How can you visit Australia and not buy this sunscreen?
35 beauty products to keep an eye out for while travelling
There are only two types of travellers. Sorted Sania, who’s completed her web check-in and coordinated her outfits and shoes for every day away from home. Then we have last-minute Leena. Sleeping through her alarm, then scrambling to the airport only to discover she’s forgotten to pack the underwear she washed the previous night. But the one thing that they have in common is a planned list of beauty products to buy while travelling.
Every country has something to offer. Some are rich with regional ingredients and made using traditional techniques, others just aren’t available in your country of residence. But we also know what you’re thinking. Everything is online now. Why do you – or your second cousin returning home for the first time in five years – need to think about the beauty products to buy while travelling when all it takes is a click on a website to order it straight home?
Two words: customs charges. Also, a product in their country of manufacture is likely to be cheaper to buy even if it’s available to you in India.
35 beauty products to buy while travelling
France
Cicaplast Baume B5 Soothing Repairing Balm by La Roche-Posay
If you’re hunting for beauty products to buy while travelling, make it something from French pharmacy favourite La Roche-Posay. Namely, the internationally beloved Cicaplast Baume hailed as a sensitive skin saviour.
Healing and repairing madecassoside, hydrating glycerin, purifying and anti-bacterial copper, manganese and zinc, nourishing shea butter, and more, the Cicaplast Baume is a multi-purpose product. Soothe your skin if you’ve accidentally over-exfoliated and damaged your skin barrier (we’ve all been there), reduce the discomfort of that post-waxing red upper lip skin and lock hydration and moisture into those dry elbows and elbows. It’s best suited for people with dry skin given its balmy texture.
Rêve de Miel by NUXE
This is hands down the best lip balm you will ever use if you’ve been plagued by dry and chapped lips. A blend of honey, rosehip oil, almond oil, sunflower extract and vitamin E come together to create a lush balm that deeply nourishes, heals and soothes your lips. This is a honey-based product, so if you prefer vegan beauty products you will want to avoid this.
Mexico
Tintaline Labios by Bissú
If you’re travelling around Mexico you’re bound to come across Bissú in the makeup aisles. While the Tinta Mate (matte liquid lipsticks) have great pigmentation and colour options, the Tintaline Labios lip liners are a crowd-favourite on Reddit beauty threads. Super pigmented, creamy and easy to apply, you get 15 colours to choose from which you can mix and match with your lipstick of choice.
United Arab Emirates
Easy Bake Loose Baking & Setting Powder by Huda Beauty
There is no city in the UAE where you won’t find Huda Beauty, especially in Dubai where Huda Kattan founded the company.
This setting powder is one of the best on the market. So finely milled and smooth, it gives you coverage, can brighten your under-eye area (depending on the shade you pick) and set your make-up without making it look cakey.
Started by Kattan sisters Huda and Mona, Kayali fragrances are long-lasting and have something for every scent preference – musk, amber-rich, floral, fruity, and a mix of all of the above. Whichever one you pick, it’s guaranteed that you will smell, how do we say this… expensive and luxurious. Our favourites are Citrus, Vanilla Coco and Déjà vu White Flower. You could also get a set of minis and find your own favourite.
Given that oud-heavy ‘Arabic-style’ perfumes are currently trending on social media, give Ajmal perfumes a whiff. They’ve got boutiques in pretty much every mall where you can try out their spicy, traditional oud scents.
Also check out their line of dakhoon or bakhoor, which are wood chips (agarwood, commonly) soaked in essential oils that can be burnt using an electric or ceramic incense burner.
Germany
Dry shampoo by DM Balea
Dm-drogerie Markt, abbreviated as DM, is a chain of retail stores across Germany and their store brand Balea’s dry shampoo is among the best you will ever use.
Not only are they non-drying and non-sticky, but they have a UV filter to protect your hair and scalp from sun damage – UV radiation distresses hair as much as the skin.
Translucent Bronzing Tint by Dr Hauschka
Organic skincare lovers who gravitate towards products with naturally derived ingredients will enjoy the offerings of Dr Hauschka. While their Cleansing Cream is very popular on Reddit, we’d recommend trying out the Translucent Bronzing Tint because it’s just so unique.
You can use it as a liquid bronzer or add it to a moisturiser for a sun-kissed glow. With lots of natural extracts, fragrances and essential oils, we suggest doing small patch tests prior to use if you have sensitive skin.
Greece
Greek Yoghurt Foaming Cream Cleanser by Korres
A cream-to-foam cleanser that is suited for all skin types, this is a crowd-favourite that had a moment in the TikTok sunshine earlier this year. With plenty of nourishing ingredients as well as pre- and probiotics. However, it does have exfoliating lactic acid so we’d be careful about using this every day.
