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What's your go-to travel palette?

I’ve been switching between a custom-made Make Up For Ever palette (and it’s one of the XL-sized ones, so it’s 20 shades or more) and Viseart Paris Nudes.

— Christine

47 Comments

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CeciChickadee Avatar

Usually UD’s Vice 3 is the one I take on trips. It’s just such a good mix of colors and neutrals, and so versatile! Occasionally I’ll switch it up for KVD’s Monarch palette, or UD’s Naked.

Nancy T Avatar

I honestly don’t know! Not entirely sure that any of my pre-made palettes cover all my bases, really. The only one that comes even remotely close is perhaps the ABH Self-Made Palette, as it has a decent transition shade and an “ok” browbone shade. Or Lorac Pro palette, but that one lacks a transition shade I’d actually wear. I’m confounded! Then again, I haven’t been on a long trip in 11 years, so I probably won’t lose sleep trying to figure it out, LoL!
(Starts making dream MUFE palette in my head while sleeping!)

Christy Avatar

Nice! I’ve got my eye on Pink Ash and Crystalline Papaya especially! Here’s what I’d do for a 16-shadow palette, I think:
Inner corner
– I514 pink ivory
Brow bone
– Matte off-white (not sure which)
Transition
– M536 milk tea
Crease
– M646 latte
– M546 dark purple taupe
– S556 taupe gray
Lid or Outer V
– I544 pink granite
– ME840 pink chrome
– I824 ochre pink
– I648 golden fawn
– ME726 copper red
– I702 mahogany
– ME654 cauldron
– M928 eggplant
– ME828 garnet black
– S102 onyx

Katherine T. Avatar

Bare Minerals Ready to Wear Quads are perfect for travel! 4 color coordinated shadows with applicator and mirror. It’s slim, light, and protected by outer rubber case. And it’s permanent, so if I lose it, I can replace

Katherine T. Avatar

I googled it, and wow that’s a pretty one! It’s a very interesting combo of colors and cool-toned too, bet it will look great on you! Thanks for the tip!

Anne Avatar

It depends on the trip. If it’s something a bit more dressy or a longer one, either my MAC palette or my Naked2. If it’s a short trip or more of a business-y one, or one where I won’t be wearing much makeup, it used to be the Naked Basics, and nowadays it’s the Naked2 Basics as the tone of the shades is a bit more suited to me.

Tessa Avatar

I still haven’t found The One Best Travel Palette for me that suffices all on its lonesome, but usually I can get away with combining one of the two following :

Urban Decay Naked Basics (the first one)
or
Urban Decay Pulp Fiction

PLUS either a small but more shimmery, colorful palette or a few shadow singles, depending on where I’m going and what I’ll be wearing, weather, etc.

If I’m going to be gone only a night or two, without a fancier occasion (or if I’m only going to be outside a bunch), I might just bring Stila Wheat single shadow or Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Sand Gold and call it good on the eyeshadow front.

Dani Avatar

Tom Ford quad in Cocoa mirage and/or MAC 15 Warm neutral pre-made palette. The upper two shades of Cocoa Mirage also work as a face highlight and contour.

Laura Avatar

Viseart Neutral Mattes all the way!!! I was home visiting my parents why my father was ill for about a month and packed this super quickly. It’s great for eyes, brows, lining contouring you name it. I’m bringing it home again and may just bring a KVD Metallic (Raw Power?) to make things more festive this time around. Love!

Shana Avatar

Recently it’s the Guerlain eye and cheek palette.
I really love it !
I also love the TF Cocoa mirage eyeshadow palette, on travel I just complement it with some of my favourite single cream shadows from CD, Chanel, and Rodial.
(I have the Naked palette but I don’t really like it that much, in comparison to the others. )

Gillian Avatar

It tends to be the Suqqu Blend Color eyeshadow palette in 10 Kozuecha along with the Stila Field of Florals Convertible Color palette for both lips and cheeks. Alternatively I’ll take a Z Palette with some Makeup Geek blushes, some Makeup Geek Foiled eyeshadows and some Rouge Bunny Rouge matte eyeshadows. 🙂

Jen Avatar

I bring 2 always:

UD Naked Basics 1 or 2
Plus
UD Ammo Palette for the shimmers

Both are super small, flat, and light, a must for me for any serious trip.

Jen Avatar

For me the Too Faced Everything Nice palette from Holiday 2014. It’s perfection for me! Beautiful shadow can do a wide variety of looks. Great mattes. 2 blushes. Chocolate soleil bronzer and a great highlighter. Wish I had gotten a back up of this one. Was hoping this holiday’s palette would be just as fantastic but it’s waaay too glittery!

Stephanie Avatar

It was the original Tartelette palette, but now it will be the Makeup Forever 15 Artists palette from this year. Covers all bases from neutral to bold colours.

