A few of my favorite things - Travel edition

          After a brief stint at home in Chicago, I'm on the road again! This time, I'm writing from Midway Airport, en route to ATL. It's been an eventful morning, to say the least. I got here bright and early, only to find out my 8am flight had been cancelled! After some mumbles and grumbles about booking a later flight (and drowning my so-called sorrows in sweet tea), I've found a comfy spot where I can relax and piece together a post! (I'm running on three hours of sleep, so hopefully, I can keep things together and typo-free.)

         Today I thought I'd put together a travel edition of my A few of my favorite things posts, as that seems to be mostly what I've been doing lately! While I don't have a set of bright copper kettles of warm woolen mittens in my luggage, I do have a number of my travel sized beauty and skincare essentials to share with you today. Everything is pictured in my Sonia Kashuk Zig Zag Weekender travel case, which I was sent recently. It's colorful, got tons of pockets for organization, and has been a constant companion during this time. You could say I'm a fan. Now, on to what's within...

         I have a reputation for being a bit of a high maintenance traveler. I feel like my things are well edited, but somehow I always seem to have more bags than anyone else. I'm pretty proud of my makeup edit above, I feel like the combination has worked well for me these past few trips. (I've also linked a lot of my reviews below, so you can read / see more if you're interested)

         I never compromise on my foundation, so I always have CHANEL Perfection Lumière, CHANEL Double Perfection Lumière, and CHANEL Poudre Universelle. It seems like a lot, but I do use all three, usually lightly layered. My current cheek essentials include NARS Gaiety and NARS Oasis, which I've been liking as a contour. I take MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Brow for a long lasting brow. Urban Decay NAKED 3 has been my BFF for eyes; I love how the lightly pink toned mattes in this palette make me look more awake, especially when I'm behind on sleep, like today. NARS Larger Than Life Mascara and MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Liner, are of course holy grail products for me.

         I try to throw in a few miscellaneous minis for fun. Right now you can see Benefit Watt's Up, a Bobbi Brown shimmer gloss, and TopShop Cream Blush in Afternoon Tea in my bag as well. And of course, I have a number of lip products and mini eyeliner pencils rolling around in my purse on a usual basis.

         In terms of brushes, I try to stick with synthetics, both for cruelty-free and cleansing reasons. It's tough to bring around my beautyblender, so I've been using my Bobbi Brown Foundation brush instead. I've been using MAKE UP FOR EVER 132 (wavy flat brush) for powder; I've become quite the fan of this one. Other essentials include MAKE UP FOR EVER 148 (stippling brush) for cheeks, MAC 263 (angled liner), Bobbi Brown Eye Liner brush, and my Shu curler. I usually take other brushes at whim, usually this includes an EcoTools Angled liner and Concealer brush. I don't like bringing too many or too expensive brushes with me, as they seem easy to lose (knock on wood). However, I do prefer full length handles, so it's not often that I'll pack mini brushes to save space.

These two clear zip pockets conveniently attach via velcro to the second compartment of my Sonia Kashuk travel case. 

        Confession: in terms of skin / hair care, I actually have a lot more random little items (a la Q-tips, etc etc) than shown above. However, they're usually stuffed into the non-clear pockets of my Sonia Kashuk Zig Zag Weekender.

       Hair is another one of those things I just cannot sacrifice on. My curly hair is so frizz prone and capricious that I bring my ghd 1" to straighten it out and thereby keep it under control. Which means, the right heat protection and shampoos are necessary. Lately I've been all about Living Proof, so I purchased a Living Proof 'Full' travel size set, and a mini Living Proof 'Straight' hair spray to keep things under control.

        I've shown a few of my skincare favorites as well. Avalon Organics Vitamin C serum is an old favorite that I've used on and off over the years; I actually picked up this bottle during my trip to Alabama. I love Kiehl's Powerful Strength Line Reducing Concentrate for it's high Vitamin C content as well; it's my preferred foundation base (as opposed to primer). TATCHA Cleansing oil is one of my favorite cleansers and a great way to remove the makeup. The miniature size was a part of the TATCHA Jet Set Travel Kit. It's nice to have a good shower gel as well; I happened to find this little bottle of Bliss Lemon + Sage at Marshalls.

        I hope you've enjoyed this edition of A few of my favorite things. Southern weather is beckoning, and it looks like I'm finally getting on a flight! If you have any questions any of the products above, let me know! I've linked a lot of them to my original reviews for convenience. As for my Sonia Kashuk Zig Zag Weekender ($29.99), I believe the zig zag pattern is currently available at Target, if you're interested!

       Thanks for reading! What are your travel must haves? What case do you pack your beauty and skincare necessities in?

Love, Dovey.