Travel

6 Gift Ideas for Travelers

December 10, 2020 · Leave a Comment

With Christmas just around the corner, it seems everyone is on the hunt for that perfect gift to give to the traveler in their life. According to a recent Access article, Travel and Tourism Statistics: The Ultimate Collection, Americans spent $1.1 trillion dollars on all things related to the travel industry in 2019.

With traveling one of the favorite pastimes of many people around the world, there are so many items that would make fun and useful things to give and receive, including these.

E-Bag Weekender Backpack

Almost every airline charges a fee for checking a bag on a domestic flight these days. For trips within the U.S. and even short weekend excursions, the Weekender backpack made by eBags is a perfect solution. It can hold several daysâ€™ worth of clothes and has many designated pockets for electronics, undergarments, and many other accessories. Even when stuffing it to the brim, the Weekender backpack still fits within the size requirements to qualify as a carry-on.

Travel Padlocks

Thereâ€™s no such thing as being too safe in todayâ€™s world. A traveler can always use a good padlock for their suitcase, briefcase, or even rentable lockers in airports. The good news is that these are relatively inexpensive, so if you just spent a lot of money purchasing one of the Philadelphia homes for sale or a house anywhere else recently, this gift wonâ€™t break your budget.

Packing Cubes

Anyone who travels a lot knows how hard it can be to organize a suitcase, especially for long trips. If there is any product out there that helps when it comes to cutting down the clutter in your bag, itâ€™s packing cubes. These inexpensive devices have so many purposes and can make packing and unpacking less stressful and easier to manage.

Travel Adapter

A travel adapter is incredibly useful for traveling abroad, and with all the different types of plugs on the market now, they are universally handy. Between the different Apple and Android devices and outlets, an adapter makes an ideal stocking stuffer for the traveler in your world.

Dry Shampoo

Everyone on the road often knows the annoying feeling of dirty hair after being on a long-haul overnight flight or in a car for hours. If you go several days without being able to take a shower, something as simple as dry shampoo can make all the difference in the world. Itâ€™s compact, inexpensive, and helps to make flat, oily hair looking and smelling fresh. While a shower is still the best option, dry shampoo is a close second.

Scratch Travel Maps

Many travelers are proud of where they go and love to display their adventures in their home for all to see. Scratch travel maps are a relatively new trend and have become extremely popular among the traveling community. Almost all of them start out with a black background and a gold layer of film over the map, and much like a scratcher lottery ticket, you use a coin to mark all the places that youâ€™ve visited. They are fun to keep up with and are visually pretty to look at too.

TINY BUT FIERCE: Handmade Bella Mini Travel Makeup Brush Set with Mirror Travel Case

April 12, 2018 · 5 Comments

What would we do without our makeup brushes, they turn us into beauty ninjas. But lugging around full-size brushes requires a full-size makeup bag on vacation, at the gym and for touchups before after-work dinner or drink plans. That is cumbersome and impractical. While there are always the applicators that come with the makeup, these are generally of poor quality. We recently tried Bella Mini Travel Makeup Brush Set with Mirror Travel Case. Unlike mass production brush kits, these brushes are hand-made in the USA and meet our on the go beauty needs with a face blender, cream shadow, eyeshadow and fine eyeliner brush in a mirrored case.

The handy Belle mini brush set is about the size of a cell phone case and holds four quality brushes and mirror

WHAT THIS SET CONTAINS

THE CASE: The shiny metallic case is roughly the size of a phone. It has a sturdy zipper and contains the four brushes. The brushes each come with plastic cap sleeves to keep them nice and protect the bristles when not in use. The inside of the case holds a mirror for on-the-go touchups.

This Bella Mini Travel Makeup Brush Set has four brushes in a mirrored case:

Face blender brush
Powder/Dry eye shadow brush
Cream shadow brush
Ultra-fine eye liner brush

The Bella case zips open to reveal four brushes that can be used to apply or blend all your on the go makeup

MATERIAL QUALITY & CONSTRUCTION

We find many mini brush sets, even those from higher-end boutique beauty stores, to be rather cheaply made. We use them a few times and they break or the bristles fall out. They also aren’t all that effective in applying or blending product. This set, however, is constructed with quality materials including durable brass ferrules, the finest hair for bristles that do not shed in use or during washing. I found they withstood powder, cream, BB Primer, Foundation, shadow, gel liner, and concealer.

