As someone who travels often for work and for leisure, I have my packing routine down to a tee. One of the ways I make packing simple is by having a makeup/toiletry bag ready with all the essential travel-sized items. This way, everything is ready to go and I don’t need to think twice about whether I forgot to pack my lipstick, moisturizer or toothpaste.

So here are a few of my recent favorite beauty-related things which I can’t do without when traveling:

1. A comprehensive makeup case: If you’re like me, you probably have a couple different pouches to carry all your toiletry and makeup needs. But how about consolidating them and getting a case that can fit everything? The Kinzd Travel Cosmetic Case is super roomy and able to fit all my makeup and toiletry essentials. I’m talking compact, foundation, lipsticks, toothbrush, toothpaste, travel size face washes & moisturizers, and the bigger bottles and jars! It also has a separate compartment for storing makeup brushes, pencils, and eyeliners. It’s an ultra practical and spacious carrier for all my beauty needs. For all my followers, use code KINZD30 to get 30% off this cosmetic case (available in other colors too) and other products from the website. It is also available on Amazon at this link. 

2. Fresh Soy Face Cleanser: For day or night use, this cleaner is great for all skin types. I love how my skin feels light and fresh after using it. I even love the smell of it, a very spa-like essence, which makes me like this product even more!

3. Erborian Yuza Double Lotion: This is a Korean brand which I only recently came to know about. A liquid lotion that you put on your face as a moisturizer? Yup, and it works so well! Yuza is a citrus fruit from Jeju Island in Korea. This explains the fresh, cistrusy smell you get from using this product. This lotion moisturizes while still being light on the skin. Highly recommend this for use in hot, tropical climates like Singapore!

4. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair: Let’s face it, I’m no spring chicken. This Estee Lauder product is a night serum that promotes skin renewal and fights signs of aging. I’ve been using it daily and I feel like it gives my skin a dewy glow in the mornings.

5. Nars Powermatte LipPigment: Forgive me for being a bit slow to jump on the Nars bandwagon but wow! This Nars lipstain is amazing, you guys! The color lasts forever….and I mean, FOREVER. I wore it in the morning before leaving for work and it was still on at the end of the day. Pretty impressive! And perfect when you’re traveling and can’t be bothered to carry a lipstick with you everywhere for touchups.

Do try these items out if you can, they're perfect for traveling and keep your face looking fresh and hydrated! Do you have any beauty-related items that you absolutely must have when traveling?

The temperature is (finally) rising and flowers are starting to bloom, beckoning the beginning of Spring. With Spring sales starting at most stores, I couldn’t help but get an early start to investing in makeup and accessories for this season. I’m no makeup expert, but there are a few purchases I’ve recently made that I wanted to share as being essential for this season.

1) Tinted Moisturizer

Image Source: YoungBlood

If you’re anything like me, you probably hibernated through Winter and didn’t get much sun. Well, it’s Spring now and that pasty complexion won’t do. A great way to add some color is to invest in a tinted moisturizer, like YoungBlood Mineral Radiance Moisture Tint. I love this product because it’s not as thick as foundation and doesn’t run the risk of making you too orange like bronzers do. And because it moisturizes, I use this as my makeup base to both hydrate and add that dewy glow. Sephora has great options for tinted moisturizers, but I got mine from Henri Bendel, which sells YoungBlood and many other up-and-coming makeup lines.

2) Colored Lip

Image Source: Sephora

I’ve always been on the conservative end of lip colors, but with some coaxing from my sister, I decided to try out a bright lipstick recently. It took some getting used to initially, but I love it! It adds that extra pop of color to my outfit and also makes me feel more confident for some reason. NARS has a great collection of different shades, many of which that suit the Indian skin tone (the shade I got is named “Christina”).

3)  Jasmine Perfume

Image Source

Finally, I picked up the most sublime perfume from Kate Spade called Live Colorfully. If I could describe the smell of Spring, this would be it. The perfume elicits the scents of jasmine and water lilies without veering on the side of being too heavy or sickly sweet. This is quickly becoming my favorite go-to perfume lately, quite possibly because it reminds of a lazy day at a tropical beach!

So these are my favorite Spring purchases. What products have you all tried lately that top your list?

Most women have a love/hate relationship with makeup. With the appropriate time and chosen fabulous venue, wearing makeup and getting ready can be quite enjoyable. But the feelings of disgust normally occur around 7:15am on a Tuesday morning, when sleep has managed to evade you the night before and an outlook calendar filled with meeting lies ahead. Makeup then becomes the bane of your existence. Where the heck is your makeup morning fairy godmother when you need her? Fret not ladies – there is a basic beauty roadmap that you can follow that can meet your daily professional needs. Below is a collage of products curated by yours truly (next stop the Guggenheim ya’ll), that could easily create a polished, chic look each morning even if applied pre-caffeine.