Travelin' Light

With lots of lucky people jetting off on holidays over the next few months it's quite hard to fit full-size beauty products in your luggage to keep up with your skincare and beauty routines while not incurring those dastardly bag check-in charges! But traveling light doesn't mean you can only pack a toothbrush and shampoo and so I've compiled a list of the best travel-sized beauty essentials.

Face, Body and Bath

Some brands are just reliable in whatever shape or form they come in and when I saw these travel-size kits from endlessly reliable French Pharmacy brand Nuxe and purveyors of all things beauty Benefit I had to add them to my essential luggage list.

Benefit
Two years ago Benefit released a brand new skincare line of brightening skin products and this travel set the B.Right Radiant Skincare set (€12.00-€18.95 depending on where you buy it so shop around!) is both a brilliant introduction to the strongest products in the range and also the perfect size for a complete skincare routine you can pop in your suitcase when traveling anywhere.

Pick of the bunch: A toss up between the wonderfully hydrating Total Moisture face cream and It's Potent eye cream. After trying these for a few days you'll want to buy the full sizes.

Nuxe
I just love this French Pharmacy brand Nuxe. It started with their landmark product Huile Prodigieuse which I have praised to the hills here so I had to investigate the brand further and this travel kit (approx. €17.00) was the perfect way to do it and such a treat to bring with you on holidays. While the Benefit kit is for face care this kit covers the whole body containing a shower gel, hand cream, cleanser, body oil and moisturiser.

Every single item in this kit is so lovely to use and so luxurious I wanted to buy every item in full size when I was finished. The shower gel and hand cream are scented just like Huile Prodigieuse and the entire kit leaves your skin so soft and radiant and you smelling like a little piece of heaven. This, for me, is the most pampering travel kit I've come across that covers face and body essentials.

Pick of the bunch: Huile Prodigieuse is perfect for heading off to a hot climate that might dehydrate your skin and perhaps leave your hair a bit crispy.

Creme Prodigieuse is such an enjoyable moisturiser to use and is extremely hydrating, smells amazing and is quite lightweight for a cream so it won't leave your skin feeling smothered in hotter climates.

Finally, I completely fell for the Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals for face, eyes and lips. It smells divine and leaves your skin feeling so clean and fresh and is a perfect alternative to cleansing wipes when you're traveling. It's just as easy to use but much kinder on your skin. I have been dying to get a full-sized bottle of this since I tried the travel size.

Make up

All in one cases are the way to go when packing light; a full make up bag takes up so much space and weight in your carry on. These two little wonders from Benefit and Urban Decay contain far more than the basics so you have plenty of choice and plenty of space at the same time.

Urban Decay Anarchy Face Case
Boy do Urban Decay know how to create makeup with a striking twist and this Anarchy Face Case (€38.00) covers everything from eyes to lips and cheeks. The kit has two layers with the top focusing on eyes with five shades from nude to smoky charcoal and the most pigmented black eyeliner I've come across, the 24/7 Glide On eye pencil in Perversion, which creates strikingly black lined eyes to complement the smoky shades.

The second layer is all about cheeks with three sections to create a contoured look with a pink cheek apple which works perfectly with the sultry eye layer. And, in between the two layers, the raspberry lip crayon is a colour that will suit all skin tones and, like the rest of the kit, has brilliant lasting power. A striking holiday face in one travel-friendly case!

Pick of the bunch: The 24/7 Glide On eye pencil is the perfect carbon black, highly pigmented pencil and is the strongest eyeliner I've ever used. The whole kit is perfect for a night time look when you're on your holidays and is so handy to have all your makeup essentials in one little case!

Benefit Finding Mr Bright
Benefit has quite a selection of these all in one boxes to suit every taste containing smaller versions of all their most popular products. 

Finding Mr Bright (€39.50) contains everything you need for a glowing, posie-flushed look including all over face shimmer Girl Meets Pearl, long lasting lip and cheek stain Posie Tint, the blemish vanishing Erase Paste and one of the brand's most popular products High Beam, all of which can be used on their own during the day and at night with the Urban Decay kit for a more dramatic look.

Pick of the bunch: High Beam has been an essential item in my makeup bag since I discovered it years ago so this handy travel size is perfect on the go and can liven up your makeup and add an lovely, dewy glow both day and night.

And you're holiday ready with plenty of space in your case for the rest of your holiday essentials!