Bristles that do not fall out, are soft, high quality and durable

MY EXPERIENCE USING THE BELLA MINI COSMETIC BRUSH SET BRUSHES

DRY/POWDER EYESHADOW BRUSH: Many of my favorite eyeshadow palettes, such as the Urban Decay Naked series, come with quality brushes that enable a smooth application, so for touchups or post-gym shadow re-dos, I want to use a quality brush as well. I find the eyeshadow brush comparable to the UD brushes I use both in the soft feel of the bristle, the stiffness that picks up the shadow, the lack of fallout upon application, and ease of use.

Bella dry eyeshadow brush loads color well without fallout. Shown here with Urban Decay Walk of Shame Eyeshadow, my go-to work day neutral eye base shade.

At just shy of four inches, (9.8 cm) this eye shadow brush is an especially nice size for the UD Basics/UD Basics 2/UD and UD Naked Petite Heat, the five shadow compacts that are perfect for pocket or purse but don’t come with a brush.

The ideal size for purse size mini palettes or palettes that do not come with a worthy shadow brush

This brush is just the right size and function, with a thicker base that thins out for better blending. It applies shadow exceptionally smoothly, I like it just as well as my full-size $30 brand name boutique eyeshadow brush.

Blends smoothly and evenly with no fallout

CREAM EYESHADOW BRUSH: For use with cream shadows, I also find this useful for re-applying a base or blending my YSL Eclat or re-applying liquid or cream concealer for mid-day touchups. I use cream eyeshadows less, but find that cream shadow brushes tend to not pick up product evenly, or that there ends up being a fair amount of waste. This brush deposits product without streaks, I like the smoother application, I can get a nice thin coat of shadow.

In a pinch, I find it useful for precise creamy/liquid highlighter, such as MAC Strobe highlighter on the cheekbones. It is not as thicker a diameter as the dry eyeshadow brush, the bristles are straight.

Cream Eye Shadow brush is thinner in diameter for precise application without streaks

EYELINER BRUSH: This brush has a cap when closed, so it can transport some product on the brush is you choose to “pre-load it” with liner product when you are at home such as mineral powder, gel or cream liner from a pot, such as Bobbi Brown’s Long-Wearing Eyeliner Gel or Maybelline’s cream liner, then you have it for touchups without having to carry the liner product. The cap fits onto the end of the brush to make a long handle which makes it easier to create a thin line or cat-eye liner. The cap stays put, and it is steady enough for doing a thicker cat-eye or heavy liquid liner on the go for a transition from a work look to after dinner eye makeup look.

The liner brush tip is not too hard, not too soft. It doesn’t drag or skip on the application. Angle it for a thin or thick line.

I also find it useful to wet the brush either with water or a drop of Visine to create a liner out of dry eyeshadow, I especially like lining my eyes with a few of the UD Basics, such as the black shade, or if I am doing a particularly heavy lash look, a thin line of the taupe eyeshadow applied with the thick end of the brush gives some definition without giving too dark of a look around the lower lashline.

Ideal for wet shadow liner application or shadowing over liquid or cream liner

Lastly, this is a nice size for pressing a bit of eyeshadow over the top liner to powder it down into place, make the line more even, intense and long-lasting.

FACE BLENDER BRUSH: The bristles on this are exceptionally soft and fluffy, but it still blends contour, foundation, powder, and blush very well. The versatile cream, liquid and powder use of this brush makes it a nice go-to item for your bag. It blends makeup well without streaking.

The versatile Bella Face Blender Brush works with both creamy foundations and powder makeup

It is soft to the touch but stiff enough to apply powder in an even thin layer.

The face blender brush is SO FLUFFY yet is stiff enough to blend smoothly

I particularly like this brush for blush touchups during the day, and it works well after a gym workout or while traveling to use it for BB Primer or foundation. By pinching down on each side of the head, it becomes an excellent fan brush travel dupe.

CONCLUSION

This Bella Mini Travel Makeup Brush Set with Mirror Travel Case features four easy to grip, ergonomic handles, soft bristles, portable, attractive, sturdy storage. The set is highly versatile, attractive, durable, fits in even the smallest of makeup bags, and contains brushes that are ergonomic, easy to use, sturdy, and offer an exceptionally smooth application. The set comes with a no-hassle money-back guarantee and one-year return window. A great gift for yourself, a friend, a constant traveler, or anyone who would appreciate quality craftsmanship in a portable and practical brush set.

Style Chicks received the Bella Mini Travel Makeup Brush Set with Mirror Travel Case in exchange for our unbiased review and received compensation for our time and effort. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.

