Monday, February 2, 2015

How I survived 6 weeks on the road: Makeup wise!

First of all, sorry for a dramatic title but I am feeling happy and a little playful today and hence the name!

A few of you may already know that I travel for my work on a continuous basis. My projects take me anywhere throughout USA; from remote towns to big cities! Duration of the work also varies from 2-3 days to few months. (Trust me travel job may sound glamorous, but it actually is NOT!) I hardly carry makeup items if it is a short trip but if it is for a few weeks, I need to have a few cosmetics products with me. My field of work is dominated with male colleagues and it is often in field environment which is not really suited for recognizable/prominent makeup looks. Also, I am almost always the single woman in the team which makes me noticeable and hence I usually shy away from any type of obvious makeup looks when I am working. But, if possible I love to explore the place during weekends and that's when I crave for some color in my otherwise no-makeup face. So keeping all these in mind, I brought this with me during my last project.


BareMinerals Original Foundation in : This is not my everyday foundation. But I love it because it gives me a refreshing look with a sheer natural-looking coverage. Plus I have it in travel size which saves me some space.

BareMinerals First Resort Bronzing Kit: This bronzing palette has a matte warm tone mid-brown (with a VERY little sheen), a highlighter shade and a golden shimmery shade which is my most favorite. It looks a little bit too shimmery on the pan but when applied it gives a BEAUTIFUL healthy-glow without the shimmer showing up much. This is one of my MUST-HAVE product. I often use it without any base as well.

Maybelline 24 hr Stay Concealer: Who does not need a concealer, right? This is the only one I use. :-) It really good in hiding acne scars :-)

MAC Paint Pot in "Layin' Low": I absolutely love this thing. It works equally with all my eye shadows from different brands. A must have for me! Read my previous review here.

NYX Natural Eyeshadow Palette: This is not much of a favorite. And let's be honest, when I start for work at 6 am, I hardly get time for indulging in any elaborate eye makeup ;-) But I like to carry this around with me when I am travelling for work mainly because
   a)  the dark brown shade is amazing, I also use it to fill up my brows.
   b)  very compact palette, perfect for frequent traveler.

Lakme Eyshadow Quad in"Silk Route": I reviewed this here. I take this with me for the vibrant colors. It has a rich fuchsia and dark grey which can be used to create smokey eyes if you happen to be in that mood. :-)

Tarte Amazonian Clay waterproof liner in BRONZE: Without doubt this is my most used makeup product in this trip. It's a gel liner but I mostly use it as a single-lid color. It is a very rich bronze with golden micro-shimmer. I have reviewed it in detail here. It's my wonder product, it takes just a minute to apply; I don't even need to wear eyeliner and it has an amazing staying power. Slap it on and go outta door; FOOLPROOF ;-) ;-) ;-)

Essence Eyeliner in Black: Cost me just a buck or two but what an impressive staying power. Stays all day and easy to use. Only problem is that it is not waterproof.

Wet and Wild Eyeliner in Brown and Ulta Eyeliner in Navy: These are some of the decent and affordable eyeliners from drugstore. They are not exactly the best but they get the job done. And it is always nice to have different color of eyeliners. Plus they don’t take much space ;-)

Lakme Kajol: This is one of my Holy Grail products. There may be better kajol pencils than this, but I have been using it for a long time and I will continue to use it.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in "Rose Petal": Matches with absolutely everything. Easy to wear and less time consuming while applying. I don’t wear blush every day to work but I reach for this whenever I do. Detailed review can be found here.

TARTE Eyeshadow Quad in "Beauty Resolutions": This was actually not necessary but I was just itching to use this quad again. I have written a details post on it here. I like the pearl like finish of the shadows and the colors are subtle and appropriate to wear in office environment.

Makeup Forever Smokey Extravagant Mascara: This was the birthday gift from Sephora last year. And it has been a favorite for some time now. Reviewed here.

CK One Color Mascara: It was Ulta's Birthday Gift for 2014. While I love the effect it gave me, removing it was quite troublesome. While I really don't need two mascaras I did use it whenever I needed extra wear time.

NYX Jumbo Pencil in "Mocha": I apply it all over my lid at times and recently I have started to wear it on the lower lash line. Love the effect.

Lavanilla Healthy Deodorant: I love this natural cruelty free deodorant. Not really for heavy duty work but it serves my purpose.
Clean Skin Perfume: Got this tiny roller ball with some kit few months back. I love the fresh notes. 
Bath and Body Works Amber Blush Perfume: It was an impulse buy last year. I liked it for a while but it is very warm. I do not like it anymore. :-) I chose these two perfume because they save me so much of space!

LIP PRODUCTS: This is where I like to pack a few varieties. I always wear something on my lips and these are some of my easy-to-wear colors.  


Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain in "Romantic": Red is my MOST favorite lip shade. Too bad that I cannot wear it everyday :-) But this is a sheer easy-to-wear shade. No need of a liner as well. It does not stay forever though. Detailed blog post here.

Revlon Lip Butter in "Tutti-Frutti": Pop of color and hydration in one single tube. Even though it was the end of summer when I started this project (It has been a while since I drafted this post :-)), I don't think I will part away with my orange shades, ever!

NYX Round Lipstick in "Doll": This is the “Pink” in the bunch. A very girl-y pink! I try to use it as a stain by blotting it with a paper tissue. It's VERY creamy, so I have to be very careful otherwise it ends up in my teeth.

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in "Sultry": My PERFECT everyday color. Looks incredibly flattering on tan skin tone. Easy-to-wear, matte in finish and excellent staying power; what else do you need? Read more about it here.

Lip Glosses: Both of these glosses I took with me mainly because I was testing them. I loved the Marc Jacobs one and the Smashbox one was very pale for me.

So that's a gist of what I generally bring with me when I am travelling for a long term project. I try my best to resist the temptation to bring bag full of my favorite makeup items whenever I travel and for the most part I think I do well. :- ) What are your travelling strategy; makeup wise?

Love,
~Arrru