Beauty Products I Packed For A 2-Week Backpacking Vacation In Italy (Only Carry-on Luggage) + What I Actually Used!

I just got back from a two week trip to Italy, and I had to pack for that long with only a backpack and no checked bags. (Totally crazy for me, no lighter way to put it!)

The Cheekbone product was received as a PR sample - this post contains affiliate links

If you know me, I'm a little high maintenance and the idea of packing all my beauty products and liquids in a carry-on only was totally overwhelming and honestly, I squeaked everything I needed in and just barely closed the bag! 

So, I thought I could share a little bit of my ordeal, I mean experience, in case this is something you're considering doing - or, if you just want to see how I managed to fit it all in! 

The skincare products I packed are:

Eyenlip Easy Herb Cleansing Oil ~ This is a great little travel cleansing oil because it comes with a little cap that twists on and reseals. 

This was a perfect item to pack - I used the last of this at the end of two weeks and I used it every night to remove my makeup. I hadn't tried this product before the trip, but it worked so well some nights I didn't even need a second cleanser! 

XO Face Care Surface O Cleanser ~ I'm a huge fan of the XO Face Care line, so I picked up a travel size - Surface O is for normal to oily skin and Surface X is the normal to dry skin. 

Again, I hadn't tried this product before using it, but because I love the brand, I knew it was going to be good and it was! Nice and gentle cleanser! I used this once if not twice a day and there was still some left at the end of two weeks, so this is perfect for a trip!

Pixi Hydrating Milky Tonic ~ This is a gentle and soothing toner - it was something that I had half used, so I knew that it would be a great every day toner! 

Pixi Glow Tonic ~ This is a perfect resurfacing toner - again, a product I had used a good amount of, so I knew that this would be a great toner for clearer and smoother skin. 

I know it's a little extra to bring two toners, but I needed both - I have to use an AHA/BHA every couple of days to help my skin, plus with masks and hormonal acne I needed to have this. But, since I can't use it every day, I needed a soothing toner as well. Both were well used! 

Laneige Water Bank Hydro Essence ~ This is a nice tiny little essence package! While, I had't tried it, I trust the Laneige Water Bank line to treat my skin well! 

I used this serum, twice a day for two weeks straight and it was great - absorbed well and was a great little travel package. This didn't run out after two weeks of use so it's great travel option!

Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist ~ This was one of the products that I had to purchase for this trip, so I did pick up a mist that I've used in the past and liked! 

I did use this mist, twice a day every day of the trip - I maybe didn't need a dewy mist when it was 30+ and humid, but it's still a great skincare product! Also, there was lots left after my usage, so it's a solid travel size! 

Laneige Water Bank Cream Water Bank Moisture Cream ~ I think these Laneige products were the Sephora birthday gift last year, but again a trusty line to take anywhere without trying out all new products! 

This was well used - twice a day, every day for the two weeks. I used about half of it and it was nice and gentle, a perfect every day moisturizer. 

Rohto Mentholatum Skin Aqua Super Moisture Essence Sunscreen SPF50+/PA++++ ~ I always need a strong SPF and I brought this along as my every day sunscreen! 

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Mineral Tinted Ultra-Fluid Face Sunscreen Lotion SPF50 For Sensitive Skin ~ This was one of my best skincare discoveries of 2021, so I knew I wanted to take a tinted sunscreen along for a mix of skincare and makeup! 

Like the toners, I know it's a little extra to bring two sunscreens along - both are SPF which I use every day, so one was tinted and one wasn't. I used them both often and also used the untinted all over for my upper body. Both worked fantastic! 

XO Face Care Cherry Body Lotion ~ I needed a small body lotion to travel with - these were sample sizes to test out scents, but it is a nice luxe body lotion so it was a good one to take along. 

Honestly, it was so humid there, that I didn't really reach for a lotion, other than an SPF every day. If I were travelling to a humid destination again, this is something that I would leave out. I did use this a couple of times, so it wasn't a total waste, but not the most used item by any means. 

Rare Beauty Pore Diffusing Primer ~ This was another item that I picked up specifically for this trip - I have liked a few products by Rare Beauty, so with this being the most affordable travel size, I picked this one. 

So, again with the humidity I didn't end up doing a full face of makeup, so I didn't actually use a primer at all! I'm a little bummed, but I will use it eventually. 

NYX Bare With Me Tinted Skin Veil in Natural Soft Beige ~ While travelling, I always want some face makeup that is trusty and this is one of my favourites - it's light enough for every day, but still offers good coverage. 

I was not expecting the Italian humidity, so I was a little surprised and again, this would have all melted off, so I maybe used it one time, but I really only used concealer! 

