I’m a small person, and for me, small is beautiful!
Stowaway Cosmetics had the brilliant idea of making their cosmetics in smaller sizes. Why is that a great idea you ask? Because it is so rare to use up makeup before it expires! In a recent study conducted by Stowaway and Poshly, it was shown that about 79% of women are using expired makeup! Ugh. 😥 Bacteria grows in makeup, especially in the makeup without preservatives that most of us prefer. I don’t know about you, but I am guilty as charged. I have waaaaay too much makeup in my stash that needs to be tossed. When I do my monthly “empties” post, my empties are almost always skincare products, seldom makeup.
Also, Stowaway Cosmetics are perfect for women like me who travel. Last week, I was traveling on business to Atlanta and San Antonio. While in Atlanta, I got to spend the night visiting a close friend and her family, and after to that I switched to hotels. So in a 4 day, 3 night trip, I stayed in 3 different places: my friend’s house, and two different hotels. I flew on 4 different planes. I schlepped around my heavy baggage. I had to go through the long TSA lines and place my 3.4 oz. or less liquids and gels in a quart size plastic bag to go through the scanner. A quart size bag doesn’t hold much! It’s such a pain!
When I got back from my trip, I found a package from Stowaway Cosmetics with the makeup that would have made my travels quite a bit easier! Oh well, next time. 😮
Look at these cuties! I love how perfect they look in their small outer boxes.
Each piece comes in sophisticated-looking grey rubberized packaging. They feel great in my hand.
I put them into one of my little makeup bags from ipsy, and they hardly take up any room at all!
I received almost all the pieces I would need for my trip or to use any day at home:
- radiant complexion bb cream, Fair, 25 ml/0.85 fl. oz.
- creaseless concealer, Fair, 4.5 g/0.15 oz.
- cheek and lip rouge, cantaloupe, 2.4 g/0.8 oz.
- effortless eyeliner, spice, 0.15 g/0.005 oz.
- extreme lash mascara, black, 5.4 ml/0.18 fl. oz.
- creme lipstick, champagne, 1.6 g/0.05 oz.
The quality is great on all six of the pieces I tried.
- The bb cream gave me pretty much full-coverage (full coverage for normal people without dark spots, lol). The Fair shade is a bit darker than most “Fair” shades that I’ve tried, and for someone with porcelain skin tone, it would be too dark. Jeff actually commented on my makeup and he almost never does. He said the shade matched my chest that’s still tanned so I guess that’s good! It has an almost matte finish that lasted me all day. Also, the bb cream is very comfortable probably because it has hyaluronic acid and glycerin in the formula! It comes in 4 shades.
- The concealer shade is also Fair, and it’s a good match for the bb cream. The concealer is FABULOUS because it’s definitely full coverage. It stays put and doesn’t crease or fade! The coverage was awesome! And it contains coconut oil that is naturally moisturizing and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. It can be used to cover dark spots, blemishes or dark under eye circles which is great because I don’t have to use two separate concealers like I often do. The creaseless concealer comes in 4 shades.
- I’m a big fan of cream blush, so I was particularly thrilled to get this cream cheek and lip rouge that I use as a blush. Plus, it was one of my favorite shade: a pinky deep coral. Love it! It comes in 3 shades.
- The eyeliner definitely is effortless, like the name says, to apply. It is a gorgeous shade of spicy brown: perfect for fall, perfect for me. Plus, as much as I like black, I need a change (though it comes in black, too)! It applies very easily, and it definitely stays put (though I haven’t worn it on my waterline). The swatch I applied to my arm wouldn’t come off with soap and water, but needed makeup remover to come off. I love that.
- The extreme lash mascara has a straight wand with brush bristles that’s easy to use. It applies easily, and doesn’t flake off or smudge. It provided both length and volume to my lashes. When you open the tube and remove the wand, there’s a small opening that removes the excess mascara so there’s no clumping. I liked it a lot. There’s a second type of mascara called defined mascara that I didn’t get to try.
- The lipstick is creamy and lightly hydrating but lightweight. The champagne color, though wonderful with the other color cosmetics I received from Stowaway, is a much lighter shade than I would typically choose for myself, about three shades lighter than my own lips. So I look like a visitor from the Sixties in it, but I kinda like the look after all 😆 It comes in 4 beautiful shades: champagne, peony, red, and fig.
Here are the swatches so you can see the shades.
I am a convert. Stowaway Cosmetics has won my heart. In fact, I couldn’t wait to try ’em out. So I put on the makeup after traveling all week and desperately needing to wash my hair – don’t judge 😳 🙄
The 6 products can be purchased as a kit for $75, or you can buy them all individually. Plus, they have some pretty interesting sets, too:
- the bb cream and concealer together for $35
- both types of mascara and both shades of eyeliner for $34
- a $60 set with bb cream, both eyeliners and both mascaras.
In addition, Stowaway has a subscription service that you can customize to ship after different periods of time (e.g. 3 months, 4 months or 6 months) based on your makeup usage and travel habits, and I think there may be a cost savings if you subscribe. Very cool.
Their tagline is “half the size, half the price”. Very cute, and it seems quite true.
They don’t do eye shadow which