Any recommendations for packing make-up?

[conejo23]

Yeah, I'm going to try to convince her to join up here.

Or if that doesn't work, to at least layout for me on a table everything she wants to take so we can see it all in one space, and then we can look at options. "Do you really need that? Can we put a little of this into a smaller container?"

Once we have that down, I'll take a pic and post it here, unless some other product just obviously fills the bill.

[Katy]

Yeah, every woman is different. What some of us "need", others can live without. You should have her hop on here and give us a rundown of her needs. Then we can really make some good suggestions! I'm sure she already has her own brushes she likes. Most of us are picky about those! Sephora has a few good smaller bottles she can decant perfume into. I use this one:
Sephora: SEPHORA COLLECTION Fragrance Atomizer: Refillables

And she can always ask for sample sizes at her preferred makeup counter which is what I do. I think she could easily use the CQPC as an option. I'd just let her paw through what you have coming and see if any of that works first. I know FT is full of ideas for packing makeup too.

YES! Sephora is totally great about samples! They usually give me a few day's worth of product to really get the feel of something. This is great for travel

[Lani]

Wow, some fantastic tips here!

I'm going to add my own two cents here (hopefully not a lot of overlap):

BRUSHES: If your wife is like me, she loves the big voluptuous kabuki brushes to get the powder on her face. If you're trying to travel light, though, she should consider going with a travel-sized version of her brushes. The first place I'd look is Paula's Choice. She has a very nice mini brush set that comes with its own travel pouch that will easily fit in a smaller bag like the TB Kit (Mini Brush Set with Powder, Blush, Eyeshadow, Wedge Brow & Eyeliner Brushes - Brushes & Bags: Paula's Choice Skin Care & Cosmetics).

Second, if she really can't go with a SMALL powder brush, then she might consider a twist-up brush like the one Bare Minerals sells (Refillable Buffing Brush). It's like a tube of lipstick; you twist it up to reveal the brush. It will retract in so she doesn't have to worry about bending the hairs out on her brush.

Does she wear powder or mineral foundation? If so, there are some that come pressed into a compact version. Looks like Bare Minerals has one now, but I use one from Physicians Formula (like this one: Physicians Formula). You can use a travel-sized kabuki brush to use this as a foundation base, and then use the compact brush for touch-ups during the day. That way you get two uses in one, and this doesn't take up much room.

If she has a lot of shadow brushes she can't part with during her travels, she might consider getting the Pen/Pencil-sized Tom Bihn Clear Organizer Pouch. If the brushes are thin, she might consider CAPPING THEM with a pencil cap for complete bristle protection!

Powders vs. Liquids: If she normally uses liquid foundation, she might want to try some powder foundations. The benefit? Liquid foundations often come in GLASS bottles, which you don't really want to travel with (they weigh more, they might break, etc.). They tend to be messy so you also don't really want to decant them into a little plastic bottle (like an eyedropper). But if she does, your wife needs to remember that that has to go into her 3-1-1 liquid kit, and NOT her make-up case!

3-1-1 kit: As others have mentioned here, the 3D Clear Organizer Cube works great as a 3-1-1 kit (with very few exceptions--keep a quart-sized Ziploc bag in your inventory just in case). If your wife is particularly bonded with her brands of shampoo and whatnot, her best bet is to DECANT THEM into smaller bottles that will fit in the 3-1-1 kit.

She can use the Clear Quarter Packing Cube if she has a lot of makeup, but warn her that she cannot put liquids in there. *OR* an option would be to stash all her liquids in a quart-sized Ziploc bag, which she can slide into one side of the Clear Quarter Packing Cube. She'll need to remove it for the TSA security check, but after that, she can just plop it back into the packing cube.

If she has less make-up, she can put them all in the Kit. It stands up on its own and has a really wide open mouth that works great in the bathroom.

OR she can get another 3D Clear Organizer Cube for her (non-liquid) makeup.... OR she can put her makeup into a Side Effect, which will give her AN EXTRA PURSE if she wants. She can either get a long key strap or a handle loop (both from TB, of course) so she can carry the Side Effect as a cross-body (using the long strap it comes with), waist pack (using the built-in waist strap), hand bag (using the 16-inch key strap), OR as a clutch (using the handle loop). If she wants it to look just a little bit nicer, she can cover up the TB patch with a little flower button like I do.

HOWEVER, she needs to be aware that some of her skin care cosmetics probably shouldn't be decanted into clear bottles. Things that are photosensitive (I believe sunblock is); products with Retinol, alpha hydroxy acid, antioxidants etc should probably go into an opaque bottle.

