For the Love of Minis: Travel Essentials (ft. Lookfantastic HK)

Call me a beauty junkie, but the amount of minis I have amassed in the past few months is no joke. This is mostly due to receiving the Lookfantastic Beauty Box, as well as redeeming beauty samples when I buy in store (especially Korean beauty shops!) Minis are great for shaking up your skincare routine with new products to try, and of course, as anyone with common sense can tell you, their size makes them perfect for travelling. The past couple of months have actually seen me doing a fair bit of travelling--from the trip back home to Canada in April/May to the holiday with my sister to South Korea in May/June. At some point in my deluded youth, I used to love packing, which to be honest, was probably an extended state of excitement for the travel that would follow. Now being older and (somewhat) wiser, I recognize packing for the hassle that it is, mostly because I just have so much stuff.

From the makeup (face, eyes, lips and everything in between), to the clothes (planning outfit combinations is just stressful), and let's not even mention the skincare/toiletries bit. Somehow I always leave this part to the last, resulting in a mad scramble between the bathroom and my dressing table making sure I haven't forgotten anything, because if there's anything that messes with your skin (and thereby your basic ability to look human), it's travel. Here, take a look into my beauty stash and see what I took with me to go traipsing all around the world...

The Face Routine

Most of my travel skincare revolves around one concept: moisturize! I don't quite subscribe to the ten-step Korean skincare regime (being kind of lax with skincare on normal days anyway) but I do find layering products to be the most effective. Cleanser, toner, essence and serum (or is it the other way around? I can never remember), moisturizer, and so on... Looking beautiful is hard work LOL.

But in all seriousness, I have in recent years realized the importance of maintaining a beautiful complexion/canvas--and it also really helps with the makeup application later on! I feel I should also give a shout-out to facial sprays here--a must-have for refreshing moisture on-the-go, be it as the last step in your morning, while you're out and about, or even on the plane.

Pictured above, clockwise L-R:SkinChemists 24H Aqua Repair Facial Serum, Monu Rosewood Reviving Mist, Innisfree Green Tea Moisture Cream, Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil, Innisfree Green Tea Moisture Essence, Caudalie VineActiv 3-in-1 Moisturizer, BalanceMe Balancing Face Moisturizer, Makeup Forever Ultra HD Skin Booster, Innisfree Green Tea Moisture Skin, Polaar Icy Magic Instant Eye Energiser, Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion

Bath and Body

There's nothing worse than the feeling of grubby hair, so a good shampoo is a must. I also usually also bring along a conditioner and a hair oil if I'm feeling really extra. If I'm honest, I'm the most lazy at styling my hair--dyeing it is one matter, but curling/straightening/buns/whatever is quite another LOL.

For the body, I'm not that bothered about body wash as long as it cleans, and I always bring a heavy-duty lotion like the NIVEA one or a body butter from The Body Shop--tubs are best simply because they're the easiest to get the product out of (just wash your hands before digging in, of course haha). I also thought I'd include this bath soak because although I rarely bother with baths at home, travelling provides just the excuse to do whatever you wouldn't do normally, right?

Pictured above:Kérastase Resistance Bain Force Architecte Strengthening Shampoo, Christophe Robin Purifying Shampoo, Mio Skincare Liquid Yoga Restorative Bath Soak

Skincare Treatments

Because if you can't treat yourself when you're on holiday, when can you? I often forget to do face masks at the best of times, but our trip to Korea provided the perfect opportunity to chill out in the evenings watching K-dramas on TV while treating our complexions. Plus, there's just something about Seoul that makes you want to put in the effort--it's probably the way everyone on the street looks either flawless or made-up, or both.

I was super excited to try the Oskia Renaissance Mask when it appeared in a previous edition of the LF Beauty Box because I had heard rave reviews about the brand from--who else?--beauty youtubers. The Laneige Water Sleeping Mask is another cult favourite, especially here in Asia, and a super easy way to treat the skin without too much effort (you apply it as you would a night cream--no mess to rinse off after!)

Pictured above L-R: Oskia Renaissance Mask, Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, Borghese Fango Brilliante Brightening Mud Mask

Extra Beauty Bits

I'll have to dedicate a whole other post to actual "travel beauty"--there's just so much to go into! Packing makeup usually means a roundup of the products I'm using at the moment and makeup I'd like to think I'll use on the trip (I never claimed to be a minimalist...) Here's just a teaser of aforementioned beauty bits.

First, perfume, because you can never go wrong with a nice scent. Then for the face, concealer is essential (cream, not liquid, for the sake of convenience), as well as a multitasking shimmer to help fake a bright complexion and make your eyes look more awake. I also think brows (and thereby brow pencils) are super duper important (especially because I basically have none), but more on that in said beauty post later. And the finishing touch--a bit of moisturizing colour to pull it all together.

Pictured above clockwise L-R: Chloé See by Chloé perfume, NYX Cosmetics Butter Gloss in Crème Brûlee, Bellápierre Cosmetics Shimmer Powder Eyeshadow, Burberry Brit Sheer perfume, Pür Disappearing Act Concealer

You can check out Lookfantastic or their Beauty Boxes for more beauty goodness--it's actually a pretty good way to enjoy a curated selection of highly-rated products. Plus you usually get one full-sized product in the mix and sometimes even Elle magazine (some of the pages which I've used as the background in these shots)!

So what's your travel skincare packing process like--are you a minimalist, or kind of a beauty junkie like me?

x Jessie

PS/Full disclosure: I was kindly sent the Lookfantastic Beauty Boxes by the company but was not paid to/asked to review them or include them on my blog. All opinions are, as always, my own.