Makeup doesn’t look nearly as good without the right tools. This has all the brushes you could need while away from home, packed in the cutest pink case that also has room for all your makeup essentials. After you’re come back from vacation, you can still use these brushes for everyday.
Packing Pretty
I love going on vacation, except that I always end up staring at my toiletries and wishing I could bring them all with me. It’s always so hard to pack lightly, so I decided to assemble a few fashionista beauty survival kits. These kits contain all you’ll need to take on your vacation this summer, whether you’re headed to St. Barths, New York, or just on a weekend trip up to the lake.
Traveling does a number on your skin, leaving it dry and dull-looking. Spritz this on your face for an instant blast of cool water mist, facial hydration, and to set your makeup. Nothing feels better in sweltering heat. Keep one in your carry-on, your everyday bag, and your hotel room!
Foundation just feels like too much during summer, but this tinted moisturizer covers like it’s a foundation without being heavy, cakey, or actually looking like makeup.
Shu Uemera is one of my favorite makeup lines. All of their products are worth their weight in gold. The opportunity to try the Principe Eye Zone cream is worth it alone. Shu’s eyelash curler has a near-legendary following. Plus, the mascara is my hands-down favorite on Earth. Just a quick swipe and you’ve got perfectly curled, separated lashes that look natural. To make lashes fuller and thicker, use the mascara with the Lash Definer. Bonus points with the Lash Definer: it will strengthen your lashes, making them healthier in the long term.
I can’t stress the importance of sunscreen enough. You need it year-round to avoid skin cancer and damage from the sun’s rays, but it’s SO important if you’re on vacation laying in the sun. Experts have been saying for years that you should always wear a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. I believe in getting the highest SPF available, SPF 55. Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer is my favorite. It’s cheap, it works (I’ve never sunburned), and it doesn’t smell funny or feel sticky when you apply it.
The Island Girl
She’s all about a great tan and looking hot, but without looking like she ever tried.
Adds just a touch of color to your cheeks, stays on for a million years like all their cheek stains do and smells just faintly of coconuts. It couldn’t be more perfect!
I love Tarte’s products, they’re really high quality and they wear really well. The hot pink and coral glosses are just too much fun in warm weather, especially since they’re never the least bit sticky or gloopy. The packaging is genius…you can carry both glosses with you, or you can snap one off if you choose. Also, who doesn’t love a good reference to Pretty in Pink?
If you’re on an island, chances are you’re enjoying the gorgeous sandy beaches. Take your obsession with the beach one step further with this shower gel. Showering with this gel leaves a light, sea-salty, sunny scent on your skin that can only be described as “beachy.” This gel also gets brownie points for softening your skin and coming in a travel-friendly tube so there will be no sad accidents involving losing half the shower gel to your suitcase.
Green seems bold in the tube, but it really proves itself as a wearable, yet still fun color here. Estee Lauder makes wonderful shadows that stay put even on the oiliest of lids. Their Pure Pops eyeshadows are so easy to apply…all you need to do is squeeze a tiny bit of product out of the tube and swipe over your eyes.
Naturally flushed cheeks and YLBB in the same product? Sure! This is it! Apply with a light touch to lips or cheeks and blend, blend, blend. The lightweight gel makes it easy and feels slightly cool to the touch when applying.
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The City Girl
She’s facing the endless heat, the endless numbers of people sharing the streets with her, and yet she still wants nothing more than to look the epitome of classy urban chic.
It looks so cool and opalescent in the bottle, but packaging isn’t the only fun part of this eyeshadow. Shake it up, and then apply to lids with the wand. The fine shimmer will stay put on your eyes until the time comes when you want to take it off. It looks pretty, light, but definitely worthy of a night on the town. I love Bay, a warm, coral-orangey color that plays off so many skintones and eye colors so well.
LOVE! It’s the prefect bronzer in a compact, with three colors placed in a bull-eye shape (so cute!) that you can blend for a natural look or use separately. The finely milled powder brushes on beautifully, never looks orange-y and has only the slightest bit of sheen. Comes in three colors so girls of all skintones can find the one that works best on their own complexions. The city girl will appreciate how it lasts and lasts and lasts.
It’s a classic among those who know and love Jo Malone’s scents. It’s such a crisp, fresh combination that counters the predictability of cloying sugary floral fragrances. Instead of feeling like a sweaty and sticky mess, you’ll walk around with the air of a calm, cool, collected and effortlessly chic individual.
The Body Shop’s Body Butters are among the most moisturizing, and tantalizingly scented substances known to man. I love layering scented body lotions underneath fragrances, especially lotions that will strengthen one of the notes in the perfume or cologne you choose to wear. It makes the cologne you’re wearing multi-dimensional and less predictable. This one works brilliantly under the Jo Malone.
The City Girl loves the classic Vamp in cold weather, but in summer, the hottest color Chanel makes is Barcelona Red. It’s a straightforward fiery red with a shot of shimmer. Your pedicure will never look better.
The Country Girl
For the girl whose vacation is going to be at the lake in the countryside, it’s always best to keep it simple and light.
The color seems dark in the compact, but it’s really foolproof! Just swipe on cheeks with a light touch, blend upward, and swipe your lips with the excess. With virtually no effort, you’ll look beautifully flushed and glowy, kind of like coming off a workout without the sweat factor. It’s all the makeup you’ll need.
I’m a die-hard addict to the Smudge Pot. I wear the black one obsessively, but summer is a time to lighten things up so I’m reaching for the Smudge Pot in Brown. It’s eyeliner…it’s shadow, and you can apply it in so many different ways. It’s probably the single best makeup for eyes.
The cute, uplifting name epitomizes the body wash inside. It’s all about fresh, zingy, mint. Your body temperature will lower from sweltering hot to cool as a cucumber after showering with this. It’s like having a mojito without the hangover and embarrassing stories of things you don’t remember doing.
Their wonderful Green Tea fragrance takes a slightly unexpected twist here with the addition of mint tempered by bitter orange, cedar, and thyme. Spritz on right after using Philosophy Empowermint to intensify the minty fresh smell and feeling.