BEAUTY & MAKEUP ORGANIZATION: All The Things Professional Makeup Case

September 11, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Has this ever happened to you? You have the perfect lipstick, liner or shadow somewhere, but your makeup drawer is so disorganized and overstuffed that you can’t locate that perfect shade? Need to carry your makeup when you travel, or for doing makeup for a big event like a wedding? Those makeup bags that come with GWP offers are often pretty but don’t hold makeup well when traveling. We recently tried the All The Things Professional Makeup Case and found it holds our makeup securely and has a spot for everything so we can locate just what we need when we need it.

The All The Things Professional Makeup Case holds makeup, creams, hair care and more neatly and securely

FEATURE OVERVIEW

Four Large Adjustable Trays to custom fit palettes and brushes
Deep divided bottom compartments with removable and adjustable dividers to fit even a hair dryer or curling iron
Secure locking hinge top closures
Easy to clean dust-proof acrylic sheeting
High-grade aviation aluminum is lightweight but sturdy
Custom over the shoulder harness strap with padding

ABOUT THE DESIGN

The 14-inch long design is big enough to hold multiple palettes, brushes, hair products and powders but it is not cumbersome to carry either by the handle or the shoulder strap. I have a Pro case from a known cosmetic brand that is larger but without the adjustable trays, it actually holds less than this All The Things Professional Makeup case does.

Two-tiered drawers hold all my makeup brushes and smaller items like eyelash curlers, eye creams and mascaras safely

Keep your makeup collection safe under lock and optional key!

HOW MUCH IT HOLDS

The fold out two-tier top compartments come with multipleÂ and adjustable dividers, so you can create any kind of space you want by sliding a divider into any side crevices.

The Makeup case seen with the top tiers showing

The dividers slide into any side slot to create any size compartment you need to accomodate brushes, lipsticks, palettes and more

The dividers can even divide a tier horizontally to separate out brushes if desired

Here I placed the dividers to provide enough room to hold my Urban Decay Naked palettes (about two Naked palettes fit per tier) with a smaller compartment large enough to hold lipsticks or two Nars blush sized single palettes.

Fit multiple long thin palettes like the Urban Decay Naked Palettes with room to spare for lipsticks or blush compacts

The tiers are also large enough to hold my brushes including foundation and blusher.

Hold smaller important items like this Jeffrey James Eye Cream safely in a smaller compartment where it won’t get lost

Tiers are long enough to hold UD palettes and an Hourglass powder compact, or brushes and lipsticks. Easily see all your lipstick and gloss choices at once

The bottom is a deep multi-section compartment where any of the larger padded dividers can be removed and repositioned to create a variety of spaces to hold hair dryers, hair styling products, curlers, curling irons, large brushes, bottles and larger containers that hold powder or product. If you prefer an entirely open bottom compartment, that is possible as well.

Versatile compartment dividers can be placed anywhere to make large or small compartments to fit even a hairdryer or curler

Multiple compartments can be divided however works best to hold items like Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer (front) and Big Sexy Hair Powder Play and Root Lift Mousse, Remede highlighter< Jeffrey James Hyaluronic Serum and OPI Nail Polishes (back)

I put my unusual shaped palettes in the bottom section, it holds the IT Cosmetics Contour Palette, the Ulta NYX Birthday Eyeshadow Palette, The Urban Decay Naked Matte Palette, the UD Naked Basics amongst others.

Hold palettes of all shapes and sizes including the Urban Decay Naked Matte, UD Basics, IT Cosmetics Contour palettes, Ulta Palettes and more. Also hold very large brushes, loose powders, creams, serums and sprays

In the other compartments, I keep hair products, a larger limited edition ByTerry Kabuki brush that I don’t want to be crushed by other brushes, and finally my larger creams and lotions including my trusty Creme de la Mer Concentrate and Lordsbury Retinol C+ Cream Moisturizer. I like that the compartment dividers have some extra padding to keep expensive and fragile products safely cushioned.

It holds several palettes at once and skin care products, bottles, nail polish, etc.

Tall enough to hold the full-size Mac Prep & Prime bottle as well as large skin care products like the almost 3 ounce size Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer

MY EXPERIENCE: PUTTING THE ALL THE THINGS PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP CASE TO THE TEST

The case is sturdy, it’s easier to transport than the old vanity style suitcases yet it holds my makeup more securely than just packing it in a suitcase. I’ve invested so much in my makeup, tools, and brushes, including limited edition palettes and brushes, as well as fragile bottles such as the Mac Prime and Prime, or perfumes that I prefer to keep my makeup with me as a carry-on or safely in the car with me while traveling, and it stows away nicely underfoot. If you prefer to carry your hair supplies in here, it is a safe way to transport high-end hair dryers and curling wands such as the T3, CHI or Dyson.

