Travel-sized beauty products you need & how to save money at Duty Free

[bigletter]After spending five months in Miami, trying to make things work remotely during the beginning stages of the pandemic, I’m so glad that I’m finally able to return to London. A crazy yet much-needed time with my mother while in quarantine was great, and I am so thankful that this whole serendipitous beginning of 2020 brought me this opportunity.[/bigletter]

Given the fact that I was locked up in my house from mid-March through mid-June, I didn’t get the chance to do much shopping. Every time I’m in a certain country that is home to brands I enjoy using for my skin and hair, I take advantage to purchase a few products, figuring it’s more economical if I buy them within the same country of manufacture. Though that is not always the case, and you will see that as my story progresses, on my trips to Paris I enjoy purchasing from Chanel, Tous, or La Roche-Posay sunblocks and while when I’m in Spain, I pop into Bimba y Lola. If I’m in Italy I go to Kiko Milano and have a go at all the deals they continuously offer.

However, since I’m not sure when I will be in France, I took advantage of the fact that the U.S. has Sephora, which offers makeup and products from brands worldwide. There is no Sephora in the UK (I know, tragic!) so last week, as I packed my bags and filled my suitcase with some essential goods, I did make one last run to pick up a few things I knew I needed.

Since I can be in up to three different cities in one week, I always incline towards purchasing everything travel size to ensure that I can carry it with me throughout the year and don’t have to leave it every time I hit the road or hop on a plane.

Sephora has a whole section of tiny bottles from cool and innovative brands, and you will find them most likely in the area where people are signaled to get in line when ready to pay. Obviously, they have them there for a reason: they’re small, prices are lower and an extra $15 to what is already going to be $175 isn’t a big deal to many, so they throw in a few things. Another good reason to consider travel-sized bottles is that skincare and beauty products have expiry dates, so they do need to be used within a 6-month to a one-year timeframe. I’d rather pay for smaller portions of something and know I’ll be using every last drop than know that if I return home 5 months later, some of the products I didn’t take with me are now expired. Here are a few things I grabbed:

For the skin

Fresh

[dropcap custom_class=”bl”]The last time I spoke to a skincare consultant, she told me my skin was dry and thirsty and needed a moisturizing mask. I was having trouble finding one that met my requisites in terms of ingredients and purpose, specifically because the more natural, the better… plus specifically needed one that would hydrate and nourish.[/dropcap]

So, during my trip to Sephora, I looked around for something that could really do the job for me, and the Fresh Rose Face Mask seemed like it! I’ve used the mask twice, and my skin feels super soft, smooth and plumped after I wash off the product, once I’ve allowed it to marinate on my dermis for 10-15 minutes.

What I love most about it is that you can actually see the ingredients within the product and the rose scent is strong. It’s a very soft jelly-like texture, so all that is necessary is a thin layer. You can actually see the bits of roses used to create the product when you open the bottle as well as when you scoop up a bit with your fingertips.

I had my friend Luisa, try it along with me to see what she thought, and she told me her skin felt super soft after the 10-minute treatment.
Originally from the United States

Laneige

Something else I didn’t know I would want or need was a lip treatment that I could also apply on my lips in the evening as an overnight lip, so I also added a product from South Korean Brand Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask to my basket, and now I’m applying it every evening as the last step to my night-time routine. The texture is more vaseline-ish but with a scent of strawberry. It also comes with a mini spatula so you can avoid germs from your fingers going in the product as well as on your lips, and instead you can use it to scoop up a small amount. The jar size is meant to last 1 year.
Originally from South Korea

For hair and face maintenance

R+Co

When R+Co reached out to me telling me that they wanted to send me a product I was hesitant, because I’m picky about what I put on my hair, and I also really like Monat products, so it took me a few days to make the decision. Once I did look at what the options were, I saw they sell dry shampoo in liquid instead of aerosol, and I was sold! So I got 3 small bottles of the liquid dry shampoo and it works wonders, and I also wanted to try their shampoo, so from their “minis” section, I got the Dallas Biotin Thickening Shampoo and the Dallas Biotin Thickening Conditioner.

