What Should I pack to Travel?

 Packing clothing is one thing. But when your only taking hand luggage on a plane and you need to pack cosmetics - it becomes an epic game. I went through all my cosmetics this morning to decide which to bring with me to Ireland for a few days. So I decided that it had to be a small but effective list.
So here it is :

NARS smokey eye palette with basic shades in it
MAC face and body foundation (for this I have put it into a small sample jar)
MAC BB Cream (again in the sample jar)
MAC Pro long wear Concealer
MAC Mineralise skinfinish powder (so I can bulk up the coverage of F&B)
MAC Pressed Pigment shadow (I am doing at least one night out while I'm there)
Vaseline (doing a lot of walking)
Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in hazel.
MAC lipstick in Ruby Woo
Primark make-up remover wipes
MAC extended play lash mascara
Clinique dramatically different moisturising gel (in a sample size tube)

Restrictions on flights are annoying but there are so many ways to cut back on the amount you bring with you.

*Double up your products - like some lipsticks make great cream blushers and some eyeshadows can do eyebrows too.

*Get sample jars from different department stores which you can pop a bit of foundation into. I normally take about 3 sample jars full of different strength foundations just incase. I have one light one, one medium coverage and a heavy night foundation.

* If you can't face going to a cosmetic department to ask for a sample jar then why not buy them? MAC and Boots do small jars that you can refill as do Muji. In fact, Muji have a whole section for travel compartments and pots which you can find here

*Remember that places will have what your looking for. You can buy suncream in most places abroad! I speak as someone who had two MASSIVE bottles of suncream confiscated from her in Dublin airport once on route to France. I was really deeply unamused!

* Take out the non essentials. I know everyone has a different idea of what makes an essential but seriously! Assess what you normally use and what you would use for quick make-up. I know that if I have time I love to do a whole face of make-up but on my days off, I don't wear blusher and I cannot be bothered to use lip liner! So I won't pack these things. However, I do use highlighter, foundation and red lipstick most days. It's tempting to take a load of new product but seriously, don't bother!

* Get stuck into minis. Most brands do mini sizes of their products now. MAC do a whole range called Go Sees and you can get everything from strobe cream to cleanse off oil in mini pots. Boots have mini Sanctuary, Soap and Glory, suncreams and much more on offer. Also they are quite cheap as well which means if they get lost, confiscated, dropped, smashed or just plain forgotten about - then its not the end of the world!