The handle is sturdy and secure even when I overpack the case with heavier items.

Wow! All tiers expanded and the bottom compartment holds plenty of stuff! Brushes, lipsticks, eye creams, palettes, concealers, eyelash curlers, full-size retinol creams, MAC Prep & Prime, creams and lotions, loose mineral powders, compacts, liners, hair care products and more each in their own space so they don’t get crushed and they stay organized

The key works without sticking and keeps the case secure. The padded shoulder strap is a nice addition as it reduces the strain on my shoulder and does not wrinkle clothes. The handle is sturdy. It is easy to clean any powder or spills off the surface of the case due to the special coating on the dividers and inner lining.

Sturdy, easy to carry handle and close-up view of the padded shoulder strap

Side view of the makeup case with the optional shoulder strap attached

CONCLUSION

The All The Things Professional Makeup Case is a highly versatile and sturdy case for organizing makeup, brushes, hair products, powders, palettes and makeup within four pull our tiered compartments and the deep lower compartment that can be divided in any number of ways. Ideal for keeping makeup organized and secure while traveling or at home, the All The Things Professional Makeup Case is an excellent value that will securely and neatly hold your makeup collection for years to come, so you can find just the right shade when you need it!

WHERE TO BUY IT

Find the All The Things Professional Makeup Case at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MYZSRCJ

All The Things Professional Makeup Case

Style Chicks received the All The Things Professional Makeup Case in exchange for our unbiased review and received compensation for our time and effort. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.

Versatile Jewelry Storage: The Langria Jewelry Box

February 8, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Sitting pretty atop a dresser, yet ideal for travel or destination weddings, the Langria Jewelry Box looks like a vintage styled handbag, but inside there are ten velvet lined storage compartments to safely & securely hold a variety of jewelry.

The Langria Jewelry Box

Do you love handmade jewelry or vintage jewelry finds? Several heirloom pieces, second-hand jewels, vintage pieces as well as handmade jewelry often do not come with the original box to keep the jewelry safe, or the gift box or bag is just intended to present the jewelry, not to protect it in storage. I like the soft velvet interior and the multiple compartments of the Langria Jewelry Box that makes for ideal storage for “loose” or unboxed jewelry.

LANGRIA JEWELRY BOX DESIGN FEATURES

Something that frustrates me about many jewelry cases is that the layout often doesn’t suit the needs of my jewelry collection. The LangriaÂ Jewelry Box has ten sections that comprise seven types of storage compartments within the three layers of the jewelry case. This functional, multi-compartment design keeps jewelry organized and separate from other pieces to avoid scratching or tangling.

The Langria Jewelry Box

THE LANGRIA JEWELRY CASE LAYOUT

On the underside of the case lid, below the mirror, there is an elasticized fabric pouch pocket for holding especially small or delicate items such as small sentimental keepsake items, shoe clips, or hair jewelry. The elastic is secure, and items do not slip out when the case is closed.

The Langria Jewelry Box

The uppermost section of compartments is open-face.

In the rear of the case is a velvet lined ring roll section with eleven slots to hold rings, earrings, or pins/broaches. For small, simple rings, two rings may fit per slot. The padding is deep so that even a larger ring is securely kept in place with adequate room between each ring.
The front of the uppermost section divides into thirds:
- The left front third is a full velvet lined compartment for holding larger pins, broaches, necklaces, or dangling earrings.
- The middle front third section has a lid with a handle to provide extra protection for one or two small to mid-size pieces.
- The right front third section has three removable horizontal dividers that could hold cufflinks, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

The Langria Jewelry Box

Beneath the top open-face compartment section are two pull-out drawers (one narrow full-width drawer and one deep drawer with two sections).

The narrow drawer easily holds several necklaces and bracelets.
The deep drawer is suitable for jewelry in a drawstring bag, ring or bracelet boxes, or for holding loose pieces such as bracelets, broaches, bangles or a watch.

The Langria Jewelry Box

WHAT MAKES THE LANGRIA JEWELRY BOX SPECIAL?

While this case looks pretty on a dresser, I particularly like that the jewelry box is shaped like a vintage style hard case handbag, and it has a notably sturdy wear-proof handle to carry the case. This portability makes it a very useful item for transporting jewelry for various occasions.

PORTABLE JEWELRY STORAGE

TRAVEL: In addition to holding jewels at home, I like that the sturdy wear-proof handle and case construction makes the Langria Jewelry box ideal for traveling with jewelry. Some events that it would be particularly useful include destination weddings (helpful for the bride, bridal party or wedding guest), for extended business trips, vacations, and special occasion events. Jewelry packed within luggage can get lost or stolen; the Langria box is “purse-sized” at 8.9 x 6.1 x 7.5 inches, it weighs about a pound and can be kept discretely in a carry-on bag.

