5 Skin care travel essentials

For someone who hates flying I seem to spend an awful lot of time on airplanes and now it's time to hit the road, or shall I say airwaves again as I'm off to visit my family for a few days. When it comes to traveling, I like to keep it simple so that I have as few things as possible to log around and of course I also like to keep some free space in the suitcase for any things I might possibly - read very probably, pick up while I'm away. When I visit my family I quite cheekily use whatever hair care and body care products are around since it's only for a few days, but one thing I won't compromise on is my skincare and by now I've got my travel skin care routine down to a t. The magic word behind the routine is multi purpose, one product with several uses which means that I, the self confessed beauty junky only need a measly 5 skin care items when I'm away on a short trip.    

When I'm away for a few days I won't take an exfoliator with me, so it's even more important for me to have a great cleanser with me, and my preferred choice is the Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution (£4.50). Normally I would only use a micellar solution as part of my morning routine, but when I travel it's so practical to get an eye makeup remover, cleanser and toner in one - what a space and time saver! It's a very mild but effective alcohol free cleanser that removes every single trace of makeup from your eyes and face, even stubborn water proof makeup. To get rid of all my makeup I'll use perhaps 2 cotton pads, and that's enough to make the skin feeling clinically clean and soft without any dehydration at all. Although this original micellar solution is no longer the hottest thing in Blogiverse, I still think it's the best one and I always make sure that I have one in this handy travel size.

I may not bring an exfoliator with me, but I always make sure that I have a generous amount of Origins Drink Up Intensive (£22) Overnight Mask with me. It contains seaweed which is well known for nourishing the skin and to help it retain moisture and it makes the skin feel brand new - overnight it makes your skin hydrated, soft and smooth. This is a life saver when you're traveling since you can use it not only as a mask or an intense night cream, but you can use it to target specific areas that have caught a bit too much sun, and even as a fabulously rich and creamy pre-moisturising treatment. It's an incredible product, worth every penny and I can't get enough of the gorgeous scent of whipped cream and orange.

Another fabulous travel product is the Clarins Face Treatment Oil Santal (£32) for dry/extra dry skin. Like all the Clarins treatment oils it's a very luxurious and rich oil based on 100% pure plant extracts and this is perfect to hydrate, calm and decongest the skin and you'll quickly see a noticeable difference with your skin appearing plump, smooth and soft as a peach. I like to use this before applying moisturiser since it doesn't cause any shininess, or as a rich nightcream. I also keep a tiny bottle of this in my hand luggage and when I feel uncomfortable with turbulence etc, which I inevitably do - the curse of being a nervous flyer, I warm up a tiny drop of the oil between the palms of my hands and breathe it in. It may sound a little bit crazy, but the gorgeous warm spicy and slightly sweet cardamom scent that reminds me of newly baked buns, helps me relax - whatever works right?

Flying, too much sun, insufficient sleep, air conditioning - it can all dehydrate the skin so my favorite travel moisturiser is the Estée Lauder Hydrationist Maximum Moisture Creme (£35). The formula is like a wonderful velvety soft gel that boosts the skin with intense moisture and then helps to retain that level of hydration throughout the day. It's lovely and light and absorbs straight away into the skin making your skin feel invigorated and refreshed. What I like most about Hydrationist is that my skin still feels lovely and smooth in the evening after using it, and it's just that kind of moisture that you need when you're stuck on an airplane for a good few hrs.

The last out of my 5 skin care travel essentials is the lovely and refreshing Dermalogica Total Eye Care (£37) which is great for hydrating, strengthening and smoothing the under eye area. The consistency is light and fluffy without any oiliness at all and it feels lovely and light weight on the skin. I never manage to get any sleep when I fly, so I usually land tired and with big dark circles under my eyes, and this is when this eye cream comes so handy. Total Eye Care has a subtle nude color and it contains light reflecting particles so when you apply it, it'll reduce the appearance of dark circles and make the eye area look so bright and fresh with a subtle radiance, to the extent that you won't even need an under eye concealer.

There you have it - 5 multi purpose skin saviors for traveling, and I'm even so conscious of space that I put the bigger products in travel sized bottles and pots... I must be getting old... What are your must have products for traveling?

