A Makeup Artist’s Guide To The Best Minis On The Market

These makeup minis are ideal for keeping in your handbag or for taking on your travels!

Much as we might want to, it’s often not practical to carry around the full size of all your favourite makeup and skincare products every day, which is where minis come in very handy (because in reality we don’t all have Mary Poppins-sized bags that have room for everything, including the kitchen sink!). Luckily for us, more and more brands have recognised this need and are producing smaller versions of their most popular items. They’re ideal for makeup touchups throughout the day, or for those occasions when you’re heading out straight after work. Of course, they’re also ideal travel companions and fit easily in your airport liquids bag for long weekends away. So here are my top picks of the best makeup minis on the market to lessen the load in your handbag and also on your next flight out of Hong Kong (hello Chinese New Year!).

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1. Fenty Beauty

For a bit of shine and glam Rihanna’s makeup line “Fenty Beauty” has become a cult favourite with good reason. Her Bomb Baby 2.0 – Mini Lip And Face Set ($218) is a kit containing 2.5g of the Killawatt Foil Highlighter and 2.5ml of the Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer, perfect for any time of the day or night. The highlighter has a great sheen to it, (without being overbearing), so you can also use it as a wash eyeshadow, as well as sweeping it over your cheekbones of course!

2. Benefit

Let’s face it, Benefit really does cover all bases when it comes to makeup minis, so you should have no trouble finding smaller sizes of your favourites. I always travel with the Gimme Brow volumising eyebrow gel ($125 for 1.5g) and its They’re Real! mascara ($120 for 4g). It also has other handy minis like The POREfessional Face Primer ($120 for 7.5ml), which is great for eliminating shine, closing up large pores and helping your makeup last longer!

3. Jane Iredale

Although not strictly speaking a mini, the 3oz size of Jane Iredale’s Just Kissed ® Lip and Cheek Stain ($270) makes it a real steal. With its sleek packaging, all-natural ingredients (including avocado and olive butter), plus the fact it’s a 2-in-1 product, what more could you ask for? It’s also very easy to use. Apply straight onto your skin, blending and buffing on the cheeks and lips and you’re good to go! I love the slightly glossy finish as it leaves a fresh and radiant look. Plus, it smells delicious! There are three shades to choose from, all of which adapt to your own skintone to achieve the most flattering finish.

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4. Dr. Barbara Sturm

Once you’ve travelled with Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Flight Essentials kit ($1,690), you’ll never want to be without it again! It contains everything from a miniature of her best-selling cleanser to small sizes of the Anti-Pollution Drops and Calming Serum, which I find super handy to travel with (I’ve never had any leakages), plus they feel amazing on the skin (win win!). Even though they are small sizes, they seem to last forever. Your skin will really reap rewards from using this range, as the products are non-toxic (they’re free from parabens, sulfates, phylates, synthetic fragrance and mineral oils) and made for every skin type!

5. Decant Your Own Liquids!

This is more of  a top tip than a product recommendation. But one of the easiest ways to make sure you’re never without your favourites, is to simply decant them into smaller-sized bottles or jars. Muji and Sasa stock a good selection of travel-sized empty jars, spray bottles and even screw-top containers, ready for you to fill up. They make life so much easier and are also great for whipping out on a long-haul, so you are glowing and fresh when you leave the plane!

Enjoy downsizing!

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