Holidaying in Japan: Travel Beauty Essentials

I have a bad habit of overpacking when traveling, especially when it comes to toiletries and makeup. I almost always ended up bringing things I don’t need and forgetting the things I do (e.g I’d forgotten toothbrush and toothpaste but remembered to bring hair oil that I never used).

For the trip, I planned months in advance on what to bring and this time, I made sure I only brought the essentials. Well, as essential as I hoped it to be 😛

In-Flight Essentials

Flight Essentials

Some of the items worth mentioning:

  • Sothys Hydra-Protective Softening Emulsion moisturiser – moisturised my skin well in the very dry cabin air. I forgot to release some of the air in the tube before boarding so when I uncapped the tube 30,000 feet in the air, some of the cream exploded on my hands. It made a good hand cream too 😉
  • Uriage Bariederm Reconstructive Barrier Lip Balm – fantastic for traveling. Keeps the lips properly hydrated even in such low humidity
  • Uriage thermal water – skin saver. I sprayed so much that I came home with a nearly empty can.
  • Ear plugs – I once had to endure the not-very-delightful musical stylings (or snorings) of a passenger sitting 2 seats away from me for 5 hours. I never travel without ear plugs now.

If you’re planning to travel long distance and doing stop overs in between, I highly recommend you take advantage of any available shower facilities. They’re usually not free of charge; we had to pay about SG$9 per person for a pay-as-you-go shower in Singapore (basic amenities like towels, shower caps, drinks and snacks were provided). But it was worth every penny because it felt damn good to take a long shower to shake the kinks off the long flight before embarking on another long one. Do check the airport facilities of the country you’ll be stopping over, and bring an extra change of undies and facial cleanser.

My Makeup Bag

My Makeup Bag

I kept my makeup bag very simple this time. I didn’t want to bring lots of eyeshadows, blush or lippies because I know I will end up not using most of them.

  • Eyes – Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze and Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense (Intense Black), Urban Decay Primer Potion and Australis Voluptulash mascara. It’s such an easy look to do without fussing about with makeup brushes. Props to the Color Tattoo. Twelve hours of wear and not a single crease in sight.
  • Cheeks – Burberry Rose Blush
  • FaceGarnier BB cream (Asian version) and RMK pressed powder
  • Makeup brushes – retractable face and blush brushes by Royal & Langnickel. No eye makeup brushes as I applied the Color Tattoo with my finger. Less items to bring with me.
  • LipsFresh Sugar Rose Lip Treatment SPF15, Dior Addict Extreme lipstick in Lucky and Guerlain’s KissKiss lip gloss in #420. I ended up only using the Fresh Sugar lip balm the entire trip.

My Toiletries Bag
I’ve collected a lot of samples over time and trips like this are good ways to use them up. However, there are non-negotiables for me like moisturiser, eye cream and serum that I don’t compromise on, so I brought the usual trio that I use daily.

My Toiletries Bag

Some items worth mentioning:

  • evo Self Indulgence Body Creme – I chuckle every time I read the description on the bottle and it smells fantastic.
  • Alpha-H Age Delay Cleansing Oil – it’s not the usual liquid oil I’m used to. This comes in a jar and is like a gel. Great for traveling as I didn’t have to worry about accidental spillage. Works just as well as most cleansing oils do.
  • Mary Kay eye makeup remover – it’s an oil-based makeup remover and did a good job in removing my mascara and eye liner.

Holiday Empties

Holiday empties are the best. I finished all these on the last day of the trip

Oh and I almost forgot. I brought an empty Bobble filter bottle with me on the plane as well. You don’t normally get to drink a lot of water on flights unless you keep asking for it (hence annoying the hell out of the flight attendants walking in and out with your small plastic cups of water), so I highly recommend that you bring an empty bottle with you and request a flight attendant to fill it up as soon as you board.