Japan
Facial Treatment Essence (Pitera Essence) by SK-II
The world of J beauty exploded onto the global scene with this star product by SK-II. An essence with 50 micronutrients, rich in amino acids, vitamins, and minerals that nourish the facial skin.
Reviewers have given it a long list of benefits including skin brightness, softness, anti-ageing, and evening-out skin tone and texture.
Gokujyun Cleansing Oil by Hada Labo
If you’re into double cleansing (which you should be) then start with the Hada Labo cleansing oil which is perpetually going viral online.
It’s light, emulsifiers well and takes off the day’s dirt, grime, makeup and sunscreen without the need to rub and tug at your skin.
The Dewy Skin Cream by Tatcha
With celebrity fans like Selena Gomez, Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore, the antioxidant-rich cream is a blast of hydration and moisture. It’s best suited for dry skin, though Tatcha also has a Water cream for people with more oily and acne-prone skin.
They also come with little spatulas that make you feel extra fancy while doing your skincare routine.
South Korea
Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment by Dr Jart+
It may look like cement in a jar, but this is a skin-saver if you experience a lot of redness – whether due to acne, skin sensitivity or skin conditions like rosacea. This colour-correcting cream neutralises the redness to give you more even-looking skin.
It is also soothing on the skin because of its star ingredient tiger grass, also known as centella asiatica or gotu kola in India.
Glass Skin Refining Serum by Peach & Lily
This serum (along with SK-II’s essence) is probably the product that started it all. At atleast popularising ‘glass skin’ in our lexicon.
This multi-award-winning product has it all – hyaluronic acid for hydration, peptide complex for anti-ageing, multi-tasker niacinamide and calming madecassoide.
Morocco
Kessa glove
There are other options you could opt for if you’re looking for beauty products to buy while travelling through Morocco but we’d say find a local stall or the nearest hammam and pick up a Kessa mitt or glove. This is an exfoliating glove you slip your hand into and gently scrub the dead skin off your body.
Australia
Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50+ by Bondi Sands
The land down under is the master of sunscreen (for good reason) with some of the strictest and highest cosmetic standards for sun protection.
We love Bondi Sands sunscreens and if you’re on the dry side, you’ll love it too. People with oily skin can skip a moisturiser before applying this product as it’s moisturising enough by itself.
Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm by Aesop
We’ve started paying more attention to the skin on our hands after the constant washing and disinfecting over the last two years.
This is Aesop’s best-selling hand cream which nourishes the skin and cuticles without leaving a greasy smell. And the mandarin and rosemary smell is heavenly.
India
Intensive Hair Repair Masque Japapatti & Brahmi by Forest Essentials
The luxurious hair mask is a concoction of potent Ayurvedic herbs methi, brahmi and nagarmotha along with banana pulp – a great moisturiser for your scalp with potassium, natural oils, carbohydrates and vitamins – which protect your hair’s natural elasticity.
Feed your scalp with nutrition with this as a pre-shampoo ritual.
Kajal by Lakmé
Every single one of us has had a Lakmé kajal in our makeup stash regardless of whether we use it or not. It’s like a make-up security blanket for desis.
With the old-school chubby sticks we grew up with, smudging the corners out for a smokey show and the twist-up next-gen versions, this kajal truly is iconic.
Malaysia
Niacinamide Gel Cream by Ruruberry
Ruruberry is a single-ingredient brand – similar to The Ordinary and Minimalist – to check for beauty products while travelling across Malaysia. They’ve got everything from your niacinamide and vitamin C serums to mandelic and salicylic acid ones. We highly recommend the Niacinamide gel cream.
A light-weight, non-sticky moisturiser with 5% niacinamide, soothing allantoin, and capryloyl salicylic acid (LHA) for some very gentle exfoliation and ceramide-like derivatives come together to create a stellar product.
Italy
Glassy – Blush by the glass by EspressOh
A little goes a long way with this blush. It’s a pH-reactive formula, meaning the clear colour changes to a shade of pink depending on the pH of your skin. It goes on clear and transforms into a dewy blush.
Keep it as a light tint or layer it up for more colour.
United States of America
Daily Moisturizing Lotion by CeraVe
CeraVe is a no-frills brand you’ll find at pretty much every department store across the US. You can use this all over your body and face. Though it says it’s for normal to dry skin, it’s lightweight and can suit oily skin types too.
For very dry skin, they have a great thick cream too. Rich with ceramides and hydrating hyaluronic acid, this is high on our list of beauty products to buy while travelling.
Huesticks by Live Tinted
This beauty brand was built by influencer Deepica Mutyala after a colour correction video went viral in which she used lipstick because no beauty brand at the time had a colour corrector suitable for brown skin tones.
These multi-use sticks work as colour correctors, blush, eye shadow and even on your lips. The buildable and highly blendable formula is also kind on the skin, with hyaluronic acid, squalane and vitamins C and E.
