Adventures in Maui: Make-up Bag

Heading out to Maui soon and so excited!

Today I got news that whales are passing by near the place I’ll be staying at. Very exciting! I hope that they’ll stay in the neighborhood just for a few more days so I get to see them in person. In the meantime, I’m packing up, wrapping up, and getting ready to go!

 

Last post I said I’d share my beach-friendly makeup bag with you, so let’s take a look!

I plan to spend most of my time in or on the water so I’ll be wearing reef-safe sunscreen and a snorkel mask most of the day. That doesn’t mean I’ve completely resigned myself to frizzy hair photos and sunburn. These are my go-to items for taming the frizz, detangling tresses, and managing my mane : Organix’s Moroccan Argan hair oil, Bed Head’s After Party smoothing and frizz control serum, and Bumble and Bumble’s Surf Infusion texture spray. If I’m going to be tough to my hair – like hanging out in the surf and sand all day, I like to add extra hair oil to my tips and ends at night and then wrap my hair loosely in a top-knot to let the oil soak in overnight.  

I made my own hair ties with an old pair of tights (instructable HERE) so I have plenty of hair ties that won’t break or snag my hair. I’ll also use some mini claw clips, but I’m skipping the hairpins. It is vacation.

For face, my very pale and freckle-prone face, I use Skinceuticals Physical Matte UV Defense tinted sunscreen. It is SPF 50 but feels fairly light and dries matte not greasy. It costs a bit more, but I wore it in Mexico and managed to avoid a sunburn or the freckles that would otherwise show up all across my nose and cheeks. The tint is a little dark for me – but I just use less and blend in well and it works. If you have medium toned skin it would be perfect.

I also love and have been a long-time user of Benefit’s They’re Real mascara. I use the mini set since mascara shouldn’t be kept for more than 3 months anyways. Price per oz is generally higher for these mini items, but if I bought larger sizes I’d have to make a higher initial investment and still end up throwing out a majority of the product. With the mini I do indeed pay slightly more per oz, but still much less than a full-sized product. I also use more of it – so less wasted. And, lastly but most importantly, I’m not tempted to keep it around longer in a misguided attempt to use all the product (must not waste it!) while putting myself at greater risk of eye infection.

For lips – I’ve been grooving on TonyMoly’s lip tint in Red. It stains the skin and so stays on all day and won’t smudge or weep. It will bleed if fresh and put on too thick, so I usually do just a drop in the center of my lower lip and then blend out with my pinkie. It is super quick, goes on under some SPF chapstick and stays on all day in the water or out. The only issue I have is sometimes I use my pinkie finger to blend and then the tip of my pinkie is red all day :-/ Tradeoffs.

That’s pretty much it! I have a solid perfume from Lush and a night crème to help my skin heal from any stray sun exposure – but I’m keeping my bag light for this trip. Maui isn't someplace where I can't get a bar of soap or facewash so I don't see the point of packing 2 week supplies of lotion soap or toner. The items I'm bringing with me are just the ones I do have a little trouble finding, that are easy to transport, and that I wouldn't be as happy without.

What are your must-have items for travel beauty?