Glam Slam: Makeup Mondays — Summer Makeup Bag Essentials

Hitting the road is one of summer’s best rituals. But getting through airport security is a challenge many of us could do without.

Unlike Sarah Jessica Parker, who appears to pack everything (and even the kitchen sink!), I pack light and am all about travel sizes and multitasking products.

I just got back from a trip to the East Coast and here are my makeup bag essentials:

CLEANSER:
Hollywood skin maven Sonya Dakar makes a really great “Jet Set” travel kit featuring several products perfectly sized to comply with airline regulations. I take her “Red Grapefruit Wash” with me on the road and it’s also the perfect size for my gym bag.

SKIN:
To save time and space in my suitcase, I use the multi-tasking La Roche-Posay Anthelios 50 Tinted Moisturizer, a light non-greasy formula, which matches most skin tones.

FACE:
– Bronzer — “Here Comes The Sun” palette from Fresh features two shades of bronzer and a highlighting blush so it works for many skin tones and if you happen to get some sun while on vacation, you can switch to a darker color to match your tan.

– Blush — Nars Orgasm gives the perfect kiss of color. I also love Nars The Multiple in Portofino, a pretty peachy color, which is good on both cheeks and lips.

EYES:
With summer’s heat (and sweat!), natural looking eye shadows are the way to go. Makeup maven Bobbi Brown makes excellent neutral shades! Her limited-edition “Desert Twilight Eye Palette” features gorgeous neutral shadows to play with. Maybelline The Falsies Volum’ Express Flared Mascara in the bright purple tube is the mascara I am currently using.

LIPS:
I love a pop of bright color! Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in the swanky sounding “Monte Carlo” is a fun, hot pink. Jouer Cosmetics’ “Peony” is bright pink in the tube, but when it goes on, it’s a very flattering, very natural looking pink and the company has awesome sample size lip glosses, which are PERFECT for travel!

NAILS:
OPI’s Mini Nail Laquer sets are the best! OPI’s “Best of the Best” is a limited-edition collection of mini-bottles in 10 shades, so there’s a little somethin’ somethin’ for everyone. “Deborah Lippman: The Stripper To Go”Nail Laquer Remover Finger Mitts” are the perfect way to take off polish without worrying about spilling any remover in your bag or getting liquids through the airport.

SCENT:
I always take the lovely smelling b.e. fragrance pen with me when traveling and so that scent always brings back a lot of memories. Chanel also makes some great little roller ball sample size bottles of “Chance”, which are perfect for travel too. I’m not shy about asking for samples, which I save and stock up for when I travel. Lush has really nice deluxe size samples of their skincare products, which is nice instead of taking big containers.

— Ryan Patterson