Cayman Compass: Jet-setters travel essentials

(Published in the Cayman Compass Weekender, Friday, May 20, 2016)

Travel beauty essentials

June is just around the corner, which means summer holidays are almost here. If you’re a beauty and skin-care addict, trying to whittle down your already overflowing cosmetic haul to just a few essentials can prove difficult.

These clever multi-tasking, travel-sized products, will ensure you don’t have to sacrifice your beauty routine when space is tight. Whether it’s a long weekend or a luxurious few weeks off from work, there’s no need to say “bon voyage” to looking your best with our jet-setters’ guide to our favorite must-have travel essentials.

Multi-tasking products

Treat your eyes and lips to luxury beauty on-the-go with La Prairie’s Anti-Aging Eye and Lip Perfection À Porter. This sleek compact, housed in a chic zip-up case, features two products in one: an eye cream-gel designed to hydrate and erase signs of fatigue, lines, and wrinkles around the delicate eye area, as well as a moisturizing lip balm designed to plump and moisturize the lips. Ideal for weary jet-setters who want to look their absolute best.
Available from the La Prairie Spa, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman

Hardworking palettes

Do away with single eyeshadows cluttering up your makeup bag in favor of a single compact filled with all the essentials to create a variety of looks. Kevyn Aucoin’s recently released eyeshadow set in Featherlights is a gorgeous, limited-edition five-pan eyeshadow designed to highlight, contour, define and accentuate the eyes. Inspired by the Spring 2016 New York Fashion Week runways, this sleek palette features a selection of fresh, ethereal shades in matte and satin finishes that are versatile enough to create day and night looks. Create all your eye looks, with one handy, go-anywhere, palette.
Available at Le Visage, Camana Bay. Visit camanabay.com

Travel-sized products

When space is limited, travel-sized items are the way to go. Popular cosmetics brand MAC offers a wide range of skin-care products in handy travel-sized containers that are all airport-friendly at 30 ml or less. Our particular favorites include MAC’s “Sized to Go Mini Demi-Wipes Cleansing Towelettes.” These handy pre-moistened towelettes are infused with skin-loving vitamin E and are quick and convenient for on-the-go travel. Just wipe a towelette over the face to remove even the most stubborn makeup and the day’s buildup of dirt and grime, or when skin needs a pick-me-up. Follow with MAC’s miniature-sized Studio Moisture Cream. A MAC skin-care classic, this lightweight face moisturizer hydrates, firms and nourishes skin while helping to reduce the appearance of fine line and wrinkles. Perfect for long-haul flights when skin can easily get dehydrated.

Also worth a mention is Bliss’s “Sinkside Six Pack Travel Set,” which features six travel-sized Bliss product favorites in a handy waterproof tote. The pack includes a body moisturizer, shampoo, conditioner, bath and shower gel, soap, and face wash – everything you could possibly need, except the bathroom sink.
Available at the MAC boutique, Cardinall Avenue, and at Le Visage, Camana Bay

Jet-setting formulations

Avoid messy liquid spills with Estee Lauder’s luxurious “Advanced Night Cleansing Balm.” Released just a couple of months ago, this lightweight balm melts into a silky cleansing oil as you massage it over your skin, then transforms with water into a milky emulsion. The balm enriches skin with a host of micro-nutrients and thoroughly removes all traces of makeup and impurities for squeaky clean skin – ideal after a hard day’s travel. Housed in a plain plastic top with the cosmetic company’s signature gold-lined lid, the cleansing balm is light enough to carry for travel. A truly luxurious travel treat.
Available at Penha Cosmetics, Cardinall Avenue

Dual purpose makeup

“Cheeky Kiss ‘n’ Tell Lip and Cheek Tint” is all the rage. This clever little compact by Cheeky cosmetics, a sister company to the hugely successful Cowshed cosmetics company, is your perfect travel partner. Available in two rosy-hued colors – “Fire Starter” and “Posey Rosey” – this multi-tasking richly pigmented product can be used on lips and cheeks for a gorgeous flush of color. Why carry two products when one will do the trick? Simply apply with fingers to cheeks and lips, building up the color as you go. The easy-to-apply gel texture contains hydrating organic beeswax to nourish cheeks and lips, while the sleek compact comes with a handy mirror for touch-ups on the go.
Available at Le Visage, Camana Bay. Visit camanabay.com

Fabulous totes

Be the envy of all and carry your essentials in a colorful cosmetics bag. Scout Bags offers a range of bags that blend fashion and function all in one. Designed specifically to carry your travel essentials, these pretty bags will help to keep your cosmetics organized while on the go.
Available at Le Visage, Camana Bay. Visit camanabay.com