Travel Beauty Essentials
I feel extremely lucky to get to travel so much as part of my job; having the opportunity to experience different cities, cultures, and the people that inhabit them is honestly one of the greatest gifts my career has given me thus far. Of course, traveling isn't without its challenges... For one, the jetlag and inconsistent sleeping schedule is among the biggest pains, and two, while it's mildly embarrassing, one of the hardest parts of packing my bags and jetting off somewhere near or far is paring down my toiletries and cosmetics to just the essentials.Because I have to keep my makeup bag fairly slimmed down and light, I devote space to those tried-and-true products that last all day from morning-to-night. Long-wear makeup is an absolute necessity in my life: even when I'm home in NYC, I'm only doing my makeup once in the morning before a day of running around the city to meetings, photo-shoots, fashion showrooms, and cocktails or dinner in the evening with friends, and rarely want to carry my makeup with me for touch-ups... except of course for lipstick, that's essential.Benefit's They're Real! Mascara has been a longtime favorite of mine, so I was eager to try They're Real! Push-Up Liner, after months of hearing about it through other bloggers and beauty editors. First things first: true to it's promise, the waterproof gel liner does not budge. At all. Not a single centimeter. The liner comes with an accu-flex tip (a very different feeling than the felt tips I'm used to using), that allows for an ultra-close, lash-hugging line, and now that I've finally got the hang of it, I'm thrilled that it's the only eyeliner I packed in my bags for my trip to London. I'll be honest, I really, really struggled with this product at first. Though it clearly met my criteria for being long wear, it took a long time for me to get the hang of application. I've heard others had similar experiences when first testing it out, but don't get discouraged! It gets easier in time and the initial learning curve is well worth the effort. (Psst, if you buy it now from Macy's, you'll also receive a free deluxe sample of They're Real! Remover).Some practical tips for actually using They're Real! Push Up Liner, so you don't have to make the same mistakes I did:1.) Since it's a click-pen, it will take about a dozen clicks when you first open the package.2.) You'll only need 1-click worth of gel liner to fully line each eye. When you click, the gel will push up to the top of the accu-flex tip. At this point, i like to give the tip a little pinch (at the silicone end) to bring the liner to the top.3.) Start lining from the inside corner of your eye and work your way out. For a cat-eye or winged liner, line the eyelid first then work the opposite direction (outer point of the line towards the eye) to create the wing.4.) If there are any missing spots, rather than going back over the line (this will get messy), use the tip to stamp in the gaps.
A lucky winner will win some Benefit They're Real! Push Up-Liner of their own! Just Instagram this photo to be entered! Don't forget to include @nicolettemason @macys @benefitcosmetics and #NMBenefit in the caption to be considered for entry. I'll announce the winner on October 3!