Lookin' good, traveller: Makeup

Good skin is half the battle won - but sometimes we need that little extra oomph to get ourselves psyched to face the world.

I don't know about you guys, but there are some days I don't feel like I've really woken up until I've put my face on! I really don't sleep, so I have horrible horrible dark eye circles, and when I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror seeing how tired I look makes me feel tired too. Also, I just yawned typing that.

Now we've already established that when you travel you really don't want to bring your entire kit around with you. The same principle goes for makeup, so really, there are only three things you'll want to bring with you when you travel (plus maybe one little extra for the sake of pampering yourself a wee bit):

Eyebrow pencil

I'll admit - I'm obsessed with keeping my eyebrows looking good, which means I check them all the time and I absolutely never leave my house without having checked my eyebrows to see if they're filled in properly. I'm naturally missing half my left eyebrow, so unless I fill that in my eyebrows really do look rather strange.

I swear by Shu Uemura's Hard 9 brow pencil, which I've used for years and own in two different colours. It stays on all day, lasts forever, and is incredibly easy to apply. I love the specially shaped point, which you can get resharpened for free at any Shu Uemura counter, and which is just perfect for application. What can I say? I love love love this product.

Translucent face powder

The last thing you want when taking holiday selfies is to check the camera and see that you've got oily skin which glaringly shows up in pictures. Translucent face powder is perfect because it evens out your skin tone just enough, mattifies your skin, and is lightweight.

I try as far as possible to wear only lightweight products because I don't like the feeling of wearing makeup - I love how it looks, but I'd rather have the feeling of fresh, clean skin!

If your skin needs a little more coverage, try a BB cream or tinted moisturiser. A concealer can be a good idea, too. Some of these products are available in matt finishes, which also help to prevent oily skin from showing up in holiday photos.

Blush

This is the magic thing which gives your face a beautiful flush of colour and keeps you looking warm, glowing and radiant. Blushes are so versatile - they give your skin a healthy flush, or you can even double up a cream blush as a lipstick if you need to.

I'm particularly fond of cream blushes because they last longer on your skin, look more natural, and can be applied with your fingers so you don't even need to bring a brush with you!

Check out the NYX range of cream blushes and MAC mineralise blushes.

~Image, Makeup by Cheryl H

Optional:

Mascara

Just like every other girl out there, I love my mascara. The only reason I'm putting this on the 'optional' list is because mascara is one of the hardest makeup products to take off, and you really don't want to be struggling with taking your makeup off after a long day of travel. But that being said, I love the look that mascara gives. It's up to you whether or not you want to trade those lashes for easygoing comfort while travelling.

Lipstick

This one's just in case of any extra-glam nights you might be going out to; a gorgeous lipstick is the one perfect finish to the va-va-voom of any outfit. I like taking one with me in a nice deep burgundy shade (see MAC's Viva Glam III) because it's sophisticated and versatile enough to be used in any situation.

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Now, here's an extra tip: when you travel, your products are bound to get thrown around. A lot. So when you travel, minimise any powder products you bring, in case they shatter in transit. The last thing you want is for powders to get all over your clothes (it's really not fun). For this reason I advise not bringing eyeshadows with you - you don't really always need to wear eyeshadow every single day, so kick as much out as you possibly can.

Remember to travel light!

What makeup do you take with you when you travel?