How to Travel Abroad: Beauty Must Haves

Calling all travel lovers who are terrible packers, especially when it comes to beauty! ;) Traveling internationally can be difficult when it comes to packing, knowing what to bring, sizes of products you can bring, etc. I have a handful of must-haves that I take on every trip and they've been life savers! I've had serious European converter issues, ruined a hair straightener, TSA problems with beauty products - you name it, it's likely happened to me (and only could happen to me, I swear! LOL). The worst thing is when you're on vacation and don't have your normal products - it makes everything harder - so finding travel sized items or things that are just as perfect is so important. Here are my holy grail travel beauty products that I can't imagine traveling internationally without:
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1. Invisibobble: these genius little hair ties are perfect for traveling with! They don't leave any marks or dents and they don't get tangled at ALL (I definitely thought they would!) in your hair! There's a bunch of colors to choose from, they're SUPER affordable and I'm still shocked that they really do work. I hate worrying about my hair when I travel and now with these invisibobbles, I can put my hair up and take it back down without worrying about a crease!

2. Compact Straightener: I swear by this line of hair tools; you can't go wrong! This iron is so small and compact, it takes up barely any room in a suitcase and it's pretty light weight also. It works just as good as a regular, daily straightener and it works with standard - but appropriately sized - converters.

3. Ouai Wave Spray: this line of hair products has been a God send for my hair! These products smell amazing and even better, they all work great! This wave spray is perfect for adding some texture and it keeps it in place all day long. I love using it when I travel because I can create effortless waves and don't have to worry about what my hair looks like throughout the day. It doesn't hurt that it creates a really pretty beachy hair look either! ;)

4. Travel Jewelry Case: I know when you travel you should really scale down the amount of things you bring, especially jewelry... But I can never for the LIFE of me decide what to bring and what I don't need! I'm such an over packer, ha! I always get really worried about traveling with more delicate pieces or even necklaces that easily tangle, but this was one of the best purchase I've made to date to make traveling easier. I love that it has different compartments and lots of room, but it's still a great size to pack away in a carry-on or suit case.

5. Facial Cleansing Cloths: there is nothing worse than a long plane ride and feeling completely gross during/after it! There's not much you can do for that, but freshening up makes a huge difference until you can get to your destination. I carried these cleansing cloths with me on my trip to Italy last summer and I used so many of them before I even arrived! They're great to remove your makeup but beyond that, they're great face fresheners. I have fairly sensitive skin and they never irritate my skin, and they smell amazing. These are my specific favorites to travel with because the pack is super compact and easy to pack away in your bag while taking up minimal room.

6. Interchangeable Curling Wand: I had a few people ask me recently which curling wand/hair tools I travel with, and this curling wand is and always will be my #! It works incredibly and I know a TON of other people feel the same way about it. The interchangeable barrels are genius not only because it's easy to pack the wand away, but you can take one or two of your favorite barrels with you on your trip and don't have to take a whole different sized curler with you.

7. International Converter: if you're traveling to Europe and need a converter that works for your beauty products and beyond, THIS is the one to go with! In fact, buy 2-3 because they're THAT good. You'd really never guess it because they're incredibly inexpensive. I always have converter and wattage issues on trips (LOL, no joke!) and I used this exact converter time and time again in Italy. The wattage is high enough that you won't blow a fuse or ruin your hair tools, and you can use it for your laptop, phone, etc. as well.

8. Travel Mini Emergency Kit: I love this little mini-mergency kit! I first bought one of these years ago in J.Crew and I've been buying and replenishing them ever since. Each kit comes with travel sized essentials you may never know you needed; this specific kit comes with a phone/tablet stand (GENIUS and works great!), a mini hair brush, pill box, bobby pins and hair ties, ear plugs and an eye mask (great for sleeping on the plane), headphones, hand lotion and cleaner, a nail filer, chap stick, dental floss, deodorant towelettes, breath drops, tissues, stain remover and wrinkle remover. GENIUS. And the best $26 I've ever spent! ;) It still amazes me that this many necessities fit in this small, compact bag - but it's perfect for travel and definitely is a must have no matter what kind of trip you're going on!

9. Face Moisturizer: I tend to wear very little makeup when I travel simply because I hate dealing with smudges, touch ups, etc. I'm sometimes a stressed-out-traveler so I like having to worry about as little as possible! I have a couple of favorite moisturizers that I always recommend (like this Clinique moisturizer) but I recently tried this IT Cosmetics version and it works great! I especially love it for traveling because it's soothing to your skin. I haven't used it much on a daily basis, but on all of my recent trips it's been great to have.

10. Blotting Papers: one of my #1 travel must haves and every day what's-in-my-bag items, too! These are essential if you have oily skin - I tend to have some oily spots on my T-zone throughout the day but when I travel by plane? FORGET it! I get so oily (anyone else?!) and it drives me crazy, so I go through these pretty quickly. There's tons of different versions out there, and I always pick up a pack on Sephora trips to stock up on.

11. Blending Brush: similar to jewelry, picking which makeup brushes you bring on a trip can be a challenge! There's lots of travel brush kits out there that are great, but I tend to pick a few essentials and take those. This Elf blending brush is my favorite (next to my favorite kabuki brush!) and it's great for multi-use purposes.

12. Face Primer Water: stop what you're doing and buy this, you'll be so happy you did! It's a great face primer (my favorite actually!) but it's also great for feeling refreshed. I also really love this Marine Boosting Mist for feeling refreshed - and it comes in a travel size!

13. Compact Folding Hair Dryer: most hotels these days have a hair dryer so this may not be necessary, but if you're someone who HAS to blow dry their hair often and can't travel without one, this is the perfect choice! It folds up so small and it's surprisingly light weight.

What are your favorite beauty products that are travel friendly? XOXO -A