Packing for Travels

I'm back from my trip to Las Vegas! I had a lot of fun albeit a little bit poorer.

One thing about traveling is having to pack, which I really do not like to do. I'm always afraid that I'll forget something. I do have a list but still worry about missing something. Cosmeddicted just recently did a really awesome post on how to prepare for packing your skin care and cosmetics here. It is really quite concise. I wish that she had posted it before I had to pack for my trip.

I know that I've done a similar post before but thought that I'd do another one, with some added information that I learned by going on this recent trip. Hopefully it'll serve as a memory jogger for my next trip.

I normally start weeks and weeks ahead, just throwing things into my suitcase as I think of them. My suitcase ends up looking like this:

A few days before my trip, I then go through everything and check off items on my list, weed things out, add things in, etc. I like to use packing envelopes to make my suitcase all nice and neat, especially since TSA opens up suitcases now. It would be quite embarrassing to have a messily packed suitcase with your undies falling out. Here everything is packed into the packing envelopes:

I'm always afraid that the airlines will lose my suitcase so I pack and carry what I consider to be essentials in my carry on bag. This will usually include extra underwear, my Clarisonic brush, skin care items, cosmetics and cosmetic brushes. (I do have spare skin care items and non-essential items packed in my suitcase.)  In anticipation of this trip, I purchased a Freestyle Magnetic Palette, which I did write a post about, and put my point cosmetics into it. I had my eyeshadows, bronzer and blush in it and at the last minute, added Maquillage Face Creator pan into it, as I decided that I wanted to use the highlighting powders. Fortunately, the pan and and compact is sold separately so I was easily able to insert the pan into the magentic palette. I didn't stick a magnetic strip onto the pan but it fit nicely and it was stable enough inside the magnetic palette.

Since this was only a 5 day trip, I didn't insert a lot of different eyeshadow colors in the palette, just stayed with my basic colors. Perhaps next time, even if it is a short trip, I'll add a little bit more color. As you can see, there is space for a couple more eyeshadow pans.

I also purchased another brushroll from Teizaku, handmade by the lovely Yumeko. The last time that I traveled, I used the first brushroll that I purchased from her and really liked it. My only problem was that when I returned home, the residue makeup transferred onto the fabric of the inside of the brushroll. Naturally, it was easy to clean by just throwing it into the washing machine but I wanted to try to keep my brushrolls (yes, I took both of them) cleaner than last time. I also wanted to try to keep the brush bristles from getting messed up and had read from someone's blog (can't remember whose now) where they had bought these brush guards/sleeves. This was a last minute thought so I didn't have time to search for where I had read about these gadgets plus I didn't have time to order it and have it get here on time, so I improvised. I first got some netting and sewed a couple of sleeves and it worked out great. One thing is that I can make different widths to accomodate different brush sizes. It's not pretty, but it worked.

However, I didn't have enough time to be sewing all of the different sizes that I wanted. I liked how it compacted the bristles and yet it was able to breathe but I wasn't sure if it would still prevent the fabric from getting dirtied by the residual makeup. I then thought about another item to use. It would be quick and I could either reuse it or dispose of it plus pack more of it to take with me. In Hawaii, you can find either pre-packaged or buy it by-the-yard plastic tubing. This platic tubing is actually used here to make candy lei. It does come in several different widths and I don't think that it costs over $1.00 a yard. I only had one width available at home, which was actually wider than I wanted so it didn't really squish the brush head as I would have wanted.

You can either just slide it on or slide it on and tape the bottom for a more customized fit. The bristles will not be able to breathe as easily as when using the netting but it can still air out. With my narrower-handled brushes, I put several of them together inside one tubing. It really helped to keep the brushes from getting bent out of shape and also kept my brushroll from getting dirtied.

I did do some shopping but the only things that I bought that were beauty related were a couple of brushes from the Bare Escentuals Outlet and a hydrating mist from L'Occitane Outlet. I ended up giving one of the brushes to my mom, whom I was traveling with since she was quite intrigued by the fact that I used a brush to stipple on my foundation. She has a large birthmark on her face so she uses Dermablend Cover Cream and has always applied it with her fingers. Since it's a heavy cream, it was a bit difficult using the brush to apply the Dermablend easily so I told her to apply the Dermablend as usual but to finish it off by stippling with the brush. She was amazed by how nice the finish was and is so happy that I shared this technique with her.

I did do my major hauling at Trader Joe's. I brought back a ton of nuts, snacks and candy for the family and as gifts.

A note to myself is to remember to use bottled water to rinse off my face before I try to apply the Mezaik Double Eyelid Stretch Fiber. I was having such a difficult time getting it to apply properly and I believe that it is because the water has some emolient properties in it. I'm not sure if it's that way throughout Las Vegas or if it is within the hotel system. Even when washing my hands, I thought that it felt a bit oily.

I hope to get back to regular blogging soon.

*Kat*