advice I can give is to collect all those samples you get when you shop at Sephora, Ulta, or Bluemercury. I’ve started a travel-size only bin where I put all my 3 oz. and below products, and when I travel, that’s the first place I go to. I can’t tell you how useful it is to have it all in one spot!
Products That are Easy to Pack Trial Sizes Only:
Now let’s talk about what I prioritize packing in travel sizes only. Here’s a list of products that I find are just fine to go travel size-only, assuming you’re traveling 3 weeks or less:
Micellar water: If you’re only traveling for a week to a month, a travel-sized bottle of micellar water should do. I use this mainly for eye makeup removal post-cleansing, so I’m not using a ton. I always bring along this pack of travel Q-tips and use it to get any remaining makeup off my water line or eyelid.
Toner: Another product you don’t need to bring a full-sized bottle of. I recently got a sample of this black rice K-beauty essence water from Haru Haru and like it so much, I may grab the full size for home! On this last trip I brought this travel size of the cult favorite Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting BHA toner; it’s only 1 ounce!
Face cleanser, specifically a balm cleanser: Don’t let the small size of this cleansing balm fool you; there’s easily enough in here for two weeks, if you use the recommended amount. I actually got this kit with the regular-sized Elemis cleansing balm and this one, and just refill the travel size as needed. A budget option is this one from Versed skin, at Target. I also threw in a sample of a cream La Roche Posay cleanser for this trip, which was a good second cleanse.
Fragrance: I brought the travel size of of Glossier You—a scent I regularly get compliments on. Of course you can grab any perfume sample you like, but I love this scent, and it was part of a kit I got with the regular size of the scent, too. It was limited edition, but they also make it with their other scents like Glossier Doux.
All that being said, there are a few products that I do bring that are “regular” sized. Read on for more!
What I Don’t Pack Travel-Size:
On our last trip to Norway, there were some full-sized products that I saved room for in my makeup bag, mainly because right now I’m on a mission to work on my pigmentation, and I didn’t want to take time off my routine.
Specialty Skin Products: Right now I’m using this pigment-reducing kit by Dr. Idriss, and I brought along the serum and vitamin C moisturizer from it. I’ve been committed to using this line, along with a pigment-reducing SPF, to help get rid of sun damage that’s recently popped up around my mouth and on my cheeks. (And so far I’ve been seeing great results; I’ll save that for another post!) I brought these full-sized products because I didn’t want to invest in the travel kit for this trip alone, and they’re both under 3 ounces anyway. (This would be a great way to try the line, by the way!)
Deodorant: This is only because I ran out of the travel size! But let me take this opportunity to say I love this deodorant by Evolve Together. I was influenced by a social media ad and bought their Deodorant Discovery Set on Black Friday, which has four travel sizes of all their scents… and I cannot tell you how amazing they smell (and YES, they do also keep away stink)!
I love all the scents equally and for different reasons, but when I recently grabbed a full size, I chose Monaco, which has notes of mandarin, rose and patchouli.
Eye cream: These are so small, packing full size doesn’t matter! I’ve been using the Prevage Anti-Aging Eye Serum for six+ months now, and I feel that my dark circles are much lighter, and my undereye skin is very plump. I haven’t taken and before and after pics, but the fact that I’ve bought two full-size tubes of this over the past six months tells you how much I love it! I feel it’s working so well that I’m not regularly using concealer when I leave the house. (Check out any given day on IG Stories and you can see what my unfiltered skin looks like!)
SPF: I’m sure you could find a travel size of any given SPF, but the one I’m using right now only comes in full size, and since it’s only 1.7 oz. it fit nicely in my makeup kit. I’ve been using this Anti-Pigment SPF 30 from Eucerin for 2.5 months now as part of my brightening regimen, and I’m so happy with it. It features a patented lightening agent called Thiamidol. It’s not available in US brick and mortar stores, but I buy it from my new favorite international beauty site, Care To Beauty, along with other amazing products from all around the world. I’m going to do a roundup post on some of favorites at some point, but in the meantime if you want to get anything on the site (including this incredible Beauty of Joseon SPF), use code SONNI10 for 10% off!
Minimal Makeup for Carry-On Only Travel
Now that we’ve been through skincare, I wanted to share what I brought along for makeup.
I’m in a bit of a minimalist era when it comes to my makeup lately (40+ makeup is a journey), so everything I packed fit nicely into the top compartment only in my makeup bag.
I’m including the picture of my whole cosmetics kit situation below as proof that this was all in one bag! Needless to say, because these makeup products are all smaller, you don’t have to worry about them taking up too much space or breaking the 3-ounce rule.
Tinted Moisturizer: This trip was super active—I’m talking hiking, swimming, ziplining, tree climbing, cold plunging and more!), for most days I didn’t even wear makeup. But my current favorite is this Veil Hydrating Skin Tint by Hourglass, which gives mid-coverage and has a beautiful natural finish. I wear Shade 9.
Concealer: Again, I didn’t wear a ton of makeup, but for days when I wanted to look a little more “done,” I used this full-coverage concealer by Hourglass under my eyes and on the red spots on my face. I wear shade Pearl.
Mascara: I’m obsessed with dark brown mascara lately! The look is still bold but much more natural for my skin tone and eye color; I don’t think I’ll go back to black anytime soon. This makes my lashes look great and full in the most natural way. I’ve been exclusively wearing this one from Sweed Beauty.
Eyelash Serum: I don’t even need to wear mascara anymore because the growth from this serum has been insane! I had someone ask me if I was wearing mascara, and my lashes were completely bare. Use it at least 3-4 times per week for the first two months, and then you can taper down to every other day.
Cream Blush: I love this peachy-nude cream blush called Suntouch by Sweed Beauty. For a more dramatic flush I also brought along Fancy Face. You can technically apply with your fingers, but I brought along my trusty IT Cosmetics No. 7 brush to apply and blend.
Creamy Pencil Eyeliner: This shade by—starting to notice a trend here? lol—Sweed Beauty is the ultimate natural golden brown, and I swear by it. It is the perfect there-but-not-there eyeliner.. does that make sense? I always get questions on what I’m using when I wear this, and my favorite way to wear it lately is just this, with my dark brown mascara.
Setting Powder: So technically this powder by Pat McGrath Labs is an undereye setting powder, but I use it for my whole face since it’s so finely milled and beautifully natural. I love it.
(Note: You’ve probably noticed but a lot of my current makeup faves come from Sweed Beauty. It’s been one of my favorite brands since sampling it two years ago. Again, it says something when I’m offered a sample of a product but continue to go back and buy it on my own. I’ve put together a list of all my Sweed favorites as well as a tutorial on how I use them here, if you want to peruse.)
Hair Products I Brought Along:
Super simple on this one—I only brought along a travel size of the Native shampoo and conditioner, as well as the travel size of this Kerastase product. This is a long-time MVP and I love that it comes in a travel size at 1.7 oz.
The Makeup Kit
And finally, I packed everything in this exact clear makeup bag for our trip. You know I also love my Calpak, but for this trip I packed so light, I could fit it all in here! This is only $38 and has two compartments—a thinner one on top, and a big one on the bottom.
That about wraps it up! I follow this formula more or less for every carry-on only trip I go on. Hope this was helpful in inspiring you to pack lighter on your next adventure!
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