Rachel R. Avatar

I always take my UD Naked Basics. It’s got a good mattes for me, plus I can contour with Naked 2 and do my brows with Faint, and highlight my face with Venus. If I’m really having to conserve space, it’s the only one I take.

Casual overnight/weekend — UD Naked on the Run. I customize it with various travel-sized eyeliner pencils, mini mascaras and lippies, depending on what I need and what fits in the slots. The packaging is really sturdy, too, and I it has a large mirror. Naked Basics augments it perfectly for me. Honorable mentions to Lorac Pro to Go and BareMinerals The Magic Act. Their packaging is less sturdy, but they are better for conserving space.

Longer trips — My go-to blush palette is Tarte Pin-Up Girl. It has the perfect variety of shades for me, and it’s more convenient and easier to pack than a bunch of singles. My go-to eye palette for longer trips is either the Too Faced Chocolate Bar or Semisweet. They both have a great variety of shades and their tin packaging stands up to traveling. Which one I take depends on my mood.

Kris Avatar

When I travel it’s usually for work or to someplace wear I’ll be laying by a pool, so I keep my eye makeup pretty simple. I usually take the It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Palette (vol 1) and a small custom z-palette with some shimmery singles.

Myra Avatar

For the last year and a half, it’s been Smashbox MasterClass 3! Beautiful neutrals, bright pops of color and a great formula that stays on my lids ALL DAY. Their bronzer and blushes are great for my med/deep skin tone. I just use some of the shadows for a highlight. I’m tempted to get the 4th, but I dunno…I have SO MANY I need to use up!

Amy Avatar

It really depends on the trip for me. If it’s an overnight, I’ll usually pick a MAC trio or quad (though lately I’m finding I really don’t like their shadows nearly as much as my Urban Decay ones – wish I’d figured that out sooner!). If it’s longer, I take Urban Decay Urban Ammo (the original release). I’d hate to do the same eye look every day of a trip, and it’s got plenty of colors to mix things up. It’s also thin and pretty sturdy!
I like Naked 2 as well, but would get bored with it after the second day. Plus it’s too big to fit easily in my favorite small makeup bag. I have a couple small Z-palettes with depotted MAC singles and customizable Urban Decay palettes, but I don’t have enough variety of colors to make the perfect palette with those.

MizLottie Avatar

Either one of the UD Nakeds or, if I’m really tight on space, either a series of mini-Inglot palettes with neutrals plus blush/contour plus powder (3 stacking mini-palettes pretty much covers it) or a MAC mini palette where I pull shadows from my big palettes. I really like Inglot tho, you can customize the heck out of it and their products are well-pigmented and of good quality.

Lily Avatar

Definitely the Meet Matte Nude palette by the Balm. My whole look is retro-pinup, so my eye look is matte. I usually supplement with a couple of shades with different finishes in a small z-palette. MMN is really for travel because it has all the nude matte shades you’ll ever need and there’s almost no fallout so you don’t have to scramble for things in an unfamiliar bathroom

Cat Avatar

If I had to choose a pre-made palette, I’d either grab my Vice 3 or the TF A Few of My Favorite Things palette. If I were taking a custom-made palette, I’d switch around some of the shadows in one of my twelve-pan palettes, one containing pink and purple shades and one containing brown and red shades, and take that… so it would be a combination of UD, ABH, and MAC.

But… who are we kidding? I’d never just take ONE palette! LOL

Karen Avatar

Depends on the lengthens purpose of the trip. If it’s for business just neutrals are fine Lorac Pro or Marc Jacobs Lolita. If it’s for pleasure or to attend an event then something with color like UD Vice 3. Obviously best to just out colors in a Z-palette but lately I’m loving Saucebox Batalash and .Melt Dark Matter and Love Sick stacks.

Caroline Avatar

I don’t own a palette, can’t find one in which i’ll use all shadows. Plus I love my shadows so much I can’t seem to find dupes in palettes. So I end up bringing all my stuff. I love MAC Satin taupe+ Brulé or MAC Naked lunch+ Shale. Any recommendations?

Candice Avatar

I have two palettes that I actually use regularly and that’s my Naked Basics and a WetnWild trio called Walking on Eggshells.
Since my Naked Basics palette is a palette I consider most valuable and I fear breaking it, I mostly pack the WetnWild one for travelling. For me travelling is a family thing so it’s not like I need to look super polished at any point lol. The trio does the job of making me feel like an improved version of no-makeup-me.

Ellen Avatar

Usually Too Faced Natural Matte, because it’s my go-to palette for every day but recently my 2-year-old picked it up, opened it, then sat on it – the shadows are all in one piece but the palette now doesn’t close properly. I keep it shut with an elastic band 🙁

Eva Avatar

Urban Decay Naked Basic (the first one). I prefer it than the second one, because it has more neutral and warmer colors than the second one, which is wearable for me.

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