Catrice Liquid Camouflage High Coverage Concealer ~ This is a well loved concealer in my collection - again, I like to travel with complexion products that I know and love! 

Cheekbone Beauty Sustain Complexion Pencil in 2 Fair ~ This is a more recent concealer to bring along, but I liked this because it didn't need to go in my liquid bag! 

I was surprised, but the Cheekbone complexion pencil was the most used product - it was my go to under eye concealer and spot treatment for minor red and discolouration. I did use the Catrice concealer when I had blemishes to cover up! 

E.L.F. Cosmetics Prime & Stay Finishing Powder ~ This is a great powder, I shared it in my Favourites earlier this year, so this was a good one to take along. 

I used this every day - I typically reached for the tinted SPF, concealer and finished with this powder. So, it was great and it got used all the time. 

ELF Cosmetics Putty Blush in Turks and Caicos ~ This is easily my favourite blush formula, so I had to take this along on the trip! 

This was a great option to bring along - I was a little worried with this formula and the humidity, it held up well. I did tend to reach for a lighter powder shade, but this was well used too. 

Benefit Cosmetics Fouroscope Air Goddess Palette ~ This was one of my favourite makeup products of 2021, so with a finishing powder, two blushes and a highlighter, this was a great option to take along! 

I'm a little surprised that this is discontinued because it is fantastic - I used this every day, the blushes were well used and I used the highlighter every day. Great formula and perfect to travel with! 

Nars Mini Laguna Getaway Bronzer Powder ~ This was a past Sephora birthday gift or set - this was the smallest bronzer that I have, so it came along on the trip! 

I typically use a bronzer every day, so I thought I would use it all the time - I surprisingly didn't, again to humid for a full face, so I rarely reached for this. 

Benefit Cosmetics Precisely, My Brow Pencil in 4 ~ This was a mini size that came in a gift set, but this is my favourite brow pencil, so I'm glad this came along! 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Gel ~ Again, another favourite - this is my go-to brow gel and I use it every day! 

These products got well used - the brow gel was daily, and then some days when I wanted a little more, I used the brow pencil, so both were great to take along! 

Essence Cosmetics Lash Princess False Lash Effect Waterproof Mascara ~ I like this mascara formula, and I thought a waterproof mascara was the best to bring along so I could wear it in any situation. 

A waterproof formula was a great juice - with the humidity and being around the water, I could still wear this every day! I did wear this and was glad I brought this one along! 

Too Faced Hot Buttered Rum Palette ~ This is one of my favourite neutral palettes, so while I wasn't planning on wearing eyeshadow every day, I was thinking most nights for dinner. 

Auric Cosmetics Smoke Reflect Cream + Powder Eye Shadow Duo in Temper ~ This is my absolute favourite single shadow formula and this is always great to take along with the cream and shimmer shadows. 

Okay, I maybe used eyeshadow two times on this whole trip - I reached for the Auric shadow both times, but also did one neutral look so that taking the palette wasn't a total waste (good thing it's small). It just wasn't something I felt like I needed. 

NYX Epic Ink Liner ~ This is a great liner formula, it's nice and easy to use so I'm taking along my favourites. 

I only reached for eyeliner a couple of evenings for dinner, so I didn't reach for this as much as I thought I would! 

Tok Beauty Lip Tonic in Inspire ~ This is a great gloss/oil combination with a little tint to it, so with natural SPF it's great to take along! 

ColourPop A Go Go Lip Tint ~ I love this lip formula and thought if I wanted a little more tint, this would be a great pick! 

ColourPop Glowing Lip Balm in Mr. Mint ~ This is soft, glowy lip balm formula that is a great one to bring along as it looks like a gloss but wears like a balm! 

ColourPop Lux Lip Oil in Hot Spark ~ Another favourite lip product - I love this lip oil that has a little hint to it! 

I probably didn't need four lip products, but I did want a few options - I reach for the Tok Lip Tonic almost every single day, it was the most used followed by the Lip Oil. I used the lip balm and lip tint only a couple of times, but I did use everything. 

Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray ~ This was another product I had to buy for this trip as I needed a travel size product and it's an old favourite. 

This was amazing - it held everything together in the heat and humidity and everything lasted all day! Great, classic go-to setting spray! 

That's all the skincare and makeup products I packed along - I brought a really sturdy makeup bag and it fit all of these products, plus my personal hygiene, teeth and hair products (mini straightener and solid shampoo, conditioner and dry shampoo as I didn't have much liquid space left!)

Everything *just* fit and I made everything little millimetre of space work!