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A traveler’s beauty choices are always personal and unique. To get an inside look on what other girls consider their personal essentials, Yvonne from Under the Yew Tree shares her own travel must haves as she embarks on a long term adventure living and working abroad in Chile.
My 7 Essential Travel Beauty Items
I consider myself a seasoned traveler. On top of travelling to many countries across the globe, I have also had the pleasure of living in Panama, Chile and France. Throughout my travel adventures, I have learned a thing or two about packing beauty items when going abroad, especially for long periods of time.
Living in Chile for 6 months means that I have to be very selective on what will constitute the 23 kilos in my suitcase. Quick tip: always check the carry on requirements before packing your bag. For example, Air Canada allows passengers to bring 1 suitcase, TWO
For my trip to Santiago de Chile, my beauty bag was extremely heavy (10 kgs). I admit that I exaggerated a little. These are my personal essential beauty items on my trip working and living abroad in Chile.
Travel Size Products
These toiletries are great if you are going on exchange or will be living in one spot for an extended period of time. These little items are handy when you first land in a country and haven’t had time to stock up on the essentials. I also use them when I embark on weekend getaways and need to carry as little as possible with me.
I visit Walmart or Shopper’s Drugmart to raid their travel size products. I tend to stock up on mini:
– Shampoo and Conditioner
– Dry Shampoo
– Hairspray
-Deodorant
-Toothpaste
– Mouthwash
On the Go Cosmetic Bags
On top of having travel size products I also carry around a cosmetic bag of essential items in my purse whenever I am sightseeing or exploring. I often stock up on items like: Nivea face sunscreen SPF 30, Burt’s Bees tinted lip chap, QUO Facial Blotting Papers, Tide-to-Go, Anti-bacterial hand-gel, Advil Extra Strength tablets and for a refresher during the day I carry Deodorant wipes and Always Wipes to Go. Important tip: I find that many public bathrooms in lesser developed countries do not have toilet paper in their bathrooms. As a result, I also carry tissues just in case! Check Out this Pink Lips Cosmetic Makeup Bag
Sunscreen and after-burn
I know that many people say that you can easily buy these things in the country you are visiting. I found that in some of the countries I’ve visited (in Brazil, Chile and Argentina) the sunscreen is almost double the amount of money than in Canada. This time around I stocked up on these essentials before leaving for my trip. If you are going into a heavily wooded area, I would also recommend bringing bug spray and after-bite.
Estee Lauder Double Wear
Stay in Place Flawless Wear Concealer. I have been using this concealer for more than a year and I have no plans on swapping it for another brand.Estee Lauder’s concealer (with a 10 SPF) promises up to 15 hours of long wearing, stay-in-place coverage that withstands water, sweat and humidity. It stays place all day without melting, sliding, slipping, or fading! I use it as a concealer, a brightener under my eyes and even at times an all-over foundation. Most days, all use is this concealer before heading out to explore.
Face Moisturizer with SPF
This is an extreme must for anyone traveling to a warm country. Most days on the beach (or traveling) I don’t use any make-up. As I have combination skin (and tend to break-out very easily) I don’t like using sunscreen on my face. Instead I use a cleanser and a face moisturizer with a built in SPF. My go-to moisturizer is Burt’s Bees Radiance SPF 15 Day Lotion (natural, light and non-greasy plus it gives your skin a nice glow).
Mane ‘n Tail Moisture Enriched Hair Strengthener
Leave in Conditioner
When travelling abroad you hair goes through a lot of wear n’ tear. I’ve heard fantastic things from Mane ‘n Tail so I purchased Mane ‘n Tail Moisture Enriched Hair Strengthener
and love it! I spray it on after I wash my hair and it leaves my hair tangle free, soft and manageable.
Dry Shampoo
I am currently overseas and working in an office job that demands that I be at the office very early in the morning. There are times when I do not have time to wash my hair (which needs to be washed EVERY day) so I spray on dry shampoo. Dry shampoo is hard to find in Chile so I stocked up before I left. I opted for the So Gorgeous Dry Shampoo from the Sally Beauty store after a clerk recommended it. Although it’s not my favorite dry shampoo (I also have a mini-TRESemmé bottle, which I prefer) it gets the job done.
Thanks Yvonne for sharing your beauty essentials on your adventure working and living abroad in Chile! Don’t forget to check out her blog Under the Yew Tree for more on her travel and life.
If you want to share your own travel beauty essentials, please email me to contribute. Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to share and re-tweet.
Author Bio: Yvonne is currently living in Santiago de Chile and is the founder of Under the Yew Tree, a website dedicated to fashion, beauty, travel, and food in South America. It is a website that is focused on uncovering unknown travel & food hotspots and local talent/designers in an effort to introduce readers to another side of South America. Under the Yew Tree also provides essential fashion and DIY beauty tips that will prepare anybody planning a trip to this breath-taking continent.
I can’t believe your beauty bag is 10 kg! My whole backpack is 10 kg for a 6 month trip!
10 kilos for 6 months is great! i’m also on 10 kilos traveling Europe right now especially with the strict budget airline rules. I think Yvonne was taking enough beauty supplies to last her 6 months living and working abroad but not for travel 🙂
Yea! I overpacked. No lie. But I was extremely picky about what I wanted to bring (I wanted my own things). Obviously you can cut this down if you are not picky (for example I had three bottles of dry shampoo!)
Thanks for posting Alex! I love contributing to your amazing blog!
Thanks Yvonne! Love having you share your travel tips 🙂
I am obsessed obsessed obsessed with this blog! Exactly what I was looking for to inspire me for my upcoming semester abroad in Peru. As someone who loves fashion and pretty things, this is so great! I love all the versatile outfits and cool ideas.
Thank you Allie 🙂 Peru is one of my favorite countries! You’re going to have an incredible time. Most important things, pack jeans and always wear sunblock. The altitude really fried my face even when it was cold. Have an incredible time!