The Beautiful Traveler is a monthly series featuring the beauty products I love to travel with. After two years on the road, I learned that you might be able to skimp on clothing and get by with a couple pairs of shoes, but there’s no substitute for taking care of your skin, hair and health while seeing the world. And since I skipped the June Edition due to excessive galavanting, enjoy the jumbo-sized July Edition featuring my faves for summer travel.
Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Nourishing Daily Conditioner
I’m one of those gals who can use just about any hotel shampoo, but if I don’t bring my own detangling conditioner from home, I’ll never get a comb through my hair. And the Sideshow Bob look does not work for me.
I noticed Heidi Klum in some ads for Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, so when I found the conditioner in a 3 oz. bottle at Target a few weeks ago, I gave it a shot. And hallelujah, we have a winner! It smells fresh and has the perfect mix of detangling action and softeners to make my hair not so crazy. I like it much better than anything I’ve been using lately (and anything you can get at a hotel!) and a full-size bottle runs about $6, so it’s a super economical choice.
Crabtree & Evelyn Somerset Meadow Perfume Gel
One of my favorite discoveries this summer has been Perfume Gel ($18) from Crabtree & Evelyn. (Scratch the picture on your screen and sniff it. Didn’t work? Man, that’s so weird!) I could write a sad country song about how many expensive glass jars of perfume and face cream I’ve accidentally smashed during my travels. I’d gotten to the point where I was breaking something on every trip, and that gets expensive, so I just left all my fancy, glass-encased products at home – which almost always meant I was sans-perfume.
After a month of use and three trips under my belt, I am declaring my love for this new product. It’s unbreakable in an aluminum bottle with an easy pump. The gel goes on smoothly and dries just like perfume, and I love the scent. Now I can still smell fancy on my travels and not have to fret about breakage. Check out Crabtree & Evelyn.
Revercel Triple Duty Sunscreen
You don’t necessarily want to wear layers of sunscreen and foundation when you’re outdoors, but you don’t want to look like the Cryptkeeper either. So what’s a girl to do? I tried Revercel Triple Duty SPF 45 ($50) on three active, very sunny trips: in Queensland, in Orlando and in Miami. It’s thick & protective like a face sunscreen should be, but it’s tinted and blendable like foundation, so you get to protect your face from UV rays and cover those dark circles that keep tattling on your jet-lag. And you don’t have to double up with foundation + sunscreen, which usually causes me to break out.
Revercel also touts its anti-aging ingredients, collagen production and botanicals that improve tone and texture of skin. I haven’t used it so extensively that I noticed a difference there, but I loved the coverage and protection from the sun. Definitely a fan of this one! Check out Revercel.
Dr. Owusu’s Skin Care
Dr. Jacqueline Owusu is from Ghana, where shea butter is used abundantly for its medicinal properties. She developed her own skin care line using shea butter, essential oils and herbs. It may be the closest I ever get to Ghana, so I decided to travel there virtually via skin care.
The first thing you probably notice about Dr. Owusu’s line is the price point, which is comparable to other high end products – but don’t get scared off. The face products in particular are pretty expensive, but I realized last night that I’ve been using Dr. Owusu’s products for about a month and I’ve hardly had any breakouts at all. And my skin is looking smoother than ever. Coincidence? Probably not.
My favorite item in the Revitalizing Facial Care Set ($180) is the rich, thick Facial Serum ($100). I’ve been using it as my base moisturizer and it really helps my foundation to go on smoothly. Honorable mention goes to the Exfoliating Facial Scrub ($50) which has the most decadent texture of any scrub I’ve ever used. It’s not abrasive at all! Surprisingly it leaves skin dewy and moisturized, and not tender or red like other scrubs.
As a travel product, some of the packaging for Dr. Owusu’s line was a bit too heavy to go into full rotation in my makeup bag, so I kept the serum and left the scrubs at home on my last few trips. Dr. Owusu also has a smoothing hair care line, including an anti-frizz serum and a detangling leave in conditioner, and they’re much more affordable than the skincare line. Sign me up to try it out next! For more information on Dr. Owusu’s products, click here.
Mary Kay Cream Eye Color
In June, I spent the majority of my travels in hot, sticky, humid locations – Orlando and Miami, in particular — so I wanted to try some products that would stay on my face longer than 20 minutes. If you’ve ever worked outdoors in Florida in the dead of summer, you know what I mean! Makeup usually melts away before the sun comes up in those conditions.
I experimented with Mary Kay Cream Eye Color ($14) in Metallic Taupe (my absolute favorite), Coastal Blue, Violet Storm and Meadow Grass, which claims to last for up to 10 hours – surprise, it really did! I found these little shadow pots to be far more durable and long-lasting than any powdered shadow I’ve used in the past. Once you apply, the color sets and doesn’t slide all over if you sweat. The bright colors, though perhaps out of my comfort zone, were great for summer. These are ideal for travel, too, because they’re tiny, so you can bring several without weighing your bag down, and you don’t need any extraneous brushes to apply. Just dip a finger in, smooth over eyelids and you’re all set for the outdoor sauna that is Florida in the summer. To buy, click here. 
Champneys Foot Butter
My feet never hurt so badly as they do after I work a theme park event. I start out at around 3 a.m. all chipper and ready to go, and as I’m dragging myself out of the park 12-18 hours later, I’m a limping, aching, hollow shell of my former self. Knowing what was in store for me after the Transformers 3D: The Ride opening a few weeks ago, I threw my tub of Champneys Foot Butter ($9) in my makeup bag. Sure, it’s a full-size container and a little heavier than I would usually pack, but I knew I was going to be in serious need of cooling foot goodness. And was I ever. The tea tree, peppermint and orange oils soothed my screaming feet, and I was able to get a good night’s sleep without soaking in a tub of ice. Thank you, Champneys! (Available at Boots, Target, Walgreens, etc.)
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So those are my top beauty travel picks for July – what do you think? And what are your favorite travel beauty goodies? What is ALWAYS in your travel bag?
Some products featured in Angie Away’s Beautiful Traveler series were provided complimentary. All opinions are Angie’s.
