Good looks: What good looks merchandise to pack in your Eu vacation

*Harriet Pudney is a beauty aficionado and former Stuff journalist who lives in Melbourne.

OPINION: Despite the flights that have doubled in price post-Covid-19, the quite realistic risk of lost luggage, the delays, the cancellations and the pandemic, everyone I know is in Europe right now.

I am not. I am in my living room. But after two-and-a-half years of cancelled plans, I can’t begrudge them their holidays. We all deserve to be sipping Aperol on Italy’s Amalfi Coast. It is not in my budget at present, but I will get there.

Packing your holiday makeup is always difficult. You want options but you don’t want to take everything you own; you want to pack light, but you need to keep your luggage within weight limits. With the number of bags going missing, there is even a case for going hand luggage only, and that means an even tighter edit. Tough calls have to be made.

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Your first port of call should be Daiso, or a $2 shop, or anywhere else where you can find small plastic refillable containers. Armed with those and a Sharpie, you have just cut much of the weight and space your beauty products will require. Packaging adds a surprising amount of bulk, and you truly do not need a full 500ml bottle of shampoo for two weeks in the sun.

Get a variety of sizes (you will need more body wash than face serum) and hold on to them. As cute as they are, travel-size minis are a waste of plastic. This refillable route will take 10 minutes, and since you are working through your existing routine, you are unlikely to forget anything crucial.

Once you have all your liquids decanted and labelled, it is time to think multitaskers. I am not usually massive on palettes, since they tend to come with eight shades you barely touch and a couple you run out of, but when it comes to a streamlined travel bag, they can be lifesavers. What you are looking for is one item that has multiple shades that will work as bronzer, blush, highlight and eyeshadow. Every pan has to earn its place.

Consider the RMS Beauty signature set, $78. With four cream colour products and a universal balm, this little beauty has everything you need for simple hot-weather looks. I would happily go away with nothing but this, concealer and mascara.

The bonus is that these can all be applied with fingers and, in fact, they reward it. If you are oily-skinned and find cream products don’t last on you, this is unlikely to be the palette that changes your mind. But nothing works for everyone, not even the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette, $110, a trio of skin powders I love so much I have been recommending it since this column began in 2017.

It is more expensive, but I would rather pay for guaranteed quality than waste money on products that don’t do the job. These powders are the definition of luxury: finely milled, easy to apply, and offering a soft, glowy finish that makes you look like you have packed your own lighting rig.

With a highlight, bronzer and setting powder, this palette will do your whole face if you pack the aforementioned concealer and mascara. You will need brushes, but two for face and two for eyes will be plenty.

Every major holiday deserves a scent to remember it by, and Goldfield and Banks Pacific Rock Moss, $50 for 10ml, is more than worthy of a spot in your bag. Herbaceous, zesty and woody, this fragrance is light but sophisticated. The ideal perfume to remember your next European jaunt by, whether that is this year or in 2028.