What's in my Travel Washbag

Pretending to be a beauty blogger again

I’m kind of obsessed with reading about packing, travel kit, hiking gear, and so on - and I loved the pieces on Caroline O’Donoghue’s

Sentimental Garbage

about what she and Jen packed for their Interrail trip around Europe:

What’s inside the Fat Sisters?

I thought I’d share what I keep in my little zipped pouch, which stays packed between trips so that I always have it ready to go. When I used to go to the gym before work and shower and get dressed there, I’d tuck it into my gym bag, and now it sits ready and waiting for work trips, nights away with family, and bigger trips like last month’s writing retreat.

• The washbag itself, printed with a vintage Edinburgh street map, is from Red Door Gallery, my favourite art shop in Edinburgh. (If I were flying I could move all of this into a plastic bag, of course).

• Safety-pins on the zip pull - just incredibly useful to have.

• Simple 'triple protect’ moisturiser with SPF; a really nice basic moisturiser with some sun protection (though of course adding a proper sun screen is still necessary if you’re spending any amount of time outside!)

• L’Oreal Lash Paradise mascara

• L’Oreal True Match Tinted Serum - this is somewhere between a tinted moisturiser and a foundation, incredibly light and evens out the skin tone in a subtle and buildable way.

• L’Oreal True Match Highlighting Concealer - this isn’t a product I’d use all the time, but when travelling and sleeping badly in hotel rooms… a bit of brightening never goes amiss.

• Rimmel Waterproof Eyeliner - it’s easy to use (like a felt pen) and stays where it’s put. What’s not to like?

• Max Factor Brow Pencil - nice long spoolie brush on the other end to tidy up errant brows.

• Nars Blush - normally I will avoid products with edgy names just on principle, but this blush is a classic for good reason. It’s just really really good.

• Realtechniques Mini Multitask brush for the blusher - how cute is it?!

• Folding travel toothbrush, mini toothpaste, and an assortment of meds.

And that’s pretty much it! I will generally tuck some hair ‘gunk’ (love this one from John Frieda) somewhere else in my backpack, along with a brush and deodorant - and if I’m not staying at a hotel (i.e. somewhere with shampoo and shower gel provided) I take along this combined hair-and-body-wash from kids’ brand Childs Farm. It’s gentle on my skin and smells lovely. Plus obviously a big bottle of sun cream; I’m fairly brand-agnostic on that and will buy whatever’s on offer.

For some extra bonus recommendations, entirely inspired by Caroline’s post I linked above - my travel experience has been hugely enhanced by a cashmere hoodie and super easy to pack backpack duffel bag, both perfect for jumping on and off trains (which makes up a lot of how I travel!).

I’d love to know what your travel essentials are?

Speak soon,

Lily