Gloss Bomb Heat by Fenty Beauty
Fenty Beauty changed the game with top-tier formulations for their lip products. While Rihanna’s beauty brand brought back lip gloss in a huge way with the Fenty Glow Gloss Bomb, we suggest trying out the Gloss Bomb Heat line.
They’re more pigmented than shimmery, as compared to the regular Gloss Bomb, so they give you a nice wash of colour and plump up the lips without setting them on fire. There are a variety of shades to choose from, though we suggest trying the currently trending brown-toned Hot Chocolit, pinky nude Fu$$y and sheer red Hot Cherry.
Soft Pinch Liquid Blush by Rare Beauty
Selena Gomez has set the benchmark very high when it comes to liquid blush formulas with her brand Rare Beauty. One dot of this on each cheek will give you more pigmentation than most blushes have in an entire tube.
There are two finishes, matte and dewy. For Indian skin tones, we recommend trying the shades Joy (dewy) a muted peach shade; Grace (matte), a bright mauve, and terracotta brown Love (matte).
Haircare by Living Proof
Living Proof has a product for every hair type, and after 15 years’ worth of reviews, people are content with the fact that they work.
People with curly hair will want to stock up on their Curl Definer which hydrates while preventing frizz. The Restore Repair mask will be ideal for people with coloured and chemically-treated hair, and the Full Thickening Mousse for fine and flat hair.
Canada
Modulating Glucosides by NIOD
We’re talking about Toronto, namely, in this case, home to the DECIEM store. DECIEM is the parent company of beloved brands The Ordinary, NIOD and Hylamide. Skincare enthusiasts are going to feel like little kids running around a candy store. But if there’s one product that we’d give an extra nudge towards, it’s this one from NIOD.
Especially if you have sensitive or reactive skin, or tend to over-exfoliate and compromise your skin barrier. This concentrated emulsion targets signs of discomfort and irritation; strengthens the skin barrier and calms inflammation.
Nudies Blush by NUDESTIX
When you’re out and about and need a little touch-up, these blush sticks are super handy because they have a little in-built brush. These too come in a dewy and matte finish. We have our eye on the coral shade Picante and purple Moodie Blu.
Orange and purple may seem like odd choices for some when it comes to blush, but trust us, they look incredible on brown skin.
BKIND nail polish
BKIND is only available in the Quebec region, unfortunately, but if you’re around then definitely check out these vegan and cruelty-free nail polishes which are made using 77% plant-based ingredients.
On our wishlist are the shades Chai, not only because of its name but because it’s a beautiful rust orange with brown undertones; Wicked, a glittery dark green, and Kahului, an eye-catching mint green.
New Zealand
Curio Noir is the only Māori-owned (indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand) perfumery in the world.
All their perfumes are made with extracts from petals, pulped roots, and resin from trees, with each bottle featuring a fascinating combination of aromas.
United Kingdom
Brightening Concealer Makeup Brush by Real Techniques
Did you know that the aunt of sisters Sam and Nic Chapman who founded Real Techniques was a makeup artist with clients like Princess Diana and David Bowie?
Their brushes are worthy investments, especially this concealer brush. It may look like a regular flat brush but turn it to the side and you see that it’s actually an angled brush that seamlessly blends in your concealer. The fact that it’s called a ‘kitten paw’ brush only makes it cuter.
Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm by Elemis
We love a good cleansing balm and this one by Elemis has climbed its way to the top of the international list of favourites.
It instantly melts on your face and wipes away any sign of makeup, sunscreen and not-so-fun microbial friends who may have decided to congregate on your face throughout the day.
Vanilla & Anise Cologne by Jo Malone London
Science says that smelling like a bakery is just one of the ways to make yourself unforgettable (find out the rest here).
Vanilla is one of those scents that work well regardless of season or time of day. This pairing by Jo Malone of sweet vanilla with warm, spicy star anise and purple vanilla orchid is bound to make heads turn.
Spain
Color Compact SPF 50 by Heliocare
You may have heard of Cantabria Labs’ Heliocare suncare pills (basically packed with antioxidants) but you should also try their pressed-powders with sun protection.
These are a great way to reapply your sunscreen throughout the day without messing up any base makeup you may have on. Given that it is a powder and its coverage can be tricky to assess, the fact that it’s tinted won’t make you look like a walking ghost. There are two formulas, the regular Color Compact as well as an oil-free version.
Fotoprotector Fusion Water Sunscreen SPF 50 ISDIN
This super light formula practically makes you feel like you’re not wearing anything on your face at all.
It also has really good skin benefits with antioxidant and skin-brightening ingredients like ascorbic acid and tocopherol as well as hydrating ingredients like sodium hyaluronate.
