Beauty Travel Bag: Aeroplane Hand Luggage Friendly

About twelve days ago, in a fit of depressive reverie (inspired by pictorial interrail reminiscence), I casually requested my best friend's presence on Skype. Once he was firmly dislodged from whatever useful and productive thing that he had been doing, I informed him that we needed a holiday. Now, Tom isn't usually one to act all spontaneous (although, that being said he is usually more spontaneous than me) but with University over and no immediate plans a chorus of "why not" was too much to ignore. His next question had me stumped though, "where?" I had no idea, I just knew I had to get away for some period of time or else I'd go mad. So we began with the Eurostar - Paris? Brussels? Cologne? Almost immediately the prices dashed our hopes. Fear not though, we then hopped on over to Easyjet's website where I soon spotted that we could get each get a return flight to Amsterdam for approximately £40 (minus luggage and any other expense). Amsterdam was settled upon with alarming speed and Tom booked the flights within an hour, or maybe two, of our initial conversation. And then we had to get organised - choosing a hostel, buying Gatwick express tickets etc. Part of this organisation was also taking into consideration that we were only travelling with hand luggage. I am going to, am, even, (the time of writing this and the time of experiencing said holiday are, confusingly, not simultaneous) spending four days with only what can fit into a small rucksack. Terrifying stuff for a girl who likes to travel with everything.

I won't be boring you with the details of everything that I've taken with me but I will be sharing with you the beauty stuff that made the shortlist and has come along with me to Amsterdam - it's all hand luggage friendly and for the first time ever I'm actually glad I was ever subscribed to beauty boxes.

First up, my travel skincare routine.

Recently, NSPA very kindly sent me two of their travel sized products and I'm taking both with me to Amsterdam. The Melting Gel Cleanser* is a really gentle cleanser and I particularly like using this in the morning but I've also found that it does a good job (with the help of a facial brush or flannel) at getting off my make-up. To save space on my trip I'll be using this in both the morning and evening to cleanse, and I'll be using this to remove my make-up, handy! The second product I was sent is the Illuminating Beauty Serum* and so far I like it but I don't think it does as much for my skin as other serums that I've tried. It is, however, nice to use in the mornings and it does brighten up my face a little bit which is great on days when I don't wear foundation. NSPA's products are better than I had thought they would be and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for other products in their range next time I shop in Asda as this is where you can most readily find them.

My travel day and night creams are both Elizabeth Arden options which I've accumulated (I can only assume) from beauty boxes. I'm actually exceedingly happy to have things like this in my beauty collection because it makes impromptu travel really easy and helps me stick to my spending ban! I've patch tested both of these and there has been no problems so hopefully they'll both work just fine. These are Elizabeth Arden's Gentle Hydrating Cream with SPF 15 (which is for dry skin but I'm going to use this at night) and Elizabeth Arden's Visible Difference Skin Balancing Lotion with SPF 15 (which I'm going to use during the day).

Two little skincare extras that I'm also taking are Ren's Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel and Origins' Drink Up Intensive Mask. Both of these are for me to use on the plane to help stop my skin drying out (even a short flight can play havoc with my skin). Again, I don't remember where the Ren Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel came from but it may well have been from a beauty box or a magazine freebie. The Origins sample was a gift with purchase.

Now onto the hair products I'm taking. Limited to 100ml or less made this difficult but my collection of samples and minis came through for me in the end. First up, for shampoo purposes (and doubling up as a body wash - you might cringe in horror but this is one of the easiest tricks for travelling light) is Leanor Greyl's Volumizing Shampoo for Thin and Limp Hair. This is another item I received in a beauty box that is finally getting some use. I was so pleased that I had something suitable to travel with and that I didn't have to buy something new. I was considering taking something smaller but Tom is also going to be using this so over four days we may actually make a considerable dent in it. In addition, I'm taking a sample of a L'Oreal Professional Conditioner (which I'm going to use half of over two hair washes) and just in case my hair plays up at all I'm taking a sample of L'Oreal's Extraordinary Oil which is wonderful at nourishing and smoothing my hair. Thank you magazine freebies!

Two other random little items I'm also taking are a small, perfume sample of Dior Addict which should be more than enough to keep me smelling nice throughout the trip. In addition, to suit all lip balm, dry elbow (or dry knuckles which I suffer from), dry cuticles and eczema flare up situations I'm taking my much loved L'Occitane Shea Butter. It has so many uses making it perfect to travel with.

Believe it or not that is all I'm taking with me! And it's all going in this little bag which Tom got me for Christmas (and don't tell him but I've barely used it all year). It's relatively sturdy and it's lined so, hopefully, it's leak proof. This is a very pared down routine but it will keep me going. I'm in two minds as to whether I should take make-up with me. Actually, what am I saying! Of course I'll be taking make-up with me. Once I've settled on the basics that I need I'll do a FOTD post on the look. I'll probably be rocking the same make-up for all of my four days away so you'll be able to see the look I settle on this Friday- so stay tuned.

I know this was a long post but I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what your travel beauty essentials are and maybe I'll end up using them next time I go away.