A few years back I also used the Moisture Shine Cream, and it works. Before Monat, it was one of the only creamy products that have made my curls come back looking super moisturized. So, I’m a fan and would invest again, especially in the dry shampoo.
Originally from the United States

Travel tip: Small bottles can be recycled and given good use for other products when traveling or at home chores. With COVID-19 I’ve used a few of the empty spray bottles and filled them with alcohol for on-the-go disinfectant. They’re super useful, so opt for purchasing products in reusable packaging, in order to reduce your carbon footprint a bit more. Those are also great to fill with liquid products I might have purchased in a larger bottle that I wouldn’t be able to store in my carry-on.

Cover FX

I’ll be honest. It’s my first time using this brand, so this is me trying out something new, and I actually went for it – you guessed it – because of the travel-sized packaging. I’m also not very picky about setting spray. I have used the Urban Decay All Nighter as well as the NYX Makeup Setting Spray, and they both do the job really well, so I’m not apprehensive about trying out another brand. I’m sure it’ll do the job. (If you’ve tried any products that you recommend, I’d love to hear from you here).
Originally from the United States

For touching up

Sephora

Here is the thing with Sephora. It’s not that I’m super obsessed with the brand, however, my favorite liquid eyeliner, which I have been using for the past 10 years is from their original makeup line. Since there is no Sephora in the UK, I went to the one in the U.S. They have the shop in Madrid and Rome, however who knows when I’ll be able to go back? That was the main reason why I went – liquid eyeliner. Everything else just seemed like a good idea and a reminder of things I was also in need of; within those were the Cover FX translucent powder and the Milk Lip + Cheek Tint, which I got as a late birthday gift, so it was a free gift. #win
Originally from France

Duty Free Splurge

[dropcap custom_class=”bl”]On to more important things, like how you can save so much when buying from Duty-Free. The fact alone that you don’t pay taxes on the products is a huge $aver. On top of that, I got incredibly lucky and snagged a full 20 percent off my purchase at the Miami International Airport’s Duty-Free as well as an extra 30 percent off the YSL lipstick pictured above. So, while I could have spent $250, I ended up spending $195, and that’s a steal for lipstick and two perfumes.[/dropcap]</p>

So what happened was that I was supposed to buy some gummy bears. I wanted some candy for the flight, but the candy shop had closed for a few minutes, so I went into the Duty-Free shop to find some there, however when I walked in, I ran into a massive red sign reading “30% off,” and everything on the table was Guerlain, YSL, Nina Ricci, Carolina Herrera and a few other lovely scented name brands and beauty products.

I had been wanting to buy the Chanel Mademoiselle perfume for a while, so I figured that if I purchased it in dollars and free of tax, it would come out more affordable in comparison to what I could pay for it in at the Chanel store in London. Then I walked past the Moschino perfume and out of curiosity picked it up and gave it a whiff only to find the softest yet dry smell ever.

So the debate was on. Would I buy the Chanel Mademoiselle, the Moschino or the Gucci Bloom Acqua di Fiori?The Gucci perfume is also one of my favorites. I opted for the Moschino, but then when I arrived to the till, the lady told me that if I bought one more item within the store I would get 20 percent off my purchase, which to me meant that I was going to be paying about $80 for a $130 Chanel perfume and about $75 for the Moschino one, plus the YSL lipstick which I also got the 30 percent discount for. What a steal and literally the reason why I will start stopping by Duty-free more often.

So if you are traveling to the US, take advantage of the local brands, some being really great, while also taking a browse through the Duty-Free shop before getting on the plane, and hopefully, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with a few savings on lock.

If you want to see more of my travels, visit and follow my hashtags #CBtalksTraveling to stay in tune with where I go next. For my beauty and makeup posts, visit #CBtalksBeauty.

With love, from Miami…