21 Beauty Essentials That Are TSA-Friendly
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Beauty routines are a deeply personal ritual, ones that take years to curate and are entirely dependent on the individual. Traveling disrupts that routine.
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And while decanting your favorite products into a silicone tube seems practical, the idea of squeezing shampoo into another bottle the night before an international flight is… stressful. You’ve yet to pack, and your entire apartment is littered with laundry you were meant to fold and put away. Our suggestion is pinpointing quality products that come in TSA-friendly packaging (reminder: 3.4 fluid ounces or less).
Below, we’ve rounded up the best products to tag along on your next weekend trip or international vacation. Dry shampoos that actually absorb grease, a makeup removing cloth that requires only water to remove stubborn mascara, and a heatless curler that means you won’t have to worry about dual voltage.
1. Mini Batiste Dry Shampoo
$6.15
Long travel days and limited relaxation time directly correlate with the likelihood of you watching your hair with frequency (read: not a chance) throughout a trip. Thankfully the Mini Batiste Dry Shampoo refreshes roots in a jiffy, absorbing grease, adding volume, and creating texture that allows style to hold for a longer period of time.
2. e.l.f. Cosmetics Volumizing Mascara
$3
The e.l.f. Cosmetics Volumizing Mascara gives luxury products a run for their money. At only $3, this drugstore darling does it all: one coat delivers length, two coats add volume, all while vitamin E coats your natural lashes to promote growth and prevent breakage. Oh, and it doesn’t clump.
3. Bubble Hydrating Face Moisturizer
$10.18
Consider the Bubble Hydrating Face Moisturizer a tall glass of water for any parched complexion. This is a richer cream suitable for dry to normal skin types, with aloe vera and hoya lacunosa flower to soothe redness and irritation. It’s fragrance-free, too, and packed with vitamin E.
4. Kitsch Satin Heatless Curler
$12.72
The logistics of packing a hot tool are not fun. They’re clunky, take up valuable carry-on space, and while yours may claim to be dual-voltage, we’re already envisioning a broken hotel outlet. You may want to opt for this Kitsch Satin Heatless Curler instead. It’s simple: wrap your hair around the rod, clip it in place, and wake up to ringlets that even Shirley Temple would envy.
5. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Cleanser
$3.87
Travel tends to dry out your skin (hello, recycled airplane air), and it’s important to enlist extra nourishing cleansers to combat that problem. The Neutrogena Hydro Boost Cleanser, capping at $3.87 for two fluid ounces, sloughs off makeup and oil while using hyaluronic acid to moisturize.
6. TheraBreath Mouth Wash
$2.97
Say buh-bye, morning breath. Alcohol-free TheraBreath Mouth Wash uses sodium chlorite to tackle the bacteria responsible for bad breath, so a few swishes of this after brushing and flossing means you won’t find yourself having to reach for that extra piece of peppermint gum.
7. Monday Haircare Smooth Conditioner
$2.97
Folks with wavy, curly, and frizzy hair, we’d like to introduce you to Monday Haircare Smooth Conditioner. Instead of stripping your hair of its natural moisture, this pH-balanced formula adds moisture back in with shea butter, coconut oil, and vitamin E. The result? Defined curls and a shinier mane with less breakage at the ends.
8. L’Oreal Hyaluronic Tinted Serum
$15.18
Travel means days-long adventures, and days-long adventures mean… well, you’ll be sweaty. We recommend relying on lightweight products to soften redness and blur imperfections without cakey-ness, and the L’Oreal Hyaluronic Tinted Serum is an excellent choice in that department thanks to mineral pigments (hello, dew) and a barely-there finish.
9. MakeUp Eraser
$7.73
If you’ve never heard of the MakeUp Eraser, we’re happy to say it might just change your life. It’s basically a reusable towel that, when activated with water, can wipe off every trace of foundation, mascara, and bright red lipstick. No wasteful single-use wipes or bulky oil cleansers necessary.
