There are people who can do their beauty routine with three products in five minutes — and then there's me. Like the popular Instagram meme, I'm that friend who carries a suitcase of makeup to get ready to go out for one night. You can always count on me to pack more makeup than clothes for holiday, and yes, my "natural" face requires damn near a million products.
Needless to say, my beauty routine is far from simple — so I decided to challenge myself. In an effort to prepare and downsize on load for an upcoming trip, I attempted to complete my entire beauty routine using only stick beauty products. For a makeup hoarder like me, this was quite the undertaking, but during my experiment, I found some new products that were travel-friendly, spill-proof, and easy AF to use. Ahead, find the sticks that finally helped me downsize my beauty load, making my entire holiday routine easy as pie.
Cleanser
St. Ives shook up the skincare aisle with its latest cleansing sticks. The deodorant-like cleansers are totally spill-proof and travel-friendly (take that, TSA), and they work like magic. I've been loving the Apricot & Manuka Honey stick [2] ($13) for cleansing on the go. I just swipe some of the solid soap onto my damp face and massage it into my skin. It sops up oil and dirt and leaves my face feeling clean and bright.
Serum
I almost caved and brought my liquid serum along with me until I remembered that Milk Makeup recently launched its new Watermelon Brightening Serum [3] ($36). The newest stick is packed with watermelon extract and vitamins A and C to help protect and brighten the skin. It goes on smooth and doesn't feel sticky or tacky. I love that I was still able to treat my trouble areas without layering on a number of products.
Moisturiser
While I was familiar with the stick innovations in the cleanser category, I was stumped when it came time to find a moisturiser. I've only ever used creams in pumps and jars until the Physician's Formula Brightening Facial Oil Stick [4] ($8) made its way across my desk. This little guy is packed with vitamin C, sunflower oil, and kakadu plum to hydrate thirsty skin. It's perfect for travel because it also has SPF 30, so you don't have to worry if you forget extra sunscreen.
SPF
There is no such thing as too much sun protection, so I packed extra SPF. Since my face moisturiser already had SPF 30, I tossed in Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport Sunscreen Stick [5] ($9) so I could use it on my face and body. This goes on 100 percent clear and doesn't leave behind a grey cast, which is ideal for my medium-deep complexion.
Primer
Travelling to a hot, sunny climate is all fun and games until my skin gets oily AF. I normally use two liquid primers to prep my complexion, but in an effort to rock all-stick everything, I mattified my base with the MAC Prep + Prime Pore Refiner Stick [6] ($27). I mainly used it along my T-zone area, which is prone to oil in the heat.
Foundation
Instead of lugging around a bottle of my favourite liquid foundation, I swapped it for the Sephora Collection Make No Mistake Foundation and Concealer Stick [7] ($20). The formula is full coverage, and I only needed one layer of product to even my complexion. I especially love that the texture of this stick is creamy and easy to blend.
Concealer
To brighten up my under-eye area, I opted for Fenty Beauty Match Stix in Suede [8] ($25). It gives me medium to buildable coverage that still looks like my skin.
Contour
I usually use contour powders to carve out my cheekbones, but instead of packing a six-pan palette, I tossed the Flesh Beauty Firm Foundation Stick [9] ($18) in my bag. I used the shade Pecan (34) to contour. It blends right into my complexion and doesn't look muddy.
Blush
I love rose-coloured blushes that give my cheeks a sexy flush. I swapped my powder for Nars The Multiple [10] ($39) stick in Maui. It's a sheer dusty-pink shade with a hint of shimmer that enhances my glow.
Eye Shadow
I was tempted to lug around an eye shadow palette with neutrals and vibrant colours, but in my effort to downsize, I stashed Nudestix Magnetic Eye Colour [11] ($24) pencils in Copper Foil, Fig, Chocolate and Gilt. With these four colours, I was able to create a series of neutral daytime and smoky nighttime looks.
Lipstick
Instead of packing multiple lip glosses and lipsticks, I took along Covergirl Outlast Longwear Moisturising Lipstick [12] ($7). The creamy, pigmented formula provides opaque colour payoff and hydration at the same time. I particularly loved the shade Red Siren for nighttime and Pink Pow for daytime activities.