In honour of the Full Moon and the Full Moon party (to the humans making the trip, bless your souls) I’ve decided to post a blog I wrote for a different website that hasn’t been used.  Clearly this isn’t what I would normally write about. Beauty/Makeup/Fashion is way out of my realm but I think I did okay….

As always I’m open to suggestions/edits/anything.

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Over my 23 years if life I’ve learned that when traveling, less is more.

When I say ‘less is more’ I don’t mean I’m packing one of everything to save space – I guess I should say smart packing is the way to go. Yes, picking and planning out your outfits before you really know what you are doing is hard work, but when you are cruising through the airport with one bag you’ll be glad you spent the hour prepping

When it came time for me to pack for the full moon party in Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand, a trip that required an endless amount of transfers (actually 5 each way, that’s still endless, right?) I knew packing light would be essential for my trip.

Before I began putting my outfits together I laid out the ‘game plan’ or what’s better known as the itinerary.

I knew roughly I would fly into Bangkok, have one afternoon in Bangkok, a taxi to the airport, a flight to Surat Thani, a bus or taxi to the ferry, where I would get on a ferry to Koh Pha Ngan and a taxi to my hostel, Hacienda. What a day. Holy crap.

That same night I would attend the Full Moon Party, I would spend the next day at the beach, the next night at the Full Moon Party, take a nap, catch a taxi to the ferry, to the mainland, bus to the airport, taxi to the hotel, one night of sleep and a flight back to Vietnam. Holy crap holy crap holy crap.

With that ‘plan’ I knew I needed at least two travel outfits that wouldn’t make me hate myself, two outfits for a party I had no idea about and one outfit and bathing suit for the beach. Whoo hoo.

I ended up packing a t-shirt to sleep in, cozy socks for the plane (must have cozy socks), one sweatshirt for the plane, two pairs of leggings, two light tops to travel in, one light dress for the beach, two bathing suits, two pair of shorts and two tank tops, a pair of Chuck Taylor’s and Rainbows.

To the Jungle Party I ended up finding an awesome dress that fit the vibes for the jungle party perfectly and the Full Moon Party I ended up wearing one of my shorts and a bathingsuit top. At the end of it all no one cared about what you looked like at all!

All of this as well as the usual items you need when you travel – face wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, makeup wipes. Moisturizer, towel, etc etc, am I missing anything?

My makeup and beauty routine is pretty simple.

I know I should research products that are out of my comfort zone but while living in Vietnam I think living simple is better/easier.

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I use Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash and once a week I exfoliate using Blemish And Blackhead Control Apricot Scrub.

I find that toners strip my skin of any natural oils and I end up with extremely tight and dry skin so I avoid that part of the routine…I probably should try something new. Hollar if you have a suggestion.

To moisturizer I use Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion

As far as makeup goes I like to believe that I don’t wear heavy makeup and I look fabulous naturally but that would be false. The amount of makeup I wear is based on the event or errand I am going to. Day to day I wear a very light amount of makeup, if any at all. But when I go out I definitely step it up.

I always start with my eyes. If the shadow falls on my cheeks my tinted moisturizer will easy cover it.

To be honest, I know very little about applying eyeshadow and I haven’t put in the effort to improve my skills – with that being said, I apply my MAC Eyeshadow, ‘Tempting,’ as a base on my eyelids. I think it looks pretty? If you know a simple tutorial to help me step up my game, PLEASE SEND IT MY WAY!!

I usually apply my lid liner next. Lately, I’ve been using a simple Rimmel LondonWaterproof Gel Eyeliner. It doesn’t fade when I sweat (which is every hour of the day in SouthEast Asia) and the brush is easy to control.

After lid liner I start of mascara. I usually combine two to three different types of mascara because of the brushes, but my main mascara while in Vietnam has been Haute & Naughty Too Black Lash. It lengthens, thickens, darkens, everything – it’s basically a magical stick.

The most important steps in my opinion are the eyebrows!!!! I’ve tried just about everything on my brows. My eyebrow journey has been a serious one but I have finally, finally found the answer. Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade, Chocolate and the brush to go with – sorry I don’t have the name! The two are a true dynamic duo. It has made such a difference in my eyebrows. If I had one beauty recommendation it is this: BUY THIS DIPBROW!

At home, my next to last step would be to apply my Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer by Laura Mercier. However, In Vietnam and South East Asia, I sweat too often, and my face gets disgusting from driving on my motorbike, so I simply don’t wear it.

My official last step would be to apply my MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter. This is awesome because it brightens the area around my eyes and helps my face brighten and look amazing in photos.

Finally, when I’m feeling a certain type of way I will apply, my red lipstick, SIN, by MAC.

Xx