I’ve had a pretty fun two weeks recently: first, I took time off work to visit my parents and sister, who live in Singapore. The day after I returned to Jakarta, I was flown by Air Asia to Kuala Lumpur to witness the unveiling of an Airbus A320 with Taylor Swift livery as part of her Red Tour travels across Southeast Asia.
During the entire two weeks when I was away from my vanity, I had to think about paring my skincare needs back to basics and carrying just the essentials so I can travel light. It worked, because throughout the two weeks away from Jakarta all I took with me was a backpack. My skincare ended up fitting inside a sandwich-sized Ziploc bag, which took up very little space in my beloved travel backpack.
Bioderma Sensibio H2O Solution. I keep a 100ml bottle of this one-step cleanser in my office drawer as well, in case of emergency makeup removal and touch-ups. Bioderma offers different solutions for all sorts of skin types, and this one is formulated for sensitive skin. It removes makeup and moisturizes at the same time — a great double combo that makes it a great travel companion.
Hada Labo Ultimate Moisturizing Face Wash. This formula — which lathers into a fairly luxurious foam when done properly — is great for my oily but dehydrated skin. It cleanses without giving that tight, stripping feel after rinsing.
Menard Beauness. I use this incredible formulation as a toner, and it’s proprietary SPA Essence ingredient does miracles for oily and acne-prone skin.
Shiseido Ibuki Protective Moisturizer SPF 15. I can go on forever about the Shiseido Ibuki range of skincare. This moisturizer is light on skin and has an almost powdery finish to it.
Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer Enriched. One of my favorite nighttime moisturizers to date, the formula is rich but won’t leave you with an overly greasy appearance when you wake up in the morning.
Kiehl’s Line Reducing Eye-Brightening Concentrate. I find this eye cream to be just so-so, because while it does have a slight brightening effect on my dark circles, it doesn’t really do much for my fine lines. With all that said, I do appreciate how light this product feels on skin, and how it can be used under makeup. The price is also pretty decent for an eye cream (around Rp. 400,000 if I remember correctly), but I don’t think I’ll be making a repurchase after this runs out.
Clean & Clear Active Clear Speed Clearing Gel. A simple, effective gel formula for random hormonal zits (which I am currently experiencing 🙁 ). I found that this is especially effective when mixed with a little bit of argan oil and tea tree oil for overnight zit elimination.
So that’s about it for me. I didn’t experience any major breakouts or issues while I was overseas with my stripped-down regimen, which has me thinking about throwing out all the other items in my vanity and sticking to the basics. Which skincare items do you bring with you when you travel overseas?
