I'm an absolute sucker for beauty miniatures and find Summer collections of carefully curated products impossible to resist. Packaged in hand luggage friendly sizes - and often in a handy zip lock case - they offer up a menu of hair, skin and makeup themed mini beauty edits.
While I don't recommend experimenting with new skincare on holiday (breakout alert), these sets are a great way to access tiny versions of your favourites without having to dispense them yourself. And even if you're not jetting off into the sunset, travel kits are a great way to try out a brand or product you've had your eye on before investing in the full size.
Here are some some of the cutest ever individual products and sets that I've been sizing up…
Note: I have tried to include as many plastic-free options as possible and always try and reduce my use of plastic and reuse where I can…
INDIVIDUAL BEAUTY MINIS
Benefit Roller Lash mini -£11
Benefit Hoola Bronzer mini -£13 (and it comes in cardboard packaging - yay!)
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush - travel size -£22
Laura Mercier setting powder travel size £18
Pixi Glow Tonic To-Go -£20
The Body Shop camomile cleansing balm £10
LUSH SHAMPOO BAR £8
THE KITS
Away We Go Travel Set, £50 Space NK
Valued at £105, this set of holiday heroes comes in a Space NK travel bag and includes:
• Becca First Light Priming Filter (15ml)
• Glamglow ThirstyMud (15g)
• Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Mini in Champagne Pop (15g)
• Darphin Hydraskin Light (30ml)
• Bumble and bumble Surf Spray (50ml)
• Space NK Travel Bag in Black
Drunk Elephant Out of Office, £21 Cult Beauty
Achieve a post-holiday glow with Drunk Elephant Out of Office, a collection of three nourishing products in one convenient set
• D-Bronzi Antipollution Sunshine Drops (8ml)
• Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil (3ml)
• Lippe Balm (3.8g)
Boucleme Unisex Travel Curl Kit, £22 boucleme.co.uk
This simple curl system is designed to enhance curls as nature intended.Scented with warm and spicy muskroot, cedarwood and linden flower and comes packaged in stylish grey bottles made from recycled, post-consumer regrind plastic.
Emma Hardie Hydrate & Protect Kit, £35 Space NK
Emma Hardie's Hydrate & Protect Kit contains travel-sized versions of the treatments you need to keep skin hydrated and protected during the summer months, priced at half its total value:
• Moringa Cleansing Balm (50ml)
• 1 Dual Action Cleansing Cloth
• Purifying Pink Clay Detox Mask (15ml)
• Midas Touch Revitalising Cream (15ml)
• Protect & Prime SPF30 (15ml)
& Keep plastic-Free Festival Kit £34
Whether you are heading on holiday, travelling for business, going to a festival or simply a weekend away, this plastic-free travel pack will slip easily into your bag, making you feel great about your impact on the environment. It comes with an organic cotton net bag that you can keep it all in or use for your dirty laundry on the way home!
Over £37 of plastic-free goodies!
Pack contains:
Hydrophil Medium Bamboo Toothbrush with castor oil bristles (100% plant-based = 100% petroleum free!) £3.99
Hydrophil Bamboo Toothbrush Case (looks stylish and planet-kind) £8
125 DENTtabs with fluoride (no plastic tubes) £5.25
Earth Conscious Mint Stick Deodorant £7
Friendly Travel Soap (amazing hair & body bar all in one plus specially formulated to be antiseptic, anti-fungal & insect repellent!) £2.60
Friendly Travel Soap Tin (keep your soap snug and dry) £4.50
Shade Natural Sunscreen 15ml (no coral bleaching here) £3.75
Medium Organic Cotton Mesh Bag (so many uses - washbag, laundry bag, produce net...) £2.75
Bioeffect on-the-go Essentials, £75 bioeffect.co.uk
A set of four Bioeffect products in luxury travel sizes for a simple yet effect skincare routine - wherever you go. NB this cult status age-defying serum retails at £125 for 15ml, so this is a great way to try the range before deciding if you want to invest in full sizes.
Bioeffect EGF Serum
Bioeffect EGF Day Serum
Bioeffect Volcanic Exfoliator
Bioeffect EGF Micellar Cleansing Water
Aveda Soften and Shine Cherry Almond Travel Essentials, Feel Unique £20
Restore shine from roots to ends with this hair travel set by Aveda:
Cherry Almond Softening Shampoo 50ml
Cherry Almond Softening Conditioner 40ml
Texture Hair Tonic 30ml
Clarins One Minute Makeup Heroes, Feel Unique £32
All your make-up must-haves available with this Clarins One Minute Make Up Heroes Travel Kit. Five travel size products so you can achieve a flawless complexion, luscious lashes and a perfect pout on-the-go.
Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch Primer 4ml
SOS Primer 00 10ml
Supra Volume Mascara 3.5ml
Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector 01 5ml
Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil 01 2.8ml