I am both brimming with excitement and envy because my sister is going to Japan for three months on a quest for adventure. I'm a teeny bit frustrated because she's going away for so long and gets to enjoy all the food and culture, while I'm stuck down here in Down Under. We both love Japanese food to the point where it's almost comical, as it's basically our favourite cuisine. We always become so happy when we sink our teeth into sushi, teriyaki tofu or even udon noodles. So, I'm pretty excited that she gets to eat Japanese food every single day. I wish I could do that here - I'd be a very cheerful person. After all, the way to my heart is through my stomach.
I look forward to hearing about Naomi's trip when she comes back, and pictures of all the fun things she did and experienced. I know she will have such an amazing time, and I know she will learn lots of great things while she's there. She's flying out in just over 12 hours, and I'm going to see her off at the airport with Mum, and then I have to head to work on so little sleep. At least I'll only be doing 4 hours of work instead of my usual 8, so I won't be a zombie.
For Naomi's trip, I curated a small selection of makeup from her own supply. Naomi isn't in the least bit as interested in makeup as I am. She prefers to throw on some moisturiser and lip balm and call it a day. I get it, I do, it's a lot of effort, especially when your skin is oily and nothing wants to stay on your face, and there are other things you can do with your time. It is for that reason that I've compiled just the basics for Naomi so that she has something for when she is going somewhere nice. It also needs to be applied quickly and with minimal effort so that she's not faffing around with a bunch of products and brushes.
While Naomi likes to be mindful of animal testing and often opts for products that are cruelty-free, her general focus is to be as affordable as possible while still achieving a certain type of effect with a product. She doesn't like wearing makeup that much, so it doesn't make sense for her to spend so much on something that she'd only wear a few times a year. It is for this reason that you will find some brands owned by testing parent companies.
For her base, we hunted down a BB Cream, because her foundations were a bit difficult to work with, as some were either a little too dark or a little too light, and most often she would mix her regular one with moisturiser. That was too much effort, so a BB Cream was the best idea for her. In the end, we went with NYX BB Cream because they were oil-free and SPF-free (Naomi is allergic to certain SPF products), and the coverage was decent. The shade she picked, Nude, is still a tiny bit lighter than her skin tone, but she has the e.l.f. Essential Bronzer in Sun Kissed to give her face a bit of depth, as the essence All About Matt! Fixing Compact Powder would make her appear a little flat. Naomi often has a bit of redness, especially around her nose, so she has a tube of LA Girl HD Pro Conceal in green to help correct it.
Naomi and I agreed that wasting time on eyeshadow and eyeliner was counter-productive during her trip, especially because she has oily and hooded lids and she didn't have a good eyeshadow primer. We omitted those products from her bag, but we included the Maybelline Great Lash mascara and the Milani Easybrow Pencil in Dark Brown that I passed on to her. She is also bringing two lipsticks, a sheer terracotta-pink nude from Ulta3 and an opaque berry from BYS.
I think this is a pretty good kit to bring overseas if one doesn't wear makeup or hates putting a lot of effort into their appearance, especially when only a few products are needed to look polished and alert. Naomi is trying to limit the amount of stuff that she brings with her, and so she's happy with the little space the makeup takes up. I can understand her feelings because when I visited Japan for a week last year, I brought way too much makeup and most of them went unused.
I like to think that if I were to go overseas again, I would be more like Naomi when it comes to my travel makeup bag. Then again, maybe not, because I really like putting that much effort into my appearance. Looking at my old post, I think I would have skipped or replaced quite a few products, especially ones that didn't really work for me. I would also have gone with a multitasking palette, like theBalm Voyage, because it contains a generous and versatile set of eyeshadows, a pair of blushes, a bronzer and a highlighter, as well as lipsticks that can also be used as a cheek stain.
What are your travel must-haves? Do you ever pack more than you ever needed for a trip?
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