What's In My Travel Bag?

So I'm back from my Melbourne trip, the purpose of which was just to relax and enjoy some 'me time' (oh OK, and to shop!), so I thought I'd post about what skincare products I took with me. I've fallen into the trap, many times, of overpacking not just clothes, but also in the beauty department. I've packed full-sized bottles of toner that leaked everywhere, huge hairsprays most of which I wouldn't need and 17 lipsticks, when three would have been sufficient!

I totally decided to adult and pack smart this time! They don't make travel-sized products for shits and giggles after all! Luckily, the Bloggers United AU Adelaide Event I attended a few months ago provided me with goodie bags filled with beauty products to try, many of them mini-sized. So I raided my goodie bags, sample collection and product stash to unearth a good array of products designed to meet my needs without taking up half my suitcase! Of course, this was another chance to use up the leftover samples from my May Sample Challenge Update post, too!

Now you might be thinking 15 (two not pictured) products just for skincare is a lot to take for a three night trip, and IT IS! But when they're this small, you can totally get away with it!

Skincare Products I Took:
Burts Bees Nourishing Facial Water ~ only remembered to use it once, but it was refreshing and lovely.
NatraSan Instant Hand Sanitiser* (not pictured) ~ absolute godsend, I used this every day during makeup application, as I do at home.
Swisspers Cleansing Eye Make-Up Remover Pads (not pictured) ~ these weren't that good, I felt like there wasn't enough product in each pad for them to work effectively.
Natralus Paw Paw Lip Butter in Coconut* ~ nourishing, moisturising, great for keeping my lips soft.
La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream ~ I save the luxe skincare samples for holidays when I want to look my best, and La Prairie is my most favourite skincare brand. Amazing results (with an accompanying amazing pricetag, eg the 50ml of this will set you back $530 - which is why I treat my La Prairie samples like liquid gold!).
La Prairie Essence of Skin Caviar Eye Complex ~ I use this as a first step under my eyes... BAM! Immediate improvement in dark circles, puffiness and fine lines. If you ever get the opportunity to try anything from La Prairie, for the love of god, do it!
Enbacci Vitis Vinifera Rejuvenating Gel Cleanser* ~ gel cleansers are my favourite, and this Enbacci one was really nice. I'd definitely look into buying this once my trial size runs out.
Enbacci Microdermabrasion Exfoliating Scrub* ~ yas! A clear standout for me. I love the texture of the super-fine particles; this scrub felt great and my skin was smooth and soft afterwards. Love it!
Enbacci Pore Minimiser with Tea Tree Oil*, Vitis Vinifera Rejuvenating Essential Creme* and Vitis Vinifera Essence with Grape Stem Cells* ~ didn't end up using.
Dr Hauschka Lavender Sandalwood Calming Body Cream* ~ this is a beautiful, light formula that absorbed really quickly and smelled delightful. Perfect for before bed because lavender helps you sleep (not that I needed help, I was stuffed after all the walking each day)!
Dr Hauschka Moor Lavender Calming Bath Essence* ~ didn't use because I bought a few Lush bath products to use instead. I couldn't help myself! (see photo below!)
Clinique Smart Custom Repair Serum ~ this is OK, but I prefer the Clinique Sculptwear Lift And Contour Serum, mini-reviewed here.
Clinique All About Eyes Serum ~ I used this on one morning when I had puffiness and it was cooling and effective in improving the appearance of my under-eye area.

The reason I didn't use the Dr Hauschka Bath Essence. Oops! #soznotsoz

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Disclaimer: Products marked * were provided for editorial consideration. Reviews are my honest opinion. There are no affiliate links in this post. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

What are your favourite travel-friendly products?

April Favourites!

Time to talk about the products I absolutely loved in April! These are the special beauty finds I've been reaching for frequently, because I'm downright enamoured with them and the results they produce. Here we go!

Soap & Glory The Breakfast Scrub
This gives the Natura Siberica Oblepikha and Honey Body Scrub, raved about here, a run for its money in the body scrub stakes, and may have just reached Holy Grail status, along with the aforementioned NS one. I picked this up in Mecca Maxima on my Sydney trip (see the massive Beauty Haul here). It was a Staff Favourite, and it's not hard to see why. The Breakfast Scrub is the perfect consistency. It's thick, so when you grab a handful it ain't slipping off and wasting down the drain. The formula is just right if you're into super-scrubby exfoliators and the smell.... oh my! One word: PANCAKES! This has oat, shea butter, sugar, bananas, almond and honey extracts and a maple scent that has to be smelled to be believed. Highly recommended!

Bioderma Sensibio H2O*
Up until about a month ago, my go-to had been the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (in the pink bottle). And I thought it was pretty good. Then I was sent this, and honestly Bioderma blows it out of the water! I'd avoided this one because it was dearer, but my gosh is it gentle and super effective. My skin is left soft, clean and feeling comfortable. There's no drying and no need to wipe firmly, as Sensibio H2O is just so good at what it does. I love how this feels; it's a pleasure to use and I can't really see myself going back to the Garnier one after this sample bottle runs out. Recommended!

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette
I don't own too many high end palettes, so it was quite a treat for me to pick this up! I was tossing up between the original, Semi-Sweet and Bon Bons Too Faced palettes, but I'm so happy I decided on this one. This is honestly so wearable on a day-to-day basis and the shades are really pigmented. I don't know why I hesitated dropping $78, because it's worth every cent and I'm getting a lot of use out of it. Also, it smells like chocolate. Winning!

Skin Doctors Beetox
I bought this on sale at Priceline, and I pretty much use it every morning now! Beetox is an anti-ageing bee venom treatment with manuka honey that works to firm, tighten, lift and plump out your skin, making it appear fuller and more youthful. I'd already had great success with other Skin Doctors products, Eyetuck being my favourite, followed by Instant Eyelift and Eyecircle, so I was keen to give this a go. It says to avoid the eye area, however that's where I start applying this (carefully and not too close to the actual eyes!) as under my eyes is the only place I have fine lines. Also, depending on Christ knows what, this area can appear hollow from time to time, and I've found Beetox has really helped to eradicate this annoying problem by plumping it out, giving me a 'normal' instead of 'fresh corpse' look. This product claims to triple the formation of collagen in 7 days and increase cell renewal by 80% in 15 days. I'm not sure if that's accurate, but it's working for me so I'll continue to buy it. Side note: this smells really nice, too!

Natralus Natural Paw Paw Lip Butter*
I was kindly gifted a handful of Natralus Lip Butters at the Bloggers United Adelaide Event, and I'm really glad, because they are quite a find! These are made with organic Australian papaya, contain shea butter and vitamin E and just as importantly, absolutely no parabens or petrochemicals! I've worked my way through the Honey & Vanilla one and now that I've started on the Strawberry, my eight year old son has declared it his new favourite (seyanora Smiggle watermelon lip balm!). I love applying this nourishing formula before bed so I wake up with soft, smooth lips in the morning, and I know I'll be throwing one in my travel bag for my trip interstate next month. Can't wait to give the Coconut lip butter a go, too!

Maybelline Master Graphic Eyeliner
I'm already a huge fan of Maybelline Masterliner (it's my everyday eyeliner), however a drawback is that the rounded tip is not designed for creating on point wings. Cue my magnificent idea to pick up this baby. This looks like a felt tip/magic marker  type pen and has a slanted, pointy end perfect for adding cat's eye flicks to the ends of my top eyeliner! If you have trouble drawing on your wings, I'd highly recommend giving the liquid Master Graphic Eyeliner a go, because it turns a potentially tricky process into a piece of cake. I've cut my eye makeup application time down by a third since incorporating this into my routine, because as soon as I learnt my desired angle, my flicks went on quickly and easily and stayed put throughout the day!

Davroe Volume Senses Shampoo* and Conditioner*
Like the lip butters, I generously received a set of Davroe hair care products at the Bloggers United Adelaide Event. Having such fine (hey, girlfriend!) locks, I made a beeline straight for the volumising products. I've been using the Volume Shampoo (which I've just finished) together with the Volume Conditioner and the results are healthy-looking, soft hair that still has body. I've used so many volume shampoos and conditioners over the years, and although they give my hair volume, they also often strip my hair or leave it squeaky clean, with the intention of creating some grip, like when you spray dry shampoo into your roots and rub it around. This does create volume but it's not very good for your hair. Anyhoo, with these Davroe products, my hair actually looks fuller, but also soft, healthy and swishy. I love this brand, and am keen to try out the rest of the range.

Lush Ayesha Fresh Face Mask
Oh my. I said on Instagram this stinks like a mofo and I wasn't kidding! I guess if I liked the main ingredient, asparagus, I might feel differently. But the thing is, this mask really lifts and firms my skin. You know it must be good if it's in my favourites even though it pongs! I was so surprised after my first use, and now I use this before any event or night out where I want to feel extra confident, because the firming effect makes me appear years younger. My all-time favourite Lush mask (so far!).

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Disclaimer: Products marked * were provided for editorial consideration, however reviews are my honest and unbiased opinion. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

Got a Favourites post? Link it up below, I'd love to have a read!