Well, this is where the “Hot Rollers” portion of “Hostels and Hot Rollers” comes in. I’m not going to lie, I’m a girly girl, and I like to get glam every once and a while. I also became a certified makeup artist this year, and with these credentials came a huge expansion to my makeup collection. Obviously I want to keep things as light as possible for travel, but there are still a few beauty essentials that I knew I would want on hand.

After much soul searching, and little shopping, I narrowed it down to these 9 products, and 3 brushes.

My “kit”

Foundation: Anyone who has been around me in the past month knows I’ve been searching the world for a light coverage, mattifying powder foundation with an SPF. Apparently, this is a tall order. I thought that if I found a foundation that had an SPF, I could eliminate the need to bring a sunscreen for my face, and cut down on the number of products I was bringing. Traditional sunscreen makes my face shine like the top of the Chrystler building. This is also the reason that I steer clear of any and all BB Creams. The only foundations I found that had an SPF, had way to much coverage. Obviously I will need to reapply sunscreen throughout the day, but I didn’t want to be applying layer upon layer of a really visible foundation. In the end, I decided to bring my favourite powder foundation. The Lise Watier compact give me light coverage, mattifies my shiny skin tendencies, and is an all around fabulous product. It doesn’t have an SPF, but I’ll just suck it up and bring sunscreen.

Blush/Bronzer: I’m bringing my NARS “Super Orgasm” blush, what a name eh? It’s small, so its the perfect travel size. I’m also going to bring my MAC bronzer. I love these two products, and although I won’t use them on a daily basis, they’ll be all I need to get my face a little glam for a night out.

Mascara: I love mascara, and I knew I would be bringing a tube with me.I also heard from the lovely Maribel of Stroller Adventures, that it is notoriously expensive in Costa Rica. So I wanted to make sure I brought some from home. I thought about bringing a waterproof mascara to help combat the sweat and surf, but the idea of having to try and scrub that stuff off my face every night didn’t appeal to me. In the end, I stuck with a traditional cover girl lengthening mascara. You just can’t go wrong.

Rosebud Salve: This stuff is AMAZING. It’s a lipgloss/moisturizer/all around magial item. I can’t tell you how many of these I have gone through in my lifetime, so I knew it would be an essential item.

Sephora eyeliner: I wasn’t going to bring this (in fact, I’m still on the fence). This is a kohl based liner, which makes it really versatile to create different looks. That being said, Kohl is smudgeriffic, and that doesn’t mix very well with heat and sweat. I probably will bring it, but only wear it if we were going out somewhere nice for an evening out (and then instantly regret it as it starts to run down my face:P)

BabyLips Maybelline: I can guarantee I’ll run out of this stuff within the first month. This is a fairly new product, and I think I’ve gone through two tubes already. It’s a peppermint scented chapstick with SPF 15. It goes on so smooth and keeps my lips…I want to say moist…but I hate that word…juicy? That’s really not that much better. I’ll go with luscious, it keeps my lips luscious.

Maybelline eyeshadow pallet: I have a zillion amazing eyeshadow pallets in my makeup kit, but they are all gigantic. I wanted to find a pallet that was really neutral, but had a couple different colour combination options. This little one I found is perfect. Whites, browns, and beiges, some shimmery, some not. Again, this won’t be part of an everyday look, but nice to have the option.

Neutrogena Moizturizer: This was the SPF for my face I ended up deciding on. I’m actually happy that I went this route, as I was able to get a 30 SPF, an option not often found in the powder foundations. With a history of skin cancer in my family, I want to make sure I’m as protected as possible for this long term stay.

Brushes: I’m bringing one large angled brush for bronzer and blush. The foundation has its own makeup sponge for application. Then I’m bringing one eyeshadow brush. It’s fluffy enough that I can use it for both application and blending. Lastly, an angled brush, I will use this for filling in brows and smudging eyeliner.

So there you have it! Makeup essentials for a backpacker who loves glam.

Do you travel with makeup? What are your essential travel beauty items?

Pura Vida!

Kate