Bobble Filter Water Bottle

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a peek into the beauty products I brought with me to Japan. Looks like a lot, but believe me, it’s been cut down to the items I’d actually use instead of bringing everything but the kitchen sink. And I still ended up not using some of them 😛

Next up, my highlights of Japan! 😀

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29 comments… add one
  1. Jess @ Miss J. Shopaholic

    Show us your haul alreadyyyy! Lol 😛 Been loving Maybelline Bad to the Bronze lately too, super awesome product 🙂 xo
    Jess @ Miss J. Shopaholic recently posted..Tom Ford Beauty Fall 2012 Colour Collection!My Profile

    1. Tine

      Jess: I only had the Taupe and found that one pretty good. The Bad to the Bronze was recommended by a friends and wow, love it! Wore it every day without any problems at all. Easy peasy makeup 😛

  2. Cherie

    I love posts like these! Most of the time I’m just being nosy but I’m actually going somewhere next month so this was so useful and informative! Bad to the Bronze is, hands down, my favourite eyeshadow product. Glad to know it came into its own on your trip! Were you really allowed to bring the deodorant and thermal water spray into the cabin? I thought aerosols weren’t permitted?
    Cherie recently posted..New Real Techniques!My Profile

    1. Tine

      Cherie: I’m surprised at how good the Bad to the Bronze is. My eyes are especially oily, which means I always need primer. Even then a lot of eyeshadows don’t last long on my lids even with primer on. This baby didn’t even budge. Colour me impressed!

      Yep, there’s no problem bringing aerosols on board. As long as they’re under 100ml and in the see-through bag, it’s okay. I’ve done it plenty of times on domestic and international flights. On domestic flights that you don’t check in your luggage, even though you don’t have to put them in a see-through bag, take the aerosol cans out prior to the x-ray scan to show the officers what they are.

  3. Nikki

    I love how organized you are and how you brought cute travel sizes! Sorry about the explosion story! Thanks for reminding, I wouldn’t have thought of releasing air too! LOL Imagine all beauty bloggers in one flight having products explosion? LOL! That’ll scare the pilot and stewardees! LOL

    Thanks for sharing the bottle tip! I didn’t even know they give water! they always “seem” to look too busy to give you water! LOL
    Nikki recently posted..AMW Reviews: Yves Rocher MetalGlow Cream Eyeshadow in Ombre Cream MetalMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Nikki: Unfortunately I’ve had way too many accidents with exploding creams, which is why I always have to remember to release excess air out of tubes and bottles first (silly me forgot about the moisturiser).

      HAHAHAHA that would be funny, wouldn’t it? A plane full of beauty bloggers, with the trays down, makeup bags on top and exploding moisturisers and lip balms! 😛

      This was actually my first time bringing on board an empty water bottle and asking them for water. I’ve read articles about it, that you can request flight attendants to fill your water bottle for you on the flight. It’s so much easier than asking them for cups of water (they’ll thank you for not bugging them constantly for water, I’m sure) 😛

  4. xin
    1. Tine

      Man, story of my life on overpacking >.<

  5. Beauty Snippets

    I love reading posts like these as I’m currently planning a holiday for Jan/Feb and I have been stressing on what to bring!

    Like you, I am planning on raiding the samples collection I have amassed and see what I can bring over.
    Beauty Snippets recently posted..Review: Prestige Total Intensity eyeshadowsMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Hehe me too! I’m a sucker for travel beauty posts 😛

      Samples are fantastic for holidays but I’d suggest bringing your trusty moisturiser and serum instead of trying new skincare products from samples. Just in case the new ones break you out. Spotty face don’t make good pictures >.<

  6. Megan

    Great post and yay for getting the Flight Attendants fill up your water bottle for you, I’d much rather do that than have someone hassling me for water ever 5 minutes!
    Megan recently posted..theBalm – Mary-Lou ManizerMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Megs: See see I thought so too! Long haul flights require lots more hydration and I know I’d be bummed if I have to bring out cups of water every 5 minutes. Easier to just have a big bottle instead 😀

  7. Paris B

    Haha you know what Tine? I pack at most Image 2 and 3 when I travel for holidays. I pack samples so I can toss them (and make way for new goodies!) and I pack light because I tend not to check in my bags when going, to save time 🙂

