Heat, sweat, humidity—recommended beauty products for wanderers on the go
As an avid blogger since 2009, Connie Wang is a beauty enthusiast and loves trying out different brands, especially lipsticks and sunscreens. She has over 100 lipsticks and 10 sunscreens at any given time. Her favorite city to travel to is Taipei because of the great eats, beauty products, and the people.
Best sunscreen for outdoor activities
Anessa Perfect UV sunscreen (price: ~$30 for 2 oz. Varies by source). Photo by Connie Wang.
In Asia, this is very well known and popular amongst sunscreen wearers. Anessa is a brand under the Shiseido conglomerate in Japan. I’ve used multiple bottles of this and recommend it to friends who are in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time. Sunscreen filters include zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, but it is not as white cast as many American mineral sunscreens. There is also a sensitive skin version if you want fragrance free, but that one is slightly more white cast and marginally thicker in texture because it doesn’t contain alcohol.
Please note that the packaging changes year to year, but they generally have a gold bottle contained in the plastic packaging displayed here.
If you are not going to a humid climate, I actually like the Neutrogena Sheer Touch SPF 70 ($9 for 3 oz) for body—I’ve used it since college and truly notice it prevents my skin from getting tan, which to me means it’s truly broad spectrum.
Best Everyday Sunscreen
Photo by Connie Wang.
EltaMD UV Shield SPF 45 (price: $27 for 3 oz)
This is a great everyday sunscreen that’s lightweight, if you have oily skin you can even use this without moisturizer. For me this is a no frills, easy go-to sunscreen using chemical (octinoxate) and mineral (zinc oxide) filters. There is a slight brightening effect and the formula is pretty watery and easily spreadable.
One thing to keep in mind about sunscreen—if you are in direct sun for more than 2 hours, you should definitely reapply and/or wear UPF sun protective clothing. Unfortunately sunscreen is not a one and done situation, if you are not in direct sun, you might have to reapply as much.
Cleansing balm
Photo by Connie Wang.
Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm ($38 for 3.17 oz / 90g)
This is one of the best cleansing balms I’ve tried, the texture and feeling on the skin is moisturizing but cleans well, with a very mild fragrance. For those not familiar, cleansing balms are good to remove waterproof sunscreen and makeup without rubbing/tugging too much on your skin, like makeup wipes. Generally you start with your dry face and hands, massage into the skin until everything looks dissolved, then add water to emulsify the balm into a milky cleanser to wash off. Depending on how thick your makeup is, you may want to follow with a gentle cleanser.
If you want something more cost effective, the Banila Co Clean It Zero is pretty OG as well. There are also several cleansing products on my to try list, including Krave Beauty Makeup Re-Wined cleansing gelee and the Kim True cleansing balm.
For makeup and waterproof products (e.g. sunscreen), it’s important to remove them before going to sleep. Truthfully I prefer cleansing oils over balms, but I know oils have a higher chance of spilling in case the travel bottle leaks.
Makeup
Photo by Connie Wang.
MD SolarSciences SPF 30 lip balm ($20 for 0.15 oz)
This tinted SPF lip balm currently lives in my everyday bag. I love it for a pop of color on my lips but also if I am in direct sun for a while (e.g. tennis, hiking) and need to protect my lips. There are a few colors in the collection if you want a more natural nude or pink. I would highly recommend it as I love multi-tasking products.
Photo by Connie Wang.
Kiss Me Micro mascara ($14 for 0.16 oz, price varies by source)
If you have straight lashes like me, I’m sure you’ve struggled with mascara over the years. I often find the American ones don’t hold a curl as well, so Asian mascaras are really better if you want your lashes to stay curled. This micro brush one is great if you don’t want clumps, but if you want especially volumizing or lengthening formulas, the Kiss Me brand has a ton of options as well.
Hope these recommendations are helpful!
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