My Christmas Travel Make-up

I went away just for a few days over Christmas itself to visit my boyfriend’s family in Scotland.  We were only there for three nights but I still wanted to channel the festive season in my make-up.  Here’s what I ended up taking.

I decided just to take this small make-up bag but I had to cheat a little and take my Pixi lumi lux radiance powder too and some make-up brushes which didn’t quite fit into the bag in the end!  Here’s what it all amounted to.

From left to right

Top row: ecotools eyeshadow brush set; travel mirror

Middle row: unknown eyeshadow; Illamasqua eyeshadow in Vapour; Accessorize blusher in Scandal

Bottom Row: Ecotools retractable kabuki brush, Accessorize jumbo glitter stick in silver, MAC shadestick in Heirloom; liquid eyeliner in purple black and shimmering black; Accessorize Flutter Curl mascara in brown black; Collection 2000 Glam Crystals glitter eyeliner in Shake it up!; No. 7 High Shine lipgloss in Smile, Pixi lumi lux radiance powder.

Most of these products are tried and tested favourites of mine, although the lipgloss was just one that I had lying around that I never really use so I thought I might as well chuck it in the mix.

These are all the Ecotools brushes that I own and I really rate them.  Not only are they well made and totally synthetic (I always feel a bit guilty about buying natural hair brushes), the brush set is also perfect for travelling, with the brushes all having mini handles and coming with its own canvas pouch, and the selection of brushes covering just about any requirements I ever have for eye make-up.  I’m really glad that it doesn’t come with a slanted eyeliner brush because that’s a brush that I hardly ever use but which seems to have become almost a standard for brush sets.  Instead, there are two useful tiny brushes, both of which are handy for smudging and defining.  I think this cost around £13 from Boots.  Not every Boots store contains a great range of Ecotools brushes though unfortunately.  I picked these brushes up in the Boots next to Tottenham Court Road tube station in the summer.

I also picked up the Ecotools retractable kabuki brush at the same time for about £10 and it is now perhaps my favourite make-up brush of all.  I use it for applying my Pixi radiance powder followed by blush every day and it’s also perfect for travelling.  The bristles are so soft and dense that they pick up colour brilliantly with practically no fall out.  This would also be ideal for applying powder foundations.  My only complaint is that it can take ages to dry out after cleaning (I just clean my brushes using soap and water) so I have to either leave it on a radiator when the heating’s on or actually give it a blast with the hairdryer – neither of which I’m sure is very good for the brush itself!

I’ve gushed loads on my blog so far about how much I love the Accessorize blush in the shade Scandal, though I’ve not mentioned so much how much I love my Pixi radiance powder.  It actually applies as a very sheer, peachy shade which is perfect on my pale skin and it’s very difficult to apply too much, so it’s particularly handy for winter mornings when I end up having to get ready in the semi-dark (I don’t have good lighting in my bedroom alas).  I’ve used it most days since I got it at the end of August and the first signs of the make-up pan are showing through, though even with such heavy usage I’m sure there’s still about six months of make-up left.

As it was Christmas I obviously had to pack some glitter, being a total glitter feind and all.  I bought the Accessorize glitter stick about a year ago but I think it’s a line that’s since been discontinued from their range, which I think is a shame as they were cheap as chips (about £3 when they first came out, then reduced down to £1.50 in the clearance) and make glitter a breeze to apply.  It’s a stick made up of glitter suspended in a soft, clear wax so you just rub it on your skin and blend out with either fingers or a brush – and not a drop of fall out in sight.  If you’re after denser coverage you can then just top it off by patting loose glitter on top as it’s waxy therefore sticky.  I wear this on my eyebrows, just under my browbone, or around the top of my cheekbones when I feel like a bit of a glitter hit.

I bought the MAC shadestick this autumn when it came out in one of their limited edition collections, MAC me over.  I’d heard mixed reviews of shadesticks to be honest but they’d been withdrawn from the permanent collection and I was curious to try one.  I paid around £12 as I bought it from Debenhams when they were running a 10% off promo.  Usually they retail in the UK for just over £13.

Although I use this product a lot it’s more to do with wanting to get my money’s worth than being a big fan.  It’s really just OK rather than anything special and I really don’t think it was worth the price.  Shadesticks can be worn alone or as an eyeshadow base, but the consistency is just not creamy or smooth enough and they do drag a bit on application.  I don’t think the shades are particularly special either and when this runs out I’ll simply be replacing it with a Barry M shimmery eye and lip crayon for around £4 from Superdrug – the performance is really very similar.

I took a few eyeliners as I’m into that kind of look at the moment – pale eyeshadow teamed with winged eyeliner.  These products are just my normal everyday eyeliners plus one glittery one to add a bit of festive bling on top.

I chose one glittery eyeshadow and one brightly coloured matte shade.  I think I wore the pale glittery shade both alone and teamed with the orange in the outer 1/3 of my eyelids when I was up in Scotland.  I think they make quite a nice colour combination, and it’s something a bit different and perhaps unexpected.  This eyeshadow actually used to be my favourite – just look at that big dip in it!  However I’ve since become a bit tired of the terrible glitter fall out that leaves glitter all over your face in places where you perhaps would rather not have chosen to sprinkle tons of glitter.  When this runs out I’ll simply start using my My Face Blingtone eyeshadow in Morococo instead – it’s a very similar sparkly shade with no fall out whatsoever.

So that’s all I really have to say about my travel make-up - how does it compare to how you got along this festive season?