If you’re going backpacking for the first time, you may be wondering what you should pack cosmetic-wise. Should you bring makeup while backpacking? How much makeup is too much makeup? Should you bring a hair straightener to South East Asia? Do people in hostels even wear makeup? How do I look cute for photos while backpacking? These are all very legit questions to have as cosmetics and haircare while backpacking can look really different to how you approach it back home. After 8 years of backpacking, I’ve finally found a happy medium of not packing too many cosmetics but still having enough to feel cute.
Should you even pack makeup while backpacking?
This is such a divisive question within the backpacking community because it is so subjective. Traditionally, backpacking is about roughing it. It’s about travelling as cheaply as possible and having more “authentic” experiences than just the average tourist or holidaymaker. It’s about wearing the same pair of elephant pants every day for a week. If you ask this kind of backpacker whether you should pack makeup, they will be adamant you do not need it. They’ll say that nobody cares what you look like at hostels, and backpackers look dishevelled all the time anyway.
However, the more popularised backpacking becomes, the more different styles of backpacking emerge. Backpacking is no longer just about roughing it. You can backpack without staying in hostels. You can backpack without even using a backpack. There are so many different ways of backpacking, with terms to describe different types of backpacking, such as “flashpacker” and “budget backpacker”, becoming popular. That’s where the division comes in. If you ask a different type of backpacker whether you should pack makeup, they’ll say yes. They’ll probably justify it by saying that you may want it for nights out or so you look nicer in photos and videos.
At the end of the day, it is a totally personal decision whether you choose to pack makeup while backpacking.
You may pack makeup and never end up wearing it, or you might forgo packing makeup and wish you had it with you. Nobody can make the decision for you whether you should or shouldn’t pack makeup. My advice would be to think about your makeup-wearing habits back home, consider the destination and type of trip and make whatever decision feels right. I usually end up bringing more makeup than I end up using, purely because I don’t want to regret not bringing it. But even then, you can always buy makeup while you are travelling, but it may be harder to find certain products or be more expensive.
How many beauty products should you bring?
Once you have decided to bring makeup with you backpacking, the next thing to figure out is what to bring and how much. Chances are you will not be taking your whole makeup collection with you backpacking. How much makeup you bring and what you decide to bring will depend on a few factors. Here are some things you should consider when making your decision:
- Where you are travelling to
- How long you are travelling for
- The climate of the place you are going
- What kind of activities you will be doing
- Any festivals, special events or birthdays you may be attending
For example, if I were planning a three-week trip to Nepal to hike to base camp, I probably wouldn’t be taking much makeup. Whereas, if I were spending a week partying in Ibiza, I’d be taking more “going out” makeup. One of the hardest parts of packing for a multi-destination backpacking trip is you often have to pack for trekking destinations, cities and beach destinations.
The other super important thing to consider is climate. Certain types of makeup may either freeze or melt in certain climates. Also, if you are in a climate where you are sweating heavily, certain makeup you may just sweat off, particularly non-waterproof mascaras.
Haircare while backpacking
Another burning question lots of first-time backpackers have is: should I bring heated haircare appliances like a straightener? This really depends on you, your hair type and your priorities. A straightener, curler, blow dryer or diffuser will take up more space in your bag, even if you go for a travel sized appliance.
There are a few things to consider if you are wanting to bring a heated hair appliance while backpacking:
- Climate and hair type. If you are travelling to a different climate, like a tropical climate, you may find straightening your hair becomes futile, as it just frizzes up the moment you step outside. A lot of people bring straighteners with them to destinations like Southeast Asia, only to find they never use them because the humidity causes their hair to frizz when they step outside the hostel.
- Access to electrical sockets with mirrors. While you may have electrical sockets near the bathroom mirror back home, this is not always the case in hostels. Also, you may have a bathroom/toilet combined ensuite off the dormitory. This means that you would have to occupy the only shared toilet in the room for the time it takes you to straighten (which can be a while). If you’re sharing a dorm with a lot of people who need access to the bathroom at similar times during the day, hogging the bathroom for that long may cause tension.
