It’s my favorite season, y’all! But, I’m not talking about Fall. For me, it’s travel season, that time of year I pack, unpack and repack to check on the fam scattered far and wide. Sure, O.K., there’s a Thanksgiving in there and, oh, Christmas, too, and New Year’s if you’re keeping score, but it all boils down to luggage, luggage and more luggage. It also means making sure I have all my best beauty products on-hand when I hit the road. (Don’t get me started on the toiletry bag struggle.)
I’ve pulled together some of my favorite beauty buys — and not just to take on the road but to use anytime. (They are really handy to travel with, though.) I love these pimple patches for quick fixes, a small bottle of self-tanner so I don’t look pasty and those shampoo and conditioner bars? Game changers. My absolute favorite, though? The set at No. 12 that you can literally grab and toss in your bag — beauty routine = complete.
Hit A Sticky Patch
Where were these acne patches during my teenage years? No, all we had was goopy cream that didn’t do anything. These hydrocolloid stickers are enhanced with tea tree, calendula and cica oil and blend in nicely with your skin, no matter its tone. They’re great for travel, too, since they’re packed in an easy, resealable patch. Shrink your zit overnight for just $8.
The Frizz Fighter
Some of you, no doubt, have tropical locales on your travel list — now or coming up soon. This anti-humidity spray deserves a place in your checked bag, thanks to its smoothing and sealing compounds that protect hair from unwanted moisture, leaving behind a weightless salon shine. Once it every three to four washes on any type of hair for frizz-free results.
Brush It Off
One of my tricks for packing is to leave my toiletry bag mostly intact. Yes, all the time. It just requires extra travel-sized products and a few extra accessories like a boar bristle brush that’s always on standby. This travel-size brush has bristles that make hair smooth and shiny and nylon pins that massage and detangle. You might like it so much you’ll need two.
Power Of The Pen
Why should women have all the fun? Men like to look good, too, including on the road. This beard pencil filler is multipurpose, not only helping draw that tight beard line you want but filling in spotty patches, too. Oil-based, waterproof and sweatproof, the coloring tip is designed to hold up to daily use and the spoolie tip is great for brushing through your hair.
Tan Your Hide
Here’s what no one tells you about tanning: If you don’t reapply self-tanner fairly regularly, you go back to looking like Casper the friendly ghost. This sunless tanner comes in a handy 7.5-ounce size and has a host of organic ingredients to deliver a quick and long-lasting tan. You can even use this on your face. No Oompa Loompa look here; just sunkissed perfection.
Can’t Take The Heat
Don’t skimp on the heat protectant for your hair when you’re away from home, O.K.? Just don’t do it. This coconut thermal protectant spray hydrates dry and damaged hair; prevents split ends, frizz and static caused by styling and humidity; and, revitalizes dull hair, adding body, volume and shine. It also helps lock in color so your style stays fresh no matter where you are.
On My Soap Box
Shampoo bars are all the rage right now and why not? They’re long-lasting, travel well and skip all that wasteful packaging. This one — the Viori bar in “hidden waterfall” — works for all hair types and is packed with great benefits like cleansing, moisturizing, strengthening, renewing, volumizing and increasing shine, just to name a few. Keep your eyes peeled for the conditioner below.
Hand And Glove
I hate, hate, double hate, loathe entirely washcloths in hotels. These exfoliating bath gloves are worth packing, essentially turning your hands into loofahs so you get a good cleaning (without those scratchy washcloths). These are also great for gently exfoliating the skin, essentially eliminating things like clogged pores and ingrown hairs. You’ll get two pairs for $12 so take one and leave one at home.
Keratin-A-Go-Go
I’ve written about these keratin serum capsules a few times so when it came time to write about beauty products great for travel, I knew they had to be included. Just look how cute they are! And, because they’re essentially individually packaged, they’re perfect for tossing in a toiletry bag. Reduce frizz and breakage and impart shine whether you’re at home or in Houston.
A Perfect Ten
Here’s the key to packing your beauty products: Find those rockstar items that do more than one thing and lighten your load. This 10-in-1 leave-in spray has 10 (surprise!) benefits in one bottle, from detangling and hydrating to adding silkiness and shine. Leave your typical arsenal at home and put your faith in this do-it-all treatment. Reviewers love its smell and how well it works.
Stay Salty
Sea salt spray is perfect for travel and here’s why: You can extend your existing hairdo by adding a little beachy tousel or you can use it to help curls hold their shape longer. (Ask me how I know.) With a few more days between washes, you can skip packing all those extra hair products and appliances. This one is marketed to men but if you use it, I’ll never tell.
Pack Your Farmacy
Farmacy is one of my favorite beauty brands of the past decade and they’re still relatively young, just opening in 2015. This travel set has a few of the company’s best products in travel-ready sizes including Deep Sweep toner, Green Clean makeup remover, Honey Halo moisturizer and Honeymoon Glow serum. It’s the total package, valued at $62, perfect for travel and easier on your wallet at $42.
The Power Of Purple
Traveling is not the time to skimp on upkeep for your blonde, platinum and silver locks. This three-piece gift set cares for your tresses here or there with shampoo, conditioner and a mask that reviewers call “hands down the best” they’ve tried. It’s vegan, never tested on animals and free of parabens and sulfates. Neutralize the brass wherever you are.
Hang Out To Dry
Dry shampoo could easily be the eighth wonder of the world and I’ve never met one I don’t like. I’ve also never seen one as perfectly packaged as this one from Ambiance for travel. This tips the scale at a half-ounce (but there’s a larger size to choose from) and comes in blonde, brunette, red and untinted shades. Brush it in and keep it moving.
The Balm Dot Com
Try one reviewer’s “all-time favorite cleanser” and another great product from the crew at Farmacy — this Clearly Clean makeup meltaway cleansing balm. Great for sensitive skin with natural exfoliation built in and a fragrance-free formula, this balm is, well, the balm bomb at getting rid of makeup to deliver your cleanest face ever. And, because it’s a solid, it’s great for travel with no spill potential.
A Waterless “C”
You don’t always have access to water when you’re traveling. This breakthrough, first-of-its-kind vitamin C facial serum uses waterless technology for the best efficacy and penetration (and yes, it’s another rockstar Farmacy product). The serum hydrates, targets dark spots and brightens the skin in a product that is effortlessly absorbed. One Amazon reviewer says it is “truly a miracle product.”
In Mint Condition
Here’s the conditioning “sister” of the shampoo bar from Viori we already talked about and yes, you’re going to want the set. Also in the “hidden waterfall” scent, these are handcrafted with rice water and other natural ingredients that are free of the bad stuff like sulfates, parabens and phthalates. Infused with natural essential oils including cedarwood oil, mandarin, jasmine, sandalwood and amber, it imparts a truly delicious scent.
That Good Oil
The words “oil” and “hair” really don’t seem like they should go together, do they? After all, don’t we wash our hair to get rid of oil? This weightless hair treatment oil is the “good oil” for dry and damaged hair, adding shine, strengthening locks and smoothing split ends and frizz. This includes all the good oils you hear so much about including argan, avocado, jojoba seed and camellia.
Scrub-A-Dub-Dub on the go!
When I first saw this picture, I think she was naked. Ahem. That aside, this exfoliating body wash deeply cleans and imparts a new type of “energy” to your skin that you’ll especially appreciate in the mornings. Packed with plant-based ingredients, it gently exfoliates and improves skin’s texture. The 3.3-ounce size is just right for a carry-on or checked bag.
Crash Pad
If you’re a child of the 80s like me, you have fond (or maybe not-so-fond) memories of Oxy, Stridex or Clearasil pads. Consider these the grownup version that fights blemishes, minimizes pores and improves skin texture in a format that’s ideal for travel. These dual-textured pads have both salicylic acid and mandelic acid that let you exfoliate your skin and fight acne — any time, any place.
Deep Sweep
When you get finished with that travel-sized toner from Farmacy (you know, in that set above?), you’re going to want the full-sized product. (You’re going to need to refill that travel bottle, after all.) This pore cleanser and facial exfoliator is so, so gentle you’ll wonder if it’s working — until you catch your reflection in the mirror. It’s destined to become your new fave.
Lay Your Head On This Pillow
Travel doesn’t mean skimping on your self-care and the No. 1 self-care hack in my life is a luxurious bath. This bath pillow uses both mesh and foam so it dries quickly and attaches to any bath surface with included suction cups. And, because it’s both flat and squishy, it’s a cinch to toss it on your suitcase (even if you have to sit on it to close it).