WEDDING JEWELRY CASE: Wedding jewelry comes in many forms: Heirloom pieces with sentimental value, handmade jewelry, delicate vintage jewelry finds, rented and borrowed jewelry, and pieces purchased just for the wedding. What do all these have in common? They all will require being stored and transported safely and then held securely before and after the wedding. I find this the perfect size for holding both the bride’s and groom’s jewelry, bridesmaids’ jewelry, or just the jewelry of the bride including the rings, necklace, bracelets, and hair jewelry.

ADDITIONAL DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

A stylish vintage look, the Langria case comes in three colors. We got the black.
Each compartment is velvet lined to keep jewelry scratch-free.
The ring roll is heavily padded to give rings enough room yet hold them in place.
It is very sturdy, and the drawers and compartments are solid.
It comes with a key lock on a secure double level closure that snaps shut to keep the jewels safe.
It has an embossed crocodile pattern, patent leather look.
There is a small, accurate reflection mirror.

The Langria Jewelry Box

GIFT IDEA

The Langria Jewelry Case makes for a gift for someone developing a jewelry collection, for someone who has an overflowing jewelry collection or makes jewelry, or for a destination wedding bride to hold her wedding jewelry, for a young woman going away to college who may wish to keep her jewelry safe under lock and key. It also makes for a nice bridesmaids gift, especially if bridesmaids are wearing jewelry or hairpieces to the wedding.

CONCLUSION

The Langria Jewelry Case has a vintage handbag shape with a sturdy handle, making it an ideal a carry-on piece to safely transport expensive or sentimental jewels in a scratch-proof, locked case to keep your jewelry with you safely while traveling. I like that the multiple compartments keep my jewelry safe, and that dangling earrings have their space, there are adequate slots for my rings without crowding them, and necklaces remain tangle free because they are stored separately. Ideal for travel or home use, this is a highly versatile jewelry case!

Find this great jewelry case at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M130DIB?th=1. Through March 5th, 2017, you can receive an extra 10% off with code 9PGEN9C9.

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Style Chicks received this product in exchange for our unbiased review and received compensation for our time and effort. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.

Travel: Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

September 19, 2016 · Leave a Comment

The Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag comes in three different colors; we selected pink, and we use it to hold makeup and beauty supplies while traveling, going to the gym, or for makeup redo jobs if we are leaving for a social event directly after work.

Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

SIZE AND APPEARANCE
About the size of a purse, it is suitable for discretely carrying to the ladies room for a mid-day emergency beauty touchup (or total overhaul). It is also suitable for using as a handbag/carryall for the gym to hold my jewelry, phone, wallet, makeup, and toiletries for taking a post-workout shower and styling my hair afterward. There are convenient pockets to hold my gym membership card so I can quickly swipe my card and get to my workout.

Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN
There is a black plastic hook to hold it upright in place when used in a locker or bathroom, and a handle for carrying it. There is a fair amount of cushioning within the bag to keep items safe in transit. It is waterproof and leakproof, which is particularly useful when transporting multiple beauty products that could cause a mess in your suitcase.

The bag comes with a black eye mask and earplugs, suitable for use to get some sleep while traveling. This bag would be very helpful if you choose to keep your beauty supplies with you while traveling, which I prefer to do whenever possible to keep them out of my luggage and avoid hot/cold weather extremes when luggage is in the trunk of the car.

There are two internal zippered pockets for holding more fragile makeup powders or perhaps jewelry during a gym workout. I use it to hold more expensive beauty items. For example, my Hourglass powder trio is very delicate so I keep it in the box when using it outside of the house, and having a secure pocket to hold it in is very useful to keep it safe.

The deep middle pocket holds a long thin can of hairspray or dry shampoo, face wash and a ton of makeup and beauty supplies, as seen in the photos.

It has multiple side pockets for various makeup pencils, makeup brushes, toothpaste and toothbrush and makeup palettes. The inner side pocket is useful for holding a wallet and different cards, or a small book or journal. The pockets are deep enough to hold a full 8-ounce size tube of lotion or face wash. I carry hand cream in this pocket.

Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

CONCLUSION: Useful for carrying all your toiletries and beauty tools while traveling, post-gym workouts, or to discretely redo your look after work before a night out, the Mr. Sleek bag holds a TON of stuff in an easy-to-find internal design that keeps even delicate items securely in place.

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I received this product for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer it!