10. Silicone Shower Brush
$9.99
PSA: Loofah’s harbor acne-causing bacteria, and it’s better to enlist the help of a silicone shower brush when it comes to washing your ‘bod. It still lathers like a loofah, plus the compact size makes it easy to travel with; purchasing a two-pack means one can be kept permanently stored in your suitcase for safekeeping.
11. K-18 Leave-In Mask
$8.63
K-18’s leave-in mask has received a ton of buzz for efficacy — and deservedly so. This leave-in formula is highly concentrated and harnesses the power of peptides, keratin, and jojoba seed oil to reverse (and reduce appearance of) damaged tresses. Consider it the perfect post-beach treat.
12. Native Moisturizing Shampoo
$3.47
Native has become known for its range of decadent gourmand scents, and their moisturizing shampoo is no exception. The formula is sulfate-free but lathers beautifully, the bottle is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and the coconut and vanilla scent will linger subtly for hours.
13. BioDance Bio-Collagen Overnight Mask
$19
A single scroll through TikTok will put you face-to-screen with the buzzy BioDance Bio-Collagen Overnight Mask, a niacinamide and hyaluronic acid-infused sheet mask. While most sheet masks should be taken off after 15 minutes, this one is intentionally meant to be worn for up to three to four hours or even overnight — perfect for long haul flights. It turns clear when your skin has soaked up all of the essence.
14. Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF 40
$38
If we were to write up a cheat sheet for dewy skin, we’d give you the shortcut by recommending Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF 40. This is an illuminating primer and SPF hybrid formulated with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and vitamin B5 to even out complexion and cocoa peptides to filter blue light. It blurs redness in .5 seconds flat, and over 7,000 reviews confirm it delivers on its promise of glow.
15. Flower Beauty Lip & Cheek Tint
$9.95
Drew Barrymore’s line, Flower Beauty, has remained true in its commitment to creating quality products that don’t break budgets, a la this Lip & Cheek Tint. This portable stick adds a hint of flush to your cheeks and lips and, while this product is technically a two for one, we propose a third. Add a swash of product to the hood of your eyelid for subtle definition and a brightening pop of color.
16. Garnier Frizz Tamer
$8.97
Flyaways, meet your maker. Garnier Frizz Tamer comes in mascara tube form so you can easily pat down the baby hairs that love to make an appearance on days in which there is even a hint of humidity. It’s also a great tool to have on-hand for slick-backs, allowing you to quickly tackle the stray hairs that transform a look from messy and sleek.
17. Neutrogena Dry-Touch Sunscreen
$14.97
The Neutrogena Dry-Touch Sunscreen is a favorite amongst reviewers for how quickly it absorbs into the skin, leaving behind an invisible layer that feels more like a hydrating moisturizer than a broad spectrum SPF 45. It’s water-resistant for up to 80 minutes and dries matte, too, and won’t leave behind a greasy sheen.
18. Cetaphil Mineral Sunscreen Stick
$12.57
Yes, more sunscreen. The Cetaphil Mineral SPF50 Sunscreen Stick is an excellent product to keep in your purse for reapplication on the go. This is formulated with sensitive skin in mind and is specifically meant to target the more vulnerable areas of the body, like lips or earlobes, that are too often forgotten about.
19. Milani Rose Face Oil
$11.72
Rose, sunflower, apricot kernel, and sweet almond oils are the effective quartet behind Milani Rose Face Oil, which gives your complexion an instant dose of luminosity. It creates a tacky, moisturized canvas that provides a great base for the rest of your makeup routine.
20. Bubble Skincare Face Oil Serum
$17.98
If your complexion errs on the oily side, finding a product that mattifies without stripping moisturize is key. Bubble Skincare Face Oil Serum enlists the help of ingredients like safflower seed oil to regulate the production of oil while prickly pear and neem seed are used to soothe, cam, and hydrate. Put down the setting power; pick this up instead.
21. Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser
$16
Getting your greens is no small feat, but Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser simplifies that process a la an oil-based cleanser rich in kale. This transforms from a gel into a foam and removes a day’s worth of makeup, sunscreen, and sweat without irritating sensitive or acne-prone skin.
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