15 Game-Changing Beauty Essentials

Any time I travel, I try to pack makeup items that have multiple purposes and don't require tools. This cream blush is the perfect shade for a pale lady like myself, plus it looks great swept across the eyelids, too. I blend this along my cheekbones for an innocent flushed look.

This product was given to me the last week I was in New York, and after using it for a few days I knew I wouldn't go anywhere without it. It has the consistency of a pore-blurring cream that leaves the skin feeling satin-y. But it does even more: When I wear it, it looks like I just stepped out of a campaign for perfect skin—healthy, not oily, and thoroughly moisturized. 

Taking this serum with me was both a blessing and a curse. It's so damn effective, but every time I use it, it hurts me a little to know that I'm running out. It's incredibly hydrating and packs a powerful glow. I also brought their Clarifying Serum ($250), so I've been alternating between the two.

This is the only hair product I brought cross-country, and I'm so glad I did. It's a perfect post-blow-dry serum that helps my mistreated ends and makes my hair look shiny and clean.

This is the best liquid liner I've ever used—and that's saying a lot for me, considering I've tried about 90 percent of the liquid liners on the market. Though I'll admit that I haven't been wearing eye makeup too often in quarantine, sometimes a little cat flick makes my day. 

I brought this product to California mainly because I desperately needed it on the plane. It's an intense hydrating mask that's subtle enough to be able to slather in in front of a bunch of paranoid airline passengers. Now that its primary use has been served, I'm throwing it on every few nights just because. 

If there was one makeup product I could never give up, it would be clear brow gel. There are a thousand brow gels on the market, but this is the one that truly does what I want. It holds without being sticky or flakey, and doesn't come off until I want it to.

I had a sample of this moisturizer that I brought to California, but I knew it wasn't going to last. It's the perfect rich texture that I look for in face creams, even though I used it all up weeks ago. In it's absence, I've been using the Dr. Loretta Firming Moisturizer ($70) and the Augustinus Bader Rich Cream ($265).

This perfume was a gift from my boyfriend's mom (I love you, Elaine!) and there was no way I was going to leave it behind in NYC. It's the perfect mix of sweet and tangy, and there's not a thing I don't love about it. Between this and my sample of Diptyque Eau de Minthe ($180) I'm not worried about becoming stinky over quarantine.

These days, I haven't been filling in my brows too much, but I do like having the option. For me, this product is a 3-in-1: it's an eyebrow pencil, eyebrow brush, and an eyeliner if you're brave. I love lightly drawing this on my bottom lash line to give the impression that my lashes are super thick.

I've tried a few face oils over the years, but I keep coming back to this one. I don't wear it religiously, but if I'm having an extra-dry day, I know this is waiting in my cabinet to fix me right up with  a glow that can't be replicated. 

I'm not exactly a loyalist when it comes to mascara, but when it came to packing, this was the only mascara I didn't want to part ways with. Although it spends more time in my purse than on my eyes, I like knowing that I have the option of wearing dramatic lashes whenever I please.

I was not a fan of eye creams before this one. I threw it on one day because my eyelids were scaly and dry after some misused product on my part (note: retinol should not be placed on eyelids), and it worked. I refuse to go anywhere without it now. It's an essential part of my routine.

I am incapable of getting out of the shower and not immediately slathering lotion on my legs. This R+Co cream is heavy enough to combat scaly skin, but it soaks in smoothly and leaves behind velvety-feeling legs.

I really, really tried to use a different concealer! But I can't let this one go. The lightest shade in the range suits me perfectly, and it never gets patchy or dry throughout the day. I mainly use it as a spot corrector, but every now and then I'll upgrade my under-eyes.

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