Last week I spent 24 hours in London and it was pretty jam packed. And a skill that I'm pretty proud of and typically don't get to use a lot is my ability to pack, years of university and long distance relationships has prepared me well for packing and keeping things to a minimum. And a mere 24 hours in the capital didn't call for a suitcase so it was overnight bag situation. And as I was going to the one carrying it I knew it had to be light because I'm pretty feeble. Which meant that my beauty stash had to be kept at a minimum and here is how I kept things light but didn't scrimp on the products that I love.

SKINCARE

CLEANSER

INIKA ROSEWATER MICELLAR WATER*: Typically I use the Garnier Micellar Water which I adore and you can get a travel version of that to make it easier but I had this Inika number to try. The rosewater is what really intrigued me as it's one of my favourite skincare ingredients but how effective would it be in a cleansing water? This removes makeup beautifully without any question of effectiveness and feels absolutely wonderful on the skin. It's a little more than I typically like to spend on a micellar water but if you've got the budget it's beautiful.

PESTLE AND MORTAR RENEW CLEANSER*: Even though I remove the bulk of my makeup with a micellar water for my second and possibly even third cleanse something I absolutely love using is a gel to oil formulation. When pumped out this a jelly consistency and then when massaged into the skin it melts down to a beautiful oil that really gets every stitch of makeup off whilst brightening and cleansing the skin. If you've ever used the Oskia Renaissance cleansing gel then this is very similar and contains those beautiful pumpkin enzymes that we've all come to love. A cleanser that can remove makeup as well as nourishing the skin is always the best to travel with as you don't want to scrimp on such a simple but integral step.

TONER

PIXI GLOW TONIC*: Glow Tonic is a fail safe for me and having a tiny travel size of this wonder product was a complete blessing. I didn't want to pack a separate exfoliating and hydrating option so this is a great two in one. After a long day in the city where my skin was feeling less than perky having this to turn to was a no brainer. The way that this brightens my complexion is truly wonderful and the aloe vera is so calming and cooling. I've spoken about GT so many times that I'm sure that we've all had enough of it but if you're on the hunt for a toner that can help brighten the skin as well as keeping a handle on any breakouts whilst not being horribly expensive then I highly suggest giving glow tonic ago.

OIL

CLINIQUE TURNAROUND REVITALISING TREATMENT OIL: I'm currently trying to use up a lot of my skincare to prevent it going off and to waste so the next one on my hit list was this oil from Clinique. I've always got some sort of serum in my routine but oils are something I only dabble in every so often. But this is the one oil I think is the best to try if you fear something a little more slippery. It's a lightweight formulation but it's still incredibly nourishing to the skin but it just doesn't take hours to sink in like some oils and I find you're good to go with any other products after around a minute of applying this to the skin. It aims to lock in moisture as well as tackle any texture issues you might be facing which is personally why I love this oil so much.

MASK

SU-MAN SHEET MASK*: You might have noticed that there isn't any moisturiser in this roundup and that's because I didn't take one. Which is pretty surprising as I'm loyal to the moisture and never ever skip it, but the two that I'm using are in glass jars which are the terribly unfriendly to travel with. So for the evening, I decided it would the perfect time to utilise these luxe sheet masks from skincare brand Su-Man. They feel absolutely stunning on the skin and I wanted to make the most of the serum that they're drenched in and it was the best decision I could have made. I'd got a few hormonal spots and leaving this serum to work it's magic overnight helped diminish them and allowed them to heal far more quickly than they would have usually. And any product that you can take and then throw away is always a safe travel bet.

MAKEUP

PRIMER

TOO FACED HANGOVER PRIMER: Like I said, I didn't take any moisturiser with me and as well as using a sheet mask in the PM I knew for the AM the perfect priming/moisturising product would be the Hangover Primer from Too Faced. It not only preps the skin for any makeup that you might apply over the top and creates a smooth canvas but it also contains skincare benefits like coconut water and probiotics which wake up tired skin. I was worried my complexion might feel tight or uncomfortable because I was skipping on moisturiser but in combination with the Clinique oil, this duo was perfect. They not only kept my skin happy but allowed my makeup to wear beautifully throughout the day.

CONCEALER

NIP & FAB CORRECTING CONCEALER*: I've been a little more spotty than usual lately due to hormones and I didn't fancy taking a separate concealer so I wanted to give this correcting concealer a proper try. Green concealing products are targeted towards redness and this works wonderfully in small amounts, you have to be very careful with how much you apply. This got rid of all the redness in the blemishes that I was dealing with which made them so much easier to cover up. Typically colour correcting products can be very expensive but this a great budget option and it performs wonderfully.

FOUNDATION

LANCOME TEINT IDOLE FOUNDATION*: I've really fallen for this new release from Lancome in the past month or so. It's exactly what I like in my foundation as it's a solid medium coverage that can be built up with ease in the areas that you need it and the finish is absolutely beautiful. It's slightly gel like in formulation which makes it feel incredible upon application and feels very kind to the skin as sometimes standard liquids can be a little rough for me. The final finish of this is a satin and you do need to give it a little time to settle down to really see how beautiful it looks on the skin. It boasts 24-hour wear which isn't something that I'm ever going to be trying out but it certainly stays put all day without touch ups and you don't have to worry that it's slid down your face by mid day.

BAREMINERALS ORIGINAL FOUNDATION SPF 15: Even though the Lancome foundation is pretty good in terms of coverage I wanted to give the bareMinerals Original Foundation SPF15 a try to add that smidge of extra coverage and settle everything down. After learning how to use this product properly and having it applied to me by someone in a BM store I've fallen completely in love with it. I was always curious about how it works and now after learning the key is to really work with the product you can achieve the most beautiful finish. I used it for a little bit more coverage and to set everything down whilst still maintaining a creamy finish to the skin. I've always been weary of powder foundations but as this doesn't contain any talc you don't have to worry it feeling dry on the skin.

BLUSH

INIKA COSMETICS BAKED MINERAL ILLUMINISOR*: My current aesthetic when it comes to what I'm wearing makeup wise is very simple but flawless. Obviously, my base is my main concern but blush also plays a part in it too and I've been using this baked illuminator from Inika. It's exactly like Tarte Exposed in terms of colour but it's got a vein of shimmer running through it so it adds luminosity to the skin, it's a worry when your skin texture is a little uneven that anything remotely glow-inducing might draw attention to it but this doesn't at all and just gives a lovely soft focus flush of colour to the cheek.

EYES

KIKO EYE PALETTE*: I'm all sorts of obsessed with this palette from Kiko at the moment and I can see myself using this for the rest of the year as it contains every type of shade that I need for my eyes as well as one that I can run through my brows. This Kiko palette is small but mighty and the quality of the shadows is absolutely fantastic and they're so easy to work with. Having a little palette with a huge mirror is absolutely perfect for taking on the go especially when all the shades inside can work beautifully alone and in combination with each other.

MASCARA

TOO FACED BETTER THAN SEX & RIMMEL VOLUME SHAKE MASCARA*: In my most recent mascara post, you will have already seen that I absolutely adore the way that these mascaras behave on their own. So it was almost obvious that they would work beautifully together and I really love to layer my mascaras. I get a huge amount of volume and lift from the Too Faced and the Rimmel option gives me absolutely beautiful separation. You don't need to use two mascaras by any means but it's something I love to do as it allows me to achieve my ideal lash look with ease.