[darbs]

Holy bejeezus Lani! That is a great post! Lots of good tips and ideas!

[darbs]

After this whole discussion, I decided to pick up the pencil OP for my brushes. I keep my makeup in a medium plum op right now. I pulled the brushes out this morning and washed them in anticipation of today's arrival. I received a wasabi pencil pouch and slid my brushes in. Perfect fit! I actually have a smaller makeup kit I travel with, but this will be my new home set up. I clipped the 2 bags together and they sit in a basket under the nightstand. I'm so excited! (Yes, by the nightstand. I do my makeup while sitting in bed.)

[moriond]

After this whole discussion, I decided to pick up the pencil OP for my brushes. I keep my makeup in a medium plum op right now. I pulled the brushes out this morning and washed them in anticipation of today's arrival. I received a wasabi pencil pouch and slid my brushes in. Perfect fit! I actually have a smaller makeup kit I travel with, but this will be my new home set up. I clipped the 2 bags together and they sit in a basket under the nightstand. I'm so excited! (Yes, by the nightstand. I do my makeup while sitting in bed.)

@darbs I know you mentioned liking the dyneema pouches that came with your recent order. While I have the pencil pouch in turquoise cordura for needles and such, I really like using the pen/pencil organizer pouches in dyneema for items that might need more cleaning -- like real pens or brushes that might deposit ink, etc. on the inside of the pouch. The Dyneema cleans up very nicely and is light weight. Just mentioning this in case you didn't think about the pen/pencil cases in Dyneema as a possibility, besides Cordura and Ballistic nylon.

[Lani]

Someone just sent me a tip in email of a type of make-up case I've never seen before: A make-up palette!!

UNII Cosmetics | UNII Makeup Palette

I think I'm gonna check it out. It's a little big (but if the concept holds, I might consider converting a travel-sized Windsor & Newton palette.

The website has a comprehensive list of all the various makeup brands that you can pop out of their case to snap into a UNII palette, and they have links to show you how to remove them safely. Interesting!

[JLE]

Someone just sent me a tip in email of a type of make-up case I've never seen before: A make-up palette!!

UNII Cosmetics | UNII Makeup Palette

I think I'm gonna check it out. It's a little big (but if the concept holds, I might consider converting a travel-sized Windsor & Newton palette.

The website has a comprehensive list of all the various makeup brands that you can pop out of their case to snap into a UNII palette, and they have links to show you how to remove them safely. Interesting!

How ingenious. We will be very interested to hear your views! It does look too big though, but would be a very efficient alternative if you really wanted to take a lot of make up on your travels.

I really need to get a US forwarding postal service set up! Things like this often don't ship to Australia.

[darbs]

@morionid I thought about the dyneema, but I like the clear OP and you can't pick a fabric for those. I actually asked for the UV but didn't get it. The wasabi was my third choice and it is a nice color. I'm thinking it might be too light though so we will see. I feel like buying pouches is the TB version of russian roulette! Lol! You never know what you will end up with.

[moriond]

@morionid I thought about the dyneema, but I like the clear OP and you can't pick a fabric for those. I actually asked for the UV but didn't get it. The wasabi was my third choice and it is a nice color. I'm thinking it might be too light though so we will see. I feel like buying pouches is the TB version of russian roulette! Lol! You never know what you will end up with.

@darbs You can call in to check for availability of specific colors/fabrics in the organizer pouches. This can change a lot over a short period of time, since a lot of the pouches are made from the bits of material that are left over from bag construction, instead of having a stock set of specifically designated pouch colors. For the large organizer pouches, I think they do have to separately make up pouch color combinations.I remember that the first time I tried to order the pen/pencil case in UV dyneema, it wasn't available, so I got Iberian instead. I have the pen/pencil clear organizer pouch in Sapphire, Solar, Iberian, and Ultraviolet dyneema (listing the order in which I got these).

[darbs]

I am highly jealous of your sapphire dyneema anything. I just put my color requests in the comment sections. Sometimes I get exactly what I want, sometimes my second or third choice. I just figure I can always get a different colir next time. You can never have too many pouches!

[backpack]

This might be a good question to ask her! Maybe she could let you know what she would like to take with her, you could relay the information to us and we can come up with a solution that you could propose to her.

Everyone uses different products and will in turn require a different solution. I use the Clear Quarter Packing Cube to house my makeup because my brushes fit perfectly in one side and the other side houses all of my makeup which amounts to very little.

I also use the Clear Quarter Packing Cube for powder and pencil makeup, travel size brushes, nail care tools and other miscellaneous on one side and snack on the go things on the other side .