17 beauty products I actually used every day while travelling South Korea

As a Beauty Editor, when I'm travelling, minis usually take precedence in my suitcase over the products I usually can't live without.

I hoard every single travel-friendly item that ever comes across my desk, so such occasions are a welcome opportunity to explore a routine full of products I've never tried before. Safe to say, I become a completely different person once I board a flight — at least as far as my makeup bag is concerned.

After deciding to take a spontaneous trip (spurred on by Black Friday sales), I headed to South Korea in March, and stuffed as many minis as my quilted makeup bag could carry.

Naturally, when one is in the beauty capital of the world, one must buy beauty products, but I tried to be strict with myself and only purchased a select few items from brands that aren't as easily accessible in Australia like Tamburins' perfume and Entropy's bag charm lip products. 

However, during all my adventuring, shopping, and high speed train hopping it became evident that not all of the products I'd brought with me were able to keep up with my packed travel itinerary. In fact, at the end of my trip there were only a handful of empties and items that had almost met a similar fate — these are the beauty essentials that truly impressed me.

A skincare routine that protected against pollution

As cool as Seoul is, like many major cities around the world, it deals with a lot of pollution and smog. So to combat the effects of the country's environment on my skin I made sure to pack a lot of antioxidant rich skin care products.

A rigorous cleansing routine was important, so to kick things off I melted my makeup off everyday with the SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Light Cleansing Oil ($7.45 from Beauty Amora), which contains a blend of centella oil and six botanical oils.

I used Rationale's #4 The Nourishing Cleanser ($80 from Rationale) as my second cleanse to purify my skin without drying it out — the creamy formula contains skin barrier function reinforcing intercellular lipids and ceramides.

Rather than packing a small laboratory in my suitcase, I selected a multi-vitamin serum to use day and night: Image Skincare Vital C Hydrating Antioxidant A C E Serum ($111.96 from Oz Hair & Beauty). It's formula is chock a block with vitamins A, C, E, and plant antioxidants (read: green tea, bearberry and echinacea extracts).

South Korea was still a bit wintry so I made sure to layer on the hydration, opting for Rationale's #1 The Hydragel ($222 from Rationale) rather than a lightweight serum. It's enriched with a vitamin B complex, as well as anti-inflammatory rich botanical extracts like betaine, allantoin and glycyrrhetinic acid, which simultaneously enhance hydration, radiance and barrier strength.

To seal everything in I applied a pump or two of Image Skincare's Vital C Hydrating Intense Moisturizer ($119.96 from Oz Hair & Beauty) over the top. It has a rich, but silky feel on the skin, and it keeps my complexion feeling moisturised and looking plump long after it's been applied too. 

A simple soft glam makeup routine

Usually when I'm travelling I really can't be bothered to apply makeup, but because beauty is such a huge part of the culture in South Korea, I was actually really excited to wear makeup that was a bit more playful than usual.

To create the perfect base I stamped Muzigae Mansion's Sleek Water Cushion Foundation ($40 from W Cosmetics) all over my face. It has a uniquely glassy finish, while still offering a decent amount of coverage, so I was able to ditch concealer altogether.

Instead of using concealer and bronzer I applied Rhode's Pocket Blush in 'Sleepy Girl' and 'Piggy' ($43 from Rhode) to my temples, the tops of my cheeks, across my nose, and on my lips. Then I dusted a sheer layer of Too Faced Cloud Crush Blurring Blush in 'Super Candy Clouds' ($55 from MECCA) under my eyes, high on the apples of my cheeks.

My cheek makeup was really the focus of my makeup routine while travelling, so I tried to keep things minimal and muted as far as my eyes and lips were concerned.

I groomed my brows and fine tuned my lashes everyday with Morphe's Micro Manager Gripping Brow Gel ($21 from MECCA) and Hourglass Cosmetics' Unlocked Instant Extensions Mascara ($58 from Sephora).

Then I layered the Summer Fridays Flushed Lip Stain in ‘Almond’ ($38 from MECCA), Morphe Signature Lip Pencil in ‘Rock Steady’ ($12 from MECCA), and Rhode Peptide Lip Shape in ‘Lift’ ($41 from Rhode) under the Haus Labs By Lady Gaga PhD Hybrid Lip Glaze in ‘Guava’ ($43 from Sephora) to create a long lasting lip that held up to all the coffee I was drinking. 

Travel friendly atomisers full of feel good fragrances

I love buying sample sized versions of fragrances, so I can really live with a scent before I commit to a full bottle. Plus, they're perfect for travel.

I always pack a series of scents that evoke a particular mood or speak to the season of the location I'm travelling to. For South Korea I selected a collection of contemporary gourmand and skin scents that felt elevated, but cosy when I buried my head into my coat and scarf on particularly cold days.

From the whimsical Amouage Love Delight ($599 from Libertine Parfumerie), to the chic Maison Francis Kurkdjian Gentle Fluidity Gold ($378 from MECCA), and the androgynous Byredo Animalique ($320 from MECCA) I was smelling great the entirety of my trip.

Main image credit: @hourglasscosmetics

Love to rifle around in other people's carry-on luggage? Here, 6 frequent flyers share their beauty travel essentials.