Travel beauty case: practicality and a touch of feminine vanity.

Let’s continue with the travel tips…

We are in Part Two of the article written by Marco on how to organize a long trip; I have reserved the opportunity to write something more feminine, always considering that the advice listed above applies to all types of travellers, with the drawback that we girls will find it more difficult to leave shoes, bags, clothes at home, which we will necessarily have to renounce. This is the first time that I leave only with a backpack, although I must admit that I have never had problems “traveling light”, however this time it was completely different: knowing that I have months of travel ahead of me in so many countries different, with different climates and being ready to meet all kinds of needs, has put me in front of the need to carefully choose what to bring, preferring practicality with a touch of vanity.

Let’s focus on all those little-big things that are essential for us girls and that will put us in front of the question: “Do I wear this?”.
Let’s start with the travel beauty case: as you already know, our Pachamamas’s project wants to follow the principles of sustainability in all its phases and so I decided that my beauty case also needed some improvement. The following are tips for a sustainable travel beauty case, i.e. natural products, zero waste, plastic-free and, of course, lightweight packaging: in a nutshell, according to the principles of Clean Beauty. For those who don’t know it, the movement was born in America a few years ago, following a philosophy that seeks a “clean beauty”, not only in terms of ingredients, respect for nature and for processed products, but also transparency towards of the consumer.

A sustainable beauty case? Yes you can!

Choose a soft container that can fit well inside the backpack and, if possible, favor one made of fabric, which you can easily wash during the trip. With a little imagination, make sure that your beauty is doubly sustainable, giving life back to something you haven’t used for a long time: in my case I’m using a fabric bag that my mom sewed by recycling an old garment from when I was little …needless to tell you that it has also acquired a sentimental value for me. Make sure that your bag closes with thick and resistant laces, it will come in handy to be able to hang the beauty bag in “uncomfortable” bathrooms.

How to prepare an ecofriendly beauty

I appeal to all those women who have a thousand creams and creams, for night, for day, anti-stress, anti-smog, anti-wrinkles, they will have to give up something. Before leaving, I did a little research, selecting only those companies that faithfully follow the principles of sustainability and reduce their environmental impact as much as possible.
The company that absolutely impressed me with its originality, coherence and innovation is absolutely LUSH: not only because its code of ethics is totally in line with our lifestyle, but because its solutions are actually suitable for a female traveller! Lush offers almost all its products in solid format, occupying less space, avoiding the inconvenience of liquid loss or airline baggage limitations, but above all eliminating useless and polluting plastic packaging, replacing them with comfortable and light tin boxes ( recycled), which you can reuse in a thousand ways. In this convenient format you will find shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, deodorant, body and face creams: I’m sure that, as happened to me, you will spend a relaxing and enjoyable hour getting advice from the well-prepared sales assistants on the fragrances and properties of the products, choosing those best suited to your skin and your taste.
PRACTICAL TIP: if, as in our case, you like adventure travel and consider facing different climates, perhaps extreme, choose well-moisturizing creams, which can eliminate discomfort due to cold wind or too hot sun. In this case I have to warn you, Lush naked format creams (ie without packaging) are extremely natural, they use almost no preservatives, so if you consider going to very hot places you risk complete melting! Only in this case I suggest you look for a canned alternative.

Toothbrush and toothpaste: completely plastic-free toothbrushes made of bamboo and charcoal fibers have been around for some time, just as there are solid toothpastes in tablets in packaging that are no longer made of plastic, so even in this case you will have a valid sustainable alternative.

Make-up and wig: inevitable make-up

I’m sure each of you has a line of products that you are fond of and I’m not here to convince you to change it, rather I would like to tell you that travel could be an opportunity to experience something new. Try investing in more natural tricks, not tested on animals, at the forefront of packaging reduction or recycling and perhaps investing part of your spending in environmental protection. Otherwise you can follow my policy: no makeup. Yes, of course I left a blush, an eyeliner and a mascara in my beauty bag, but I hardly ever use them. Travel is above all this, experimenting, so for once try the sensation of feeling free from the constraint of having to put on powder and lipstick to feel in order. After a month of experimenting on my skin, I can assure you that leaving the skin free to breathe for a while will bear fruit. In short, take the trip as an aesthetic treatment and then tell me if you won’t find cleaner and brighter skin.

Obviously if you can’t do without make-up, also bring good make-up remover products with you: also in this case Lush has offered me excellent solutions. It depends on the length of your trip and the places you will visit, but there are two main options: cleansing milk in soap or in pads. The first will obviously last longer, while the disks last for a week and you will have to buy more. After using the soap, do not use the usual disposable cotton pads, buy the washable version or bring a microfiber towel.

I know, you’re wondering: “And how do I fix my hair?”. It is certainly necessary to have at least a small travel hairdryer with you; if like us you decide to go on an adventure trip, trying to spend as little as possible, know that you won’t find it in hostels and campsites, so it’s good to have yours available. The rest I leave to you to decide: you know better than me how tameable your hair is or not and the “wild hair” style is great for female travelers around the world. What I told you about makeup is worth a bit: experiment! I’ve totally given up on the idea of wearing a hair straightener, although I assure you my swollen hair screams for mercy from time to time, but that doesn’t mean you have to too. If it is so important to you, you will surely give up something else to make room for a travel straightener. By now there are so small that they will take up the space of a pencil case! Obviously don’t forget clothespins, elastic bands, hairpins, everything that is useful to you to style your hair in the most disastrous conditions.

To conclude this all-female article, I want to share one last thing with you: women all over the world care about being well-groomed and charming, every culture uses its own beauty remedies, so take the journey as an opportunity to discover the secrets of women around the world! You will find essential oils with exotic scents, body creams as soft as butter, natural products with surprising properties; in short, it is not really necessary that you bring everything with you, as you will always find what you need along the way.

I hope the advice given here was helpful, of course I could have added many more! So if you still have curiosities and questions, feel free to write me by adding a comment below, I will be happy to share some other tricks with you!