The Best Makeup for Travel: Stowaway

This spring, I went on a couple’s vacation to Mexico. Adults only, no kids. A true vacation. I was packed and ready to go, and realized that I couldn’t even lift my suitcase. No, not because of all the fabulous outfits that I packed or the 5 pair of shoes that I HAD to bring, but because of my makeup kit! I was carrying around this brick of a palette and full size products of everything else. I bet my kit made up 25% of the weight of my suitcase. Ridiculous. I knew there had to be a better solution.

Luckily, I had received a set of Stowaway lipsticks in my Popsugar Must Have box and loved the portable size, not to mention the amazing pigment they packed. I could slip these tiny lipsticks into my clutch and stay touched up all night. Here is the size of a Stowaway lipstick vs. another popular brand that I have had for years and never used up….

I got in touch with the team at Stowaway and told them how much I LOVED the concept and products. I read up on the concept and WHY they started the company. It wasn’t actually meant solely for travel- they make “right-sized” cosmetics that are meant to be used before they expire. Here is a handy little chart to let you know how long makeup lasts.

We chatted a bit, and I ended up purchasing their new eye palette (the size of a credit card….life-changing and only $25, stay tuned for a full set of looks in a future post), and received a Basics Kit to test out on my next trip.

Since this is my year of travel, I headed to the Bahamas on a press trip with my 5 year old next. A four day whirlwind of dolphin petting, lazy river riding and Bahama Mama drinking. You will hear all about it soon. The catch? I had to pack all of my stuff in a carry on. No room for my traditional makeup kit…so it was Stowaway to the rescue!

Since this was a press trip, it meant dozens of photos. This wasn’t your typical no makeup at the pool, messy hair don’t care beach bum trip. This was work (granted, work alongside crystal clear turquoise waters, but work nonetheless). During the day, I kept it simple: BB Cream, concealer for my black eye circles, a dab of pot rouge on my cheeks, a sweep of shimmer on my eyelids and a swipe of mascara.

At night, we had Bahamian dinners with the group. From a Junkanoo celebration complete with fire dancers to a conch fritter fest with a steel drum band, I needed a few different looks. Below is fairly neutral shimmer eyeshadow with liner accenting the corners, mascara and rosy cheeks and a neutral lip. In this pic there are sharks swimming in the water below, which is why my son looks kind of terrified and I have my feet planted to hold on to him!

I also did a mauve smokey eye with tightliner and gobs of mascara, finished off with a dab of lipgloss. Another night I did a shimmer eye with winged liner, complimented by a punchy Scarlet lipstick and rosy cheeks. I also brought along my favorite loose powder to take the shine off (fingers crossed that Stowaway will come out with a powder!) and used their petite kabuki brush, which is 1/4 the size of my massive one but gets the job done just the same.

To say I am in love with Stowaway is an understatement. For someone on the go like me, this is a major WIN. On occasion, I appear in lifestyle segments on TV. The green room in most of the studios is teeny tiny and they have to cram all of the guests for the show in there. On one station, I have a hair and makeup team that I ADORE (seriously, these gals work magic on my mug at 6:30am), and another station I am all on my own for hair & makeup. The Stowaway kit is going to become my on-air arsenal for last minute touch ups, and is perfect for the limited counter space. I mean, look how tiny this eye palette is! Smaller than a baseball card.

Oh, and for powder? This petite kabuki brush is perfect to stash in my purse! I always had a tough time shoving the handle of a huge brush into a clutch.

Everyone in my area travels in August…seriously, my city clears out. I can’t wait to take my Stowaway kit on the road! Are you as excited about this as me??!

Happy travels!

Disclosure: I was provided with Stowaway product for review purposes. All opinions are honest and my own, as always.