Face Off - The cleansing waters

Cleansing waters and micellar solutions are the hottest thing since hair straighteners, and have gone from being a beauty bloggers cult item, to something we can easily find in Superdrug or Boots. They come in all prices and are available for all skin types.

Products from this new generation of cleansers all have in common that they are soap free and gentle on the skin, so would suit the most sensitive among us. You use them just like a toner - soak a cotton pad in the solution and you're ready to get rid of make up or to cleanse your face in the morning, just with a simple sweep. I've matched a couple of products against each other and here are my thoughts on them.

In the first corner we have an old friend of mine - Clarins Water Comfort One-Step Cleanser with Peach Essential Water. While I'm very familiar with one, the others were new to me and I was really looking forward to trying them. This goes in particular for the product in the second corner - beauty bloggers no 1 favourite Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution. In the third corner we have L'Oréal's dupe for Bioderma, L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution and the last contender is Decleor Aroma Cleanse Soothing Micellar Water, another brand that I know well - although not this particular product.

So lets get ready to cleanse!

I have been using Clarins Water Comfort One-Step Cleanser with Peach Essential Water for about 4 months now, and I mainly use it as part of my morning routine, although I have also used it on evenings when I was too tired to do a proper cleanse, and it does a good job. It is very gentle on the skin, and the yummy peach smell helps to make your skin feel refreshed. However because it is so gentle I'm not sure how effective it would be on days when you wear full makeup with heavier foundation, blush, bronzer, highlighter - hmmm, I'm sceptical. When I first got the cleanser I didn't read the instructions properly so I thought I could use it both for eye and face makeup, but it really stung my eyes and since then I always use a separate eye make up remover before using this product, so while it may be fresh, gentle and lovely smelling, an all-in-one cleanser it is not.

I was so excited to try the Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution since I've heard so much about it. Expectations were sky high and I was prepared to be underwhelmed. This is an alcohol-free, super mild cleanser that removes both face and eye makeup in one sweep and you don't need a lot either. It smells of absolutely nothing, actually less than nothing - it's the strangest sensation, it's as if it's in a fragrance vacuum. The complete lack of smell adds to the clinically clean feeling you're left with after you've used it. Now I can be funny about products that have been super hyped, and thought to myself that I wouldn't be seduced that easily, but I completely get it. Bioderma is absolutely amazing!

Let's move on to L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution which is often called a dupe for Bioderma. Considering I was so impressed with Bioderma, this product had a lot to live up to and since I'd never used any of L'Oréal's cleansing products previously, I wasn't sure what to expect. Similar to Bioderma this is an all-in-one product, so it removes both face and eye makeup without stinging your eyes, and it also tones and soothes the skin. It's very effective and makes your skin feel thoroughly cleansed. I can see why fans of Bioderma may find this a good substitute, and it's excellent value for money - all in all a very positive surprise!

The last contender is Decleor Acoma Cleanse Soothing Micellar Water. I always seem to have one or two Décleor products as part of my routine mainly because I love the concept of Aromessence. This micellar water also contains essentials oil - camomile, neroli, lavendar and majoram and essential waters from rose, sweet clover and mallow. The only scent that you really pick up on though is the very subtle one of roses. This is supposed to remove both face and eye make up but I would not recommend that. I don't have either sensitive eyes or skin, but when I used it on my eyes it really stung and my eyes kept on watering, for the next 10 mins or so. That unfortunately was the deciding factor for me - I really wanted to like this but I won't be repurchasing, when there are so many other fantastic options to choose from. 

So - after 4 intense but clean rounds we have a winner. It's not a knock out, but it's a win on points. And for me the winner is.....

 

It has everything you could want - it removes both face and eye makeup equally effectively but gently, and leaves your skin feeling amazingly clean without any dry patches or irritation. I also like the fact that it comes in so many different sizes so you can have a small one in the gym bag or carry on luggage, big one in the bathroom etc. But what nudged it ahead of the runner up - L'Oréal, was that I really disliked the L'Oréal 3 in 1 packaging. When you flick open the cap and if the bottle isn't upright or it's new and very full, the solution goes everywhere since there's no nozzle or anything to prevent that from happening.

I will definitely re-purchase Bioderma and for me it's the champion of light weight cleansing!

I want to finish by recommending that you check out Female Blogger RT, which is a network to help female bloggers to grow their audience and if you're a new blogger like myself, networks like these are amazing!