Our Best Travel Essentials to Pack in Your Toiletry Bag

Article Published: 14 April 2022

Travel size toiletries, like these travel essentials, are a must for packing light. Stash foundation, mascara, perfume and skincare products before you depart.

As exciting as upcoming travel plans are — there’s always the riddle of figuring out which travel size toiletries to pack in your bag. It’s the last step before you can pack your bag and head out of town, whether to catch some sun, swim, and get reacquainted with nature. Travel can be stressful, but getting your beauty products sorted is now that much easier thanks to our guide. Think of your toiletry bag as an optimized, travel size version of your usual beauty routine.

Travel Essential: Makeup Remover

Whether you’ve been lounging on a beach all day or had a late night out dancing on the dance floor in Ibiza or Mykonos there’s one thing for sure: makeup ALWAYS comes off. We all know the negative effect sleeping in makeup can have on your skin and just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you get a free pass. Bi-Facil Double Action Eye Makeup Remover gets the job done quickly and effectively and is available as a handy travel size eye makeup remover that will easily fit in your carry on. From longwear, stubborn eye makeup to waterproof or water-resistant products the bi-phase eye makeup remover instantly takes the day away and doesn’t leave feeling greasy or sticky feeling.

Travel Essential: Glowing Skin Serum

French girls are all about skincare — morning, noon, and night. Surely, she has a beauty pick-me-up or two stashed among her travel size toiletries. For the perfect skin pick me up no matter the location – Advanced Génifique Face serum is a must. Formulated with Bifidus Prebiotic, Hyaluronic Acid, and Vitamin C, Advanced Génifique serum visibly hydrates, plumps and evens tone for healthy, radiant-looking skin when used morning and night. It’s also available in handy 0.67 oz and 1.oz sizes that will easily fit in your carry on.

Travel Essential: Signature Sunscreen

A small-town country escape, a tropical island, or ski slopes – it doesn’t matter where you’re going – sunscreen is always a must. Beyond protecting your skin from UV rays and preventing sunburn – sunscreen also has a variety of anti-aging benefits like protecting skin from premature wrinkles, hyperpigmentation and more. For a daily all-round sunscreen look to our UV Expert Aqua Gel Sunscreen. Perfect for travel it’s an all-in-one, oil-free face primer and moisturizer with SPF 50 that gives lasting hydration and helps protect skin from external aggressors such as sun damage. Apply daily and reapply throughout the day to ensure sun protection throughout all your travels.

Travel Essential: Dual Lip Stain

Almost without fail you find a French woman’s favorite rouge in her toiletry bag. Often about that chic and effortless look a bold red lipstick is a solid option but when it comes to a chic off duty and travel look a product that can be worn two ways can be a game changer. Our L’Absolu Rouge Drama Ink Liquid Lipstick for example is a lipstick that can be worn either as a bold lip or subtle stain. It can also double up as a product for the lips and cheeks to create an easy polished monochromatic makeup look. Just dap and blend the product on the cheeks for a quick and easy cheek stain.

Travel Essential: All-season Foundation

Whether you’re swimming in the pool, skiing on the alps or having a fun day exploring a new city – a foundation that can be worn in any setting is a must have for travel. During the day you can’t go wrong with a natural makeup look, especially when it comes to foundation. Our Teint Idole Ultra 24h Wear Foundation provides all day coverage in a soft, natural matte finish. The long-wearing formula feels lightweight and breathable on skin and stays fresh all day without oxidizing or fading – it even resists heat and humidity. It’s perfect for day, night or for those days when you’re gallivanting around town to dancing all night long. For days where you want a lighter coverage or a dewier look to your skin, try mixing a few drops of Advanced Génifique Face Serum with your foundation.

Travel Essential: A Mascara for easy BIG Lashes

Even if you don’t have time to create a full-blown eye makeup look a few coats of mascara on the lashes will do the trick. Mascara can help to instantly open up the eyes and create drama without too much effort. Monsieur Big Travel Size Mascara is the perfect eye makeup travel companion. In a handy mini travel size, it won’t take up too much space and fits into your carry-on makeup bag and handbag. Providing up to 12x more volume than false lashes Monsieur Big helps to create a false lash look you won’t need to pack false lashes, lash glue, and a lash applicator tool (and it’s way easier to apply than false lashes).

Travel Essential: Fragrance

With fragrance as the strongest sense tied to memory, it makes sense to bring a nice scent on your travels — perhaps a new one to commemorate a time to remember, or a favorite you wear daily. For a tropical vacation or travels to somewhere warm our Idôle Aura teleports you to those late summer nights. With notes of fresh Jasmine, warm sun-drenched roses and salty vanilla it’s sure to remind you of moments spent laying on the beach or somewhere poolside. Available in a convenient 0.34 fl oz purse spray and a variety of other mini sizes it will fit easily into your travel carry on. Add it to your toiletry bag and you’ll be reminded of amazing memories from summer travels when you’re back home.

Another beautiful perfume to remind you of your travels is La vie est belle perfume. Available in a variety of travel sizes including a small bottle we refer to as “drops of happiness”. Reminisce to the aroma of warm vanilla and spun sugar billowing from French bakeries combined with the scent of iris gardens lining the Parisian backstreets transports you on your dream vacation – and we can’t think of a better scent to wear on a European vacation.

Going somewhere? You can find travel size versions of all your favorite Lancôme products in one place on our dedicated travel size beauty products page. With easy-to-pack travel essentials, such as mascara, makeup remover and fragrance, you’ll be able to fit everything into your toiletry bag — no sweat.

Shop travel beauty products.