- Time taken to straighten or curl hair. This really depends on how long it takes you to style your hair with a heat product. If it takes you a long time and you need to straighten your hair every day, are you really going to want to use that time to straighten your hair when you could be using it doing fun travel activities?
Personally, I’m not a fan of bringing hair appliances backpacking, as I never use them. However, many backpackers do, depending on their hairstyle and what they want to prioritise packing. The benefit of bringing hair appliances is you will have styled hair for travel photos.
One makeup tip that changed the way I travel
When I first started backpacking, I packed way too much makeup, thinking I would wear makeup in the same way I did back home. But, I soon discovered that having to do a full makeup routine every morning in the badly lit hostel mirror was not sustainable. I also became way more comfortable going makeup-free or wearing minimal makeup the more time I spent around backpackers who didn’t seem to care. But I still wanted to look nice for photos and to feel cute on nights out.
After 8 years of backpacking, I’ve finally found the perfect mix of what makeup to bring. Basically, I bring makeup and cosmetics based on the principle of “high maintenance to be low maintenance”. That means that instead of bringing a whole bunch of makeup that I have to spend time putting on and taking off daily, I bring more products that are multi-purpose and longer-lasting. This can be things like tanning drops instead of foundation and dying my eyebrows instead of filling them in daily. Products that are multi-purpose are also game-changers, like using bronzer as eyeshadow, instead of packing two separate beauty products. Similarly, instead of bringing a hair appliance, use heatless curling products overnight while you sleep so you wake up with styled hair.
While this may not be for everyone, this really works for me and my travel style. I have found I waste less time daily applying makeup and instead have a weekly beauty route of dying my eyebrows and applying tanning drops.
Beauty products I regret bringing backpacking
- Makeup that will either melt, freeze or explode with altitude changes.
- Be careful of powder makeup like bronzer, highlighter or eyeshadow. This is one of the most common makeup packing mistakes you can make! Although, it really depends on the packaging and how you pack it into your larger backpack. If you are going to bring powder makeup, make sure you pack them tightly and compactly into your toiletries bag so they are less likely to move around. If you pack them loosely, there is a high chance they may break and become basically unusable.
- Large makeup palettes. Try to bring smaller travel palettes with one or two colours that you use regularly, or transplant your makeup into smaller travel palettes.
- Multiple lipsticks, eyeshadow colours or nail polish colours. While it can be fun to have different colour options, try to narrow it down to one of each and save yourself some space!
- A straightener. I brought a small travel straightener with me travelling South East Asia, and I have used it once in four months. The one time I used it, I was bored and waiting in the dorm room to meet a friend, so I thought, “Why not straighten my hair tonight?”.
My Ultimate Beauty Packlist for travelling
- 3-step skincare routine (Hyaluronic acid, Niacinamide and moisturiser)
- Tanning drops
- Sunscreen
- Bronzer + one brush
- Small travel eyebrow palette (2 colours) with brush and spoolie
- Waterproof mascara
- Lip Balm
- Eyebrow dye
- Nail Clipper
- Tweezers
- Nail Polish and a small nail polish remover bottle
- Small tub of face mud mask
- Body moisturiser
- Deodorant
- Face Wash Bar
- Body Wash Bar
- Shampoo and Conditioner Bars
- Razor
- Hairbrush
While this may seem like a fair few things, it all easily fits into a small toiletries bag. The key thing is most of these products are pretty small and compact. I have a makeup bag that has multiple sections and allows me to pack things compactly so they don’t move around. Having a proper travel toiletries bag, with sections makes a huge difference in terms of how likely your makeup is to break/leak. If you just take a regular makeup bag with only one compartment, things will move around and break. If you’re going to take makeup that you would be upset or inconvenienced if it breaks, invest in a proper travel toiletries bag.
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