Guest Post: Travelling Light

Over to Emma...

This is a guest post by Emma at Mellow Mummy who has recently found herself having to re-assess her beauty regime after a few overseas trips – what do you pack as your beauty essentials when travelling? 

Rather unexpectedly, the last three or four months have involved several business trips for me. Before that, I hadn't travelled overnight for work in more than 7 years so it came as a bit of a shock. The first time that I was asked to pack for a week in the Netherlands it was hinted to me that I might want to consider taking hand-baggage only. Hand-baggage? I have been known to take an entire bag for my cosmetics, bath products and make-up in the past, how would I manage to fit a week's worth of beauty products into a small clear bag suitable for taking through airport security???

Since then I've been abroad several times, including the US, and I think I'm finally getting the hang of packing light. I've invested in a few travel-sized cosm

etics and had a re-think about what I consider essentials when staying away from home. So here is my list of top 5 must-have beauty products when travelling light...

1. Conditioner
   Never ever rely on a hotel conditioner. Even if a hotel supplies conditioner for your hair it is guaranteed to be awful. I've found that Boots offer a good range of travel-sized items and they have a few different brands of conditioners available if you haven't room to pack your normal brand.
   
2. Moisturiser
   I've ummed and aahed over moisturiser during my last couple of journeys. Part of me wants a really light everyday moisturiser that my skin will drink up after the drying air of a flight or train journey and which will help me combat the effects of the huge volumes of caffeine that I need to consume to tackle the jet lag! On the other hand, it really helps me to have a tinted moisturiser such as Clarins Hydraquench that I can use as a cover for my jet-lagged eyes! Or a bit of lightening sparkle such as Clarins Vital Light which always gives me a great glow.
   
3. Lip Balm
   On a long-haul flight I've found a lip balm to be a lifesaver in the fight against the drying environment of the plane. Interestingly, if you look around at all the other single passengers on the plane you can spot the pros when it comes to travelling as they all have lip balms too – both men and women alike.
   
4. Deodorant
   Even if I have the luxury of checked luggage I will always slip a mini deodorant into my hand-baggage. After a journey, however short, I always feel refreshed if I can nip to the loo, wash my face and freshen up with a deodorant. To me, I find this post-flight or post-train ritual to be a great injection of energy and confidence to help me on my way to my final destination.
   
5. Lip Gloss
   My work style doesn't really demand a full face of make-up but,when I'm travelling, I usually have people to impress. Ordinarily I'd love to take a little compact make-up set with shadow, blush and lip colour as well as a dependable mascara. But sometimes I have to travel very light so the only thing I simply won't budge on is a great lip gloss that can moisturise as well as offer me a colour that will go with anything I wear. I'm currently loving my Clinque chubby stick glosses as I think they are really rich and I always have a colour to match my mood.

If you could only take 5 travel-sized items with you on a trip, what would you take? 

(Thanks to Emma for this lovely post!)