With so many different considerations, eventualities and god forbid, airport security to deal with. Our holiday skincare routine is one of the more challenging aspects of packing for travel. Here are our top tips and recommendations to power up your travel skincare routine!
Travel season is just around the corner! As the faces of TodayWe Explore, we spend a large portion of our time on the road. Jumping back and forth between destinations lugging our cameras, outfits, and of course, each other. This means that we have to always be mindful of what we pack in our luggage and vanity bag.
Packing for your skincare routines while on the road can be challenging when you are moving between different environments. From the arid aeroplane cabins to the humid and sunny beach climates. The late nights spent editing our shoots and videos and the occasional shindigs all can take a heavy toll on our skin.
Diving into the crystal blue waters off Bali to the hours spent under the scorching sun (think harmful UV rays and environmental free radicals), our skin picks up a lot of environmental impurities that can cause Cheryl the occasional inconvenient skin flare-ups!
Efficiency Without Compromise
With so many different considerations, eventualities and god forbid, airport security to deal with. Our holiday skincare routine is one of the more challenging aspects of packing for travel.
For many of us, we either compromise on our skincare routines while on the road or end up lugging 20 bottles in our bags risking spills, adding weight and taking up space that could otherwise be filled with…. more shopping?
Being adaptive in the way we pack our skincare products is the key to packing efficiently so that we always look our best for our photo and video shoots.
While we can be forgiven for packing half the bathroom with us when we travel, with some thought and planning, you could really save a ton of space.
More importantly, packing less does not mean we have to compromise. By focusing on the essentials and only picking the products off your vanity top that are up to the job, you can power up your travel skincare routines too!
Here are our top tips and recommendations!
Our Favourite Basic Skincare Travel Kit
The basics of any skincare routine is cleansing, toning and moisturizing. Most brands carry the basic skincare sets in travel size and this does the trick for most of our skincare routine because they’re small, keeps things compact without eating up into our luggage space.
One of our go-to travel kits is the Daily Skincare Essentials Travel Kit from Lagom. An upcoming indie skincare brand from South Korea, Lagom is quite new to the local market. What attracted us to give it a go was their minimalistic take to skincare that runs counterintuitive to the typically loud “fast-fashion-fast-beauty” of the current kbeauty craze.
Lagom may not be the first brand to come to mind but they seem to have the right formula that just works for us. Consisting of two cleansers, the Cellup Gel-to-Water Cleanser for a gentle morning cleanse and the Cellup Micro Foam Cleanser for a more intense cleanse in the evening.
What’s really cool and efficient about the 2 cleansers is that the Gel-to-Water cleanser is an oil-based cleanser and the two cleansers can be paired for a double cleanse in the evening saving time and maybe some space in your vanity pack.
At the end of each day, we start with the gel cleanser and then the Micro Foam cleanser ensuring we have thoroughly cleansed our skin after a long day out exploring. On shorter days or in-between long days, we stick to just the Gel-to-Water Cleanser so that we don’t dry our skin out too much.
Included in the travel kit is also the Cellus Mist Toner, which has a lovely fragrance. The mister helps with more even application allowing you to pack a smaller bottle and also serves as a mid-day perk me up or to refresh Cheryl’s makeup.
The last step of this nifty little travel kit is the Cellus Deep Moisture Cream. Formulated with Dermaflux®, the deep moisturizing cream really helps to restore and lock in our skin’s moisture before bed at night.
What we really loved about this travel kit is that many of the products like the Cleansers and the Mist Toner actually have more than one use and that is great when you are trying to save some space.
We love the no-fuss, straight forward product line up that Lagom has and use the standard sized versions of their products when we are home switching to the travel kits when we fly.
Sheet Masks! Sheet Masks! Sheet Masks!
It feels like the sheet mask fad disappeared as quickly as it came but whether you’re a casual or frequent traveller, sheet masks can play an important role in any travel vanity pack.
Sheet masks are (usually) cotton masks soaked with serums and essences that help target specific skin concerns such as hydration, pore care or wrinkle treatment. They can basically be used to replace your bottles of serums and essences.
Replacing your bottles of serums with sheet masks when you travel gives you the variety of skin treatments that you crave without having to carry multiple bottles. Furthermore, as they are disposable, you wouldn’t have to carry them back on your return trip.
That is why sheet masks is another must-have on our recent trips. They come in huge varieties some even having toners or starter pads like the 2 Step Lotus Leaf Soothing + Brightening Mask and the 2 Step Lotus Leaf Wrinkle Treatment Mask from The Pure Lotus.
After finding out how refreshing they can be, we try to end every day with a mask before we turn in for the night. There is something to be said about enjoying a glass of wine by our private pool, beachside. A wonderful way to end a long day.
Quick tip, throw them in the hotel bar refrigerator before use for added refreshment after a long day at the beach!
Our current favourites are from Polatam! Not only do these masks feel luxurious and produce visible results but they also earn extra brownie points from us for their beautiful packaging.
Made from 100% Cupra Fiber, these sheet masks are soaked in rich essence and come in several options to target specific skin concerns. The one we use the most often is the Water Gel Extra Force Moisturising Mask.
Sheet masks are also easy to pack and do not add to the liquid limit which means we can have enough for all days of our trips. We usually throw a few different ones in our vanity and a few more in our hand carry for the long-haul flights.
Facial Misters: The Versatile Skin Care Tool No One Talks About
Misters is the one skincare product that is often overlooked. The versatility of misters mean that they are great for rebalancing our skin’s pH levels and helping your skin adapt to different temperatures or weather conditions.
You can also use them for a mid-day refreshment or if you are feeling iffy about putting on a sheet masks midflight, then a good mister could also keep your skin refreshed and moisturized so that you land at your destination looking like a diva.
The misters come in especially handy for us as we spend large amounts of time travelling from one place to another. The occasional spritz keeps us awake when we are feeling sleepy during these long journeys. For short flights, Cheryl uses a quick spritz to freshen up her makeup before landing.
Misters usually come in small bottles and are lightweight making it easy for you to throw into your hand carry or handbag. It makes it easy to bring around with you regardless of whether it’s to the beach, ski slopes or shopping malls. If you intend to carry it on the plane, make sure you get one that is under 100ml and non-aerosol like the Jeju Lotus Leaf and Lemon Mist from The Pure Lotus.
Part of Lagom’s Travel Kit includes the Cellus Mist Toner that can also be used as a convenient mister. That already helps save you from bringing an additional bottle. But as our followers probably know, we are big on beach holidays and the Jeju Lotus Leaf and Camellia Mist from The Pure Lotus is our ideal companion. The calming and hydrating effect of Camellia Japonica Oil is the perfect détente to hours under the blazing sun.
For those off to the ski slopes of South Korea or if you are one of the lucky ones heading to the Swiss Alps, then the True Water Vita Mist from Thank You Farmer would be perfect for you. Infused with avocado oil this Mister is fortified with 12 vitamins and minerals and offers convenient protection against the cold, dry winter air.
"Ladies and Gentlemen Of The Class of '99, Wear Sunscreen"
Some of you might recall the first line of the popular song Everybody’s Free by Australian Film Director, Bahz Luhrmann in his 1998 album Something For Everybody. The speech was originally written and published earlier by Mary Schmich in the Chicago Tribune in ’97 but that’s a story for a different article but yes, PLEASE WEAR SUNSCREEN!
The last and probably the most important tip we have here is sun protection. Both of us have terrible reactions to the sun. Cheryl gets burned way too easily and Hemandra does get tanned too. Sunscreen has been extremely essential since our trip to Lombok where both of us experienced a very bad burn when we got back to Singapore.
It matters not all the skin treatments in the world if you are constantly subjecting your skin to the harmful ravages of UV rays. Choosing a good sunscreen can be challenging but thankfully there are many articles like this one here that can help you choose the right one.
When we jet off on our trips, we always make sure to bring a good sunscreen along. UV rays reflected off the sea, pool or the ski slopes can be magnified and are actually a lot more damaging to your skin then most people think.
It is also important to remember that you should always reapply your sunscreen regularly in order to ensure that you have maximum protection against the sun at all times.
Our favourites? Cheryl loves the Jeju Botanical Sunscreen from The Pure Lotus. For a more cost-effective option for the body Heman uses the Safe Sun Fluid Age 0880 from Thank You Farmer.
To end off where we began here:
“Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. But trust me on the sunscreen.”
-Baz Luhrmann
In Conclusion
You can never guilty of being too cautious when it comes to your skin especially if your job involves being in front of the camera. Looking after our skin as we travel the world so that we do not undo all that goodness and pampering we do for our skin when we’re home. We hope these tips give you some ideas for how to pack for your next holiday and as always, happy travels and make every day a happy skin day!