    1. Tine

      I’m terrible at packing light and almost always need to check in. I never seem to learn 😛

      Japan’s not a good place to bring big luggages though (learned that lesson even though we didn’t bring a big one). Too many staircases, no lifts and you have to carry the bags up and down the stairs. >.<

  8. Issa

    Hi Tine! I just realized now that I am not receiving your blog posts thru my email, I had to subscribe again and I wonder why? Anyway, it was so nice to see your makeup bag, travel essentials, etc.! This is a lot but girls will be girls, hihihi

    1. Tine

      Hi Issa! That’s very strange. My new feed program should have migrated your email address automatically when I did the feed migration from Feedburner to Feedblitz. It could be a bug. I’ll have to feedback to Feedblitz about this. Thanks very much for letting me know! 🙂

  9. emmabovary

    Love seeing what made it into your travel bags! I love the Alpha H Age Delay cleansing oil, I found it worked really well for me.
    emmabovary recently posted..Revlon Haul (including Myer GWP!)My Profile

    1. Tine

      I purposedly saved the Alpha H cleansing oil for the trip when I received it in the mail. So glad it worked out well! 🙂

  10. Michelle Beh

    You had quite some travel essential. Honestly saying I’m very bad for always not bringing any hydration products on plane when the cabin air tend to be very dry. I ll now remember on this part.

    1. Tine

      The cabin air is awful on my skin, especially my lips. It becomes so dry that I end up getting this perpetual “lip liner” that hurts. The thermal spray helped my skin a great deal too even though I didn’t use the moisturiser often 🙂

  11. cuteandcurls

    Gosh its been sooooooooo long since i pop by to your blogsite, miss reading them now as Im updating myself here hehehe i just love love love looking in your make up bag and toiletry bag. Being a traveller myself I tend to forget bringing hand cream and i feel icky looking at my dry hands when we’re thousands of feet up in the air. Good reminder to do so next time, i just wish sometimes here in KL they sell mini sized deodorants too that are pleasant smelling and not sweet candy smelling

    1. Tine

      Hello hello! I haven’t seen you in ages, how have you been? So glad to see you here again 😀

      Ugh can’t stand candy-scented deodorants. What are we, 12? 😛

      1. cuteandcurls

        ^_^ I know heheeheh I really miss reading all my favorite cuppa good reads. All is good, my baby girl is now nearly 16 months old, she may be a toddler now but shes still a baby to me. She is a right lil missy with an attitude ..I’ll post photos of her soon but i’ll do it on private tho ..will let you know. She has taken over my life Tine, heck ..my beauty regime is now taken a back seat and i need to get back into it LOL so here I am reading for inspiration of skincare and cosmetics 🙂

  12. Helen Nguyen

    I enjoyed reading the post 🙂 It’s always interesting to see what ppl are bringing with them when travelling.. it tells a lot about the product I think
    Helen Nguyen recently posted..How To Whiten Your Skin NaturallyMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Thanks Helen. So glad you liked it 🙂

  13. Swati

    hey Tine…so glad to have you back 🙂 ear plugs are good additions 🙂 and, the water bottle tip is good coz even i face that prob and its honestly very annoying to me also to keep on asking them every half hour for a small cup of water 😀 will keep this in mind from next time.
    Swati recently posted..Some Random Product Reviews – Part IMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Earplugs are absolutely essential, Swati. From all the snoring and screaming babies 😛

  14. Bugs

    Once ( many years back ), I got real tired of asking and waiting ages for that small cup of water from flight attendant that I followed her to the water station, finish the water and ask for refill few times there and then until I’m satisfied…. Don’t care what she was thinking about me then coz I was about to die from dehydration … XD

    1. Tine

      Hahahaha that’s a good one! I did that once too. It was dark in the cabin, so I did knock a few nodded off heads when walking to the station. Asked for water and stood there even though the flight attendant said she would bring it for me. You gotta be proactive when it comes to quenching thirst, right? 😉

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