As summer officially kicks off, and Covid restrictions start to lift, we can start to think about traveling again. And with that the task of packing. And with that the task of packing make up.

How do you decide what makeup to bring on a trip with you? Or more specifically, how do you decide which eye shadow palette to bring? I ask myself four things…

1. How sturdy is the packaging? You want something that can take a few bumps and not shatter
2. Do I care if I lose it? Do you? Don’t take your favorite or most expensive palette
3. How many looks can I get? You don’t want to bring multiple palettes for multiple looks. Choose one that is more versatile or somewhat neutral.
4. Is it a face friendly palette? By face friendly, I mean does it have anything besides eye shadow? (Highlighter, bronzer, blush..etc.). Normally I do not like face palettes, and I do not tend to reach for them, unless I am traveling.

Last week, like so many Long Islanders, I took a trip to the Jersey Shore. The only palette I own that checks all of my traveling boxes is my Tarte Clay Play Eye & Cheek palette. However, while going through my makeup drawers, I noticed something I had completely forgot about. My Kaja bento boxes.

Kaja

I first learned about Kaja because they have an eyeliner that does not contain iron oxides. Kaja is a K beauty brand. You can find them on Sephora, amazon and http://us.memebox.com, the website of MBX owned brands. They have some of the cutest products on the market. Like their cheeky stamp blush. Are you too old to stamp a heart on your face? No….you are going to blend it out anyway. Have fun with it🥰.

Normally, I don’t like anything that stacks, but Kaja’s bento boxes don’t really stack, they are attached. There are 13 eyeshadow “boxes” on the website, each containing 3 colors. Some of them are all shimmer, some are two mattes and one shimmer, and some are all matte. At $21.00 a piece, they are not the cheapest on the market, but they are so unique and travel friendly. I have Rosewater, and Chocolate Dahlia. The formula is amazing, and I have had no reactions.

The face bentos were launched not that long ago. For $25 you get a powder blush, a powder highlighter, and a cream bronzer. There are three shades, with Butter Up being the lightest, Mochamallow the darkest, and Cloud Latte in between. If any of these work for you, I would highly recommend them. You can throw it in your makeup bag, and all three products work really well. The blush is pigmented and blends nicely. The highlighter is on the subtle side, but really beautiful. However, my favorite was the cream bronzer which melts into the skin like a dream. It reminds me a lot of the Im meme cream bronzer, which I love and cannot seem to find anymore. (Kaja and Im meme are sister brands).

All these products are lovely, but if I could only choose one, I would choose the face bentos over the eyeshadows. It’s just so rare that you get three products together that really do work so well. Like I said, as long as the shades work for you I really don’t think you can go wrong, whether you are traveling or not.

I would also recommend you get an air heart lipstick (yes they are heart shaped.) This is one of the best lipstick formulas I have ever tried. They do not seem to be available on Sephora anymore, but you can get them on the website or through amazon. As I write this, they are on sale through the website for $12.00.

Colourpop

When you think of travel friendly palettes, does Colourpop really come to mind? Probably not. But in going through my makeup drawer, I found another forgotten palette that looked like it might be good for travel. This one is the “Cream Soda” palette. Do you remember when Colourpop launched these quad palettes? I think there were six of them. It was not that long ago, and yet, do you really remember them? It’s another example of palettes getting “lost in the launches.” Let me just say, that when I left on Sunday everything was the Hello Kitty Tropics launch. It is now Thursday, and in that time not only has a new palette been launched in “Lust for Dusk,” but a new collection, “Lush Life” is about to drop.

It’s just a shame when palettes like Cream Soda get lost and forgotten. Because this little palette is good. Like really, really, really good. There is nothing fancy about the clear packaging, but so what? It seems sturdier than some of Colourpop’s other packaging. It’s the formula though…that formula. Colourpop usually has a pretty solid formula, but this one I though was even better. Two mattes and two shimmers (I believe one is a glitter shimmer…..NOT to be confused with a pressed glitter.) All of them just blend together perfectly. And so comfortable to wear. Another one you can throw in your makeup bag…purse…whatever…I am just so impressed!

⭐Just checked out Colourpop’s website….Cream Soda is out of stock, so maybe it was popular. At $9.00 it is well worth the money, so if they bring it back I would highly recommend it. Citrus Fizz, Mocktail, Sparkler and Creamsicle are all still available, so hopefully these are as good. Sorbet is also out of stock.

⭐⭐On another Colourpop side note, as I am writing this I got an email that my PTO was approved. Lush Life has officially dropped. Very cute marketing on Colourpop’s part, although I was disappointed that I did not have an actual day off. These are definitely not my colors, so I will be skipping this one, but it is a beautiful collection. My sixth sense is telling me this will be a hit for Colourpop. I personally think they should end their summer launches here.

In Conclusion…..

Whether you call it “shop my stash” or “full face of nothing new” or whatever, I love to re-discover makeup that I already own. I threw all these products in a make up bag with a bb cream, a gloss, an eyebrow pencil and a mascara, and I was good to go.

If I could just make 2 suggestions:

1. Don’t bring your best brushes with you. Amazon has some “traveling brush sets” that are very reasonably priced (between $8-$15). They also come with cases.
2. Don’t waste money on a “traveling” or “sample size” mascara. It has always been my experience that they do not work as well. Just take your full size.

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy and safe summer whether you are going anwhere or not. Don’t forget to let me know what kind of make up you travel with.