The travel beauty products you need this spring

Spring has officially sprung. It’s the time of year we start to declutter our environments, ditch those winter woollens as the weather brightens, and embrace the lighter evenings as the collective mood shifts. With that in mind, these are my favourite beauty and wellness discoveries this spring.

The scents to put a spring in your step

Atrocious puns aside, I’m a big fan of switching up your scents to embody the forthcoming season. I’ve been enchanted by Lilanur Davana Cedre, an elegant segue between the cooler and warmer months, with the herbaceous scent of davana (an Indian plant linked to Shiva, the god of transformation) and accents of cedarwood to add an earthy dry down. Just as complex and evocative is Escentric Molecule 01 + Ginger, which is an energy boost in a bottle. The brand is known for cutting-edge perfumery and scents that adapt to the wearer’s skin, and there is something quite magical about the fiery ginger extract in this bottle, which hails from the Ivory Coast.

For something a tad more whimsical, try Jo Malone Rose Water and Vanilla Cologne. It smells as it sounds – just like distilled Turkish delight. Any heady sugariness is tempered by gentle wafts of rose, and after a while, it dials down to a creamy whisper on the skin. In the same nostalgic family is Ds & Durga Pistachio, a perfume which uses plenty of its namesake nut, but the addition of fragrant cardamom and a little patchouli creates a scent that is cleverly multi-layered. It makes you feel like you’re an extra in a Wes Anderson film, eating a pistachio ice cream in the sweet spring sunshine – if that makes any sense.

The on-board beauty upgrades that you genuinely need

We all have our go-to travel beauty essentials, but if you’re looking for some excellent upgrades, here are some of my favourites.

The multi-tasking uses of Weleda Skin Food are endless. It’s a face cream, a make-up primer, a face mask, a bite-soother, a hand cream – I even use it as a styling product to slick my hair into a bun. You can do so many things with it, so I never travel without a mini tube. Another staple is Dr Bronner’s Lavender Hand Hygiene Spray, a hand sanitiser that doesn’t have that gag-inducing alcohol smell and instead leaves your hands perfumed by a hit of lavender. It’s ideal for instilling some chill on a flight, so it doubles as a sleep spray.

My two final suggestions might not appeal to those with a simple on-flight routine – but do hear me out. There’s a reason that skincare experts often recommend a facial mist for air travel (Caroline Hirons swears by them). The recirculated air is so drying on the skin that we need far more moisture than usual to avoid that corpse-like, dehydrated look post-flight. I’m a big fan of Biossance Squalane and Hyaluronic Toning Mist, which contains sugarcane-derived squalane to calm inflammation and trusty hyaluronic acid to pack in moisture without any heaviness. It’s ideal for a refreshing spritz on beach days too.

Finally, let me introduce you to Shiseido Exclusive Vital Perfection LiftDefine Radiance Face Masks. I once gave one of these masks to a friend who wasn’t really into beauty. After using it, she sent a string of voice notes explaining how she’d bought several boxes of them because they were that good. These masks (you get a pack of six) are the next best thing to a professional facial. They use Shiseido’s ReNeura Technology++ which helps strengthen your skin’s receptors. This aside, what you really need to know is that they soften, hydrate and revive like no other. To eke the masks out for longer, I use them twice each – once at the start of a flight, then again at the end. They’re so good I want every drop of magic from them.

Beauty gadgets worth actually travelling with

Few things are more infuriating than hotel hairdryers that blow meek, tepid air. To avoid said horror, I always take the GHD flight™ Travel Hairdryer with me. It’s small, folds up neatly and is arguably almost as powerful as its larger version. Likewise, another essential gadget is the Oral-B Io4 Black Electric Toothbrush + Travel Case. There’s a lot to love about this toothbrush: the round head makes it easy to reach tricky spots, the black travel case and handle are chic and don’t get as dirty as white does, the Smart Pressure Sensor helps you get an accurate force for your gums, and there are different brushing modes including whitening and one for super sensitive teeth. I’d personally have preferred a USB connection over a shaver one, but sadly you can’t win them all.

Finally, let’s talk about light therapy. Unlike its larger, face mask-esque counterparts, the Solawave Radiant Renewal Skincare Wand is pocket-sized. It uses warmth, galvanic current and light therapy to boost the condition of your skin. The blue light wand is best suited to acne-prone skins, and the red light version can help to improve the appearance of fine lines, dark circles and hyperpigmentation.

The wash bags that are actually worth it

I’ve been looking for the perfect travel wash bag for longer than I’d like to admit. I’ve learned that there isn’t a single solution – you need a capsule collection for different kinds of travel. Smythson’s Washbag with Double Zip in Panama is ideal for weekend trips and hand luggage. Use it to stash your products in one compartment and your tech stuff in the other.

If you’re travelling for more than a couple of days, then use the Space NK Large Travel Bags or Medium Travel Bags. They are brilliant for organising your wares into categories, and because they’re clear, it’s easy to find things fast. And finally, after hours of research, I discovered the Bagsmart Toiletry Travel Bag With Hook. It is the ultimate long-haul travel bag. It may look like any other washbag, but it is the smallest details that make this a winner. The design ensures that it packs flat, even when it’s stuffed full, there are compartments for everything you’d ever need, and it has a hanger to save valuable space in the bathroom. It’s perfect.