Destination holidays usually mean packing a versatile capsule wardrobe and stripping down your beauty products to the bare essentials – unless you’re first lady and have private jets at your disposal to ferry your 7500+ pair of shoes around wherever you go.
I am no the first lady, however, so when I was planning for my recent 3 day 3 nights safari at Murchison Falls National Park, I pared down my beauty kit to the essential products.
If you are venturing into the wild this Easter holiday, I do hope you find this list helpful when putting together your own travel beauty kit:
HAIR
- Moisturizing Spritz
As any natural hair enthusiast will tell you, the best thing you can do for your hair is moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. We live in a pretty dry climate and without frequent moisturizing, our strands get weak and brittle. This is why I just had to include this in my travel pack. The spritz contains a mix of water, olive oil, and tea tree oil. The spritz bottle is an up-cycled braids spray bottle I had kept long after the initial spray got used up.
- Parachute Pure Coconut Oil
After spritzing my strands, I seal in the moisture using coconut oil. It’s light and smells yummy too. When not travelling, I usually follow this with shea butter but I figured skipping this step for 3 days wouldn’t do much damage. And I was right. The coconut oil kept my hair light, soft and manageable. It also served triple duty as a facial cleanser and moisturizer for my feet after a long hike.
FACE
- Garnier BB Cream
BB Cream is one of my favorite products of all time. It’s an all-in-one coverage and moisturizing product. It’s also in a nifty package perfect for traveling. The only down side to this is if you have oily skin like I do, your face gets shiny once you spend a good amount of time in the sun, which I was going to be doing lots of, that’s why I packed …
- Iman Compact Powder Foundation
In this era of selfies, a good foundation is your best friend. Iman foundation offers light yet total and even coverage. The compact pack includes a mirror and an application sponge storage compartment as well. Putting it on over the BB Cream kept my face selfie ready all day long. It also has SPF 15 which is always a win in my book.
- Everlasting Lip-stain
I usually keep my day makeup minimal but you know what they say, ‘one can never go wrong with a red lip.’ Yes, even in the wild. It really amps the glam factor even if all you have on is a T-shirt and jeans combo. This lipstain lives up to its name – it lasts all day! And looks pretty damn good too!
- Make Up remover Pads
After a long day tracking game, it was quite tempting to just get back to our room and sign out for the night. But I knew there would be a price to pay, which is why these are life savers. Having not packed any scrubs or cleansers, I soaked these in the coconut oil and removed my day’s makeup (that lip stain doesn’t get off any other way) before stepping under a hot shower. And I’m happy to report it worked like a charm.
BODY
- Victoria’s Secret Body Mist
When traveling, I like to keep my fragrances light. The sweet floral scent of this VS body mist was perfect. I sprayed this straight from the shower on my pulse points (neck, inside elbows, wrists and back of knees) and was left feeling girly and fresh.
- Victoria’s Secret Pure Seduction Hand and Body Cream
After the Body mist I used the VS Pure Seduction Body cream to moisturize all over. I love the smooth feel of this cream as it’s applied. The heavenly scent is just an additional perk.
- Mosquito Repellent Wipes
These were suggested by the travel agent and since they didn’t recommend any brands, I got a repellent lotion whose name I’ve since forgotten. I wore the lotion on over the VS Cream but it did NOTHING to deter the Tsetse flies! Fortunately I had the wipes as back up and they literally saved my skin. The soothing effect is immediate and the next day, the Tsetse flies didn’t bother me as much.
This collection worked really well for me and I think I’ll keep the same products next time I venture far from home.
