The Travel Makeup Bag | The Mexico Edition

About two weeks ago my boyfriend and I jetted off to Mexico for a week-long post-graduation trip. We had the best time laying by the pool, sipping on piña coladas, and reading books. It might sound a bit dull to some, but I think we both needed a week of solid R&R after the craziness of graduation and moving. I had originally planned for this post to go up pre-vacation but I decided to delay it till after we got back because I wanted to let you know how much of the makeup I ended up packing actually went to use (spoiler alert most of it didn't). 

As for base products I kept it extremely minimal since I knew I'd be in the water for about 50% of the time and the other 40% I'd be spending lathering sunscreen on my face. I also lucked out because my skin was on its best behavior so it didn't need much in the way of coverage. I ended up packing the Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint to even out my skin if I felt I needed it, but honestly did not use it once, since as I mentioned my skin looked pretty good and even the whole time. I packed my trusty Glossier Boy Brow to set and give my brows some color, which I did end up using a fair few of the days if I remembered to do my brows. The base product I used the most was the NARS Soft Matte Complete concealer to cover any small blemishes or under eye circles, which were lingering from the prior weeks of getting very little sleep. The L'Oreal True Match Powder really only got used when we went out to dinner, because I was putting on too much SPF during the day to justify needing to wear powder. Eye products are the category where I always overdue to because I always think I need options, in reality I don't. I did use my Fairydrops Scandal Queen Mascara almost every single day because it is super waterproof and looks incredibly natural when applied in light layers. I packed the It Cosmetics Tightline Mascara because I had originally thought we weren't going to be in the water as much as we ended up being and wanted something that wasn't waterproof and is very natural looking. I think this mascara ended up getting used once or twice. In terms of eyeshadows I brought the By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Bronze Moon, my MAC eyeshadow duo with Grain and Sable, and theCharlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize in Bette. I ended up only using the Ombre Blackstar one night when we went to an especially fancy dinner and the Charlotte Tilbury cream shadow for another dinner out. I also brought my favorite NARS Pro Prime Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base for whenever I did wear eyeshadow and the MAC Groundbreaker Eyeliner as my sole eyeliner for the trip.

I ended up getting some use out of my Glossier Cloud Paint in Beam and Glossier Haloscope Highlighter in Quartz whenever I wore more makeup than just mascara. This combination of cheek products is something I'd definitely recommend for a beach trip because they just make your skin look so glowy and healthy. I'm a bit the same with eyeshadow as I am with lip products when it comes to packing, because I always end up bringing unnecessary options when I end up almost never using lip products. I brought the Glossier Generation G's in Zip and Crush, which I imagined using for a brighter lip had I decided to wear less eye makeup for the nicer dinners we went to, but alas I opted for the eyeshadow in the end.

Makeup To Wear When You're Going To Be Photographed

My two week hiatus and this post actually have a lot to do with each other. Exactly one week ago, when this post goes live, I graduated from college! It was quite a hectic few weeks leading up to graduation and the weekend itself was pretty packed with parties and visiting family that I decided to take a quick break from blogging. However, for my first post back I figured I'd give some tips about doing makeup for events where there will be a lot of photography, something that is especially relevant during this time of the year with it being graduation and wedding season.

I did my makeup like this on two occasions: for taking graduation pictures with friends as well as graduation day itself and I absolutely loved the way it looked in person and in photos (if I do say so myself). I think one of the best tips I've picked up for doing makeup for pictures (especially pictures for special events that will be around for a very long time) is to do your makeup like you do on a regular basis but make it slightly more dramatic or intense. While everyone's daily makeup will vary greatly, I will talk through some of the products that I have found to photograph very well and that I used on graduation day.

When it came to doing my makeup for graduation and graduation photos I spent the most time on my base. Because almost all of the photos I took were outside I didn't have to be too cautious with using a foundation without SPF because I wasn't doing any flash photography. For foundation I went with my go-to Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation, which was perfect because it evened out any redness without looking too heavy. I have used this foundation with some flash photography and find that it works fine without any real noticeable white cast, but if you're concerned about that I'd recommend theMakeup Forever HD Foundation. I then used NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer under my eyes and on any blemishes. While this is a new concealer to me, I chose to use it because it gives really good coverage for blemishes, redness, and under eye circles. Because it was so hot on my graduation day, I chose this for its more matte formulation, which is great because it stays put and never looks greasy but also doesn't look dry or crepey either on blemishes or under the eyes. I then set every thing with the L'Oreal True Match Powder and used Glossier Cloud Paint in Dusk, which gave a nice rosy flush while also doubling as a bronzer/contour of sorts.

As for the eye makeup I went for matte shadows and used the Becca Ombre Rouge Eyeshadow Palette, which has become my most reached for palette. I like to use mattes for photographs and events because they will never look outdated and they provide better definition, which registers better in photographs than a load of shimmery eyeshadows do. As for the eyeshadow itself, I went with a look similar to this one that Karima did on her YouTube channel about a year ago. I then put a load of mascara on my lashes and used the Fairydrops Platinum Mascara, which I use on an everyday basis but is great for special occasions because it is waterproof (and yes I cried like a baby during graduation). Last but not least I used NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Intriguing, which is a gorgeous rosy nude that lasts for ages on the lips.

How My Makeup Philosophy Has Changed

I'm sure you've noticed if you've been reading this blog for a decent amount of time that the amount of beauty content on here has changed somewhat dramatically. This used to be an almost exclusively beauty blog and that has changed partially because I have been consuming a wider variety of blog content and feel inspired to expand what I blog about, but it is also because my approach to makeup has been different for about the past year or so. I still absolutely love beauty and I don't think I will ever not be interested in makeup.

The main source of this change has mainly centered around that my beauty buying habits have changed majorly. A few years ago, I was almost solely interested in buying makeup just for the sake of buying new makeup, which I don't regret at all because I genuinely enjoyed trying new makeup. To be honest, new beauty launches just get me less excited because I'm not as interested in makeup trends. I think this really is down to the fact that I have honed in my style more than ever this past year, and that includes my makeup style. But I think that's ok, everyone goes through stages of experimenting with their style and I definitely did when I was in my late teens. Now that I have a clearer vision of what I like and who I am I don't feel the need to stray from that.

This isn't all to say that I don't enjoy buying beauty products anymore, because I absolutely do and I think I always will. I think it's more that I am excited to buy things that really speak to my personal taste than I am excited to buy a product just for the sake of it being new. That's why I get so excited about Glossier launches in particular, because the brand's aesthetic is exactly in-line with my own aesthetic. Taking a more minimalist approach to buying makeup has also made me more streamlined in my beauty routine every day and I find myself experimenting the most with makeup for a night out or a special event, which I have really enjoyed because it means that I get ready faster on a daily basis, but when I do experiment or play around with makeup its more special because it doesn't happen on an everyday basis.