My ‘Cabin Bag-Only’ Weekend Beauty Stash

For the second half of the year, due to time-off constraints Mark and I have stuck to long weekend travel. Madrid came first, then Amsterdam and finally Copenhagen which we arrived back from yesterday (apologies for the lack of #AnEditedLife newsletter this morning, I thought I’d write it last night but ended up with a cracking headache that knocked me for six!) – city guide coming next week when we’ve got the photos developed. These trips are fab for many reasons, firstly because you get to digest a snippet of a new city and culture and secondly because they require just a teeny tiny amount of your holiday allowance. We love ’em. All the excitement of a holiday with a small budget and not too much catch-up to play when you get home.

The thing I’m not so crazy about is the whole ‘cabin bag-only’ thing. Of course you could pay extra to check-in a bag and stick in the hold, but when you’re going away for two nights in theory you should be able to stuff everything you need into a case that fits into the overhead lockers. Plus – it saves you waiting time at either end. The clothing I had got down – take just two pairs of shoes and wear your biggest clothes and your coat on the plane – but beauty stuff got me in a tizz every time. So I decided to make myself a kit that lived in my suitcase and was ready to go at anytime, which makes me sound like such a jet-setter when in reality I don’t have any more holidays booked. LOL. Fancy taking a look inside? Here is everything that I could possibly need – tried and tested and airline approved…

THE LIQUIDS BAG

This is where the majority of my travel beauty is stored in this Space NK Travel Bag, so in here we have a bit of everything; from body bits to perfumes and skincare to makeup. I like to keep my routine the same as when I’m at home to minimise the chance of any post-plane breakouts – I either invest in the travel minis that I can top up when I’m done, or decant out my favourites into old travel-size pots that I’ve used up. I do the same with makeup too, buying the sample versions of my favourites to save on space and pack everything in…

Aromatherapy Associates Relax Body Wash // Mitchum Mini Roll-On Deodorant // Commodity Bergamot Travel-Size Perfume // Murine Bright & Moist Eye Drops // Mini Marvis Strong Mint Toothpaste // Bumble & Bumble Sunday Shampoo (decanted) // Travel Size Clarins Instant Eye Makeup Remover // Drunk Elephant Beste No.9 Jelly Cleanser // Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum // Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum // Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum // Drunk Elephant T.L.C Framboos Glycolic Night Serum // Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil // Tan-Luxe The Face Self-Tan Drops // Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream SPF 30 (decanted) // Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Treatment // Sample Size It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream in Fair // Glossier Stretch Concealer in Light // RMS Beauty Living Luminizer // NARS Pro-Prime Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base // Mini Lancome Monsieur Big Mascara // CHANEL Rouge Coco Lipstick in Adrienne

THE DRY BAG

In my Glossier pouch I keep goods that are still beauty-related, but aren’t in liquid form; so we’re talking tools, makeup removing methods, powders and pencils. If in doubt, I find it best to pack the item in with my liquids, just to be on the safe side. I’m also a huge lover of cream products, but when travelling I wear more powders than usual; one because they last longer and I tend to be out all day, and two it spares me some space in the liquids side of my stash…

Travel-Size Venus Razor // Bamboo Toothbrush // Pouch featuring Cotton Pads, Cotton Buds and Floss Sticks // Travel-Size Wet Brush // Yu Ling Mini Facial Roller // Surratt Eyelash Curler // BeautyBlender // Zoeva 104 Buffer Brush // Zoeva 90 Luxe Grand Powder Brush // Zoeva 228 Luxe Crease Brush // Marc Jacobs 104 Tan-Tastic Omega Bronze (for the bronzer and the large mirror in the compact!) // NARS Brow Perfector in Medium Brown Cool // MAC Eyeshadow in Soba // NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella

MY TOP TIPS FOR PACKING BEAUTY BITS IN HAND-LUGGAGE

Decant where possible. Not only will it save you on much-needed space, it will help you out with any weight limits too. Either buy yourself a decanting kit, or re-use other used-up travel miniatures where possible.

To make sure that you haven’t missed anything live out of your packed beauty bits exclusively for a day or two. If you’ve forgotten to pack your toothbrush – you’ll soon realise!

Be prepared to have to demonstrate that you can fit your liquids into one of those clear plastic bags at security. Nine times out of ten they let you through when it’s packed into your own clear bag, but I have been stopped once just to prove that I could fit my liquids into the official bag. Side note: it fitted no problem at all.

When you get to your destination redistribute your beauty belongings between the two bags that you’ve got. I tend to keep all my shower and skincare bits in the bathroom and so stick them in the yellow bag that’s easy to store on a bathroom ledge, and then pack all my makeup into the pink bag and put it by the window – so it’s all ready to use, without having to empty everything onto the bed each morning to find what you need.

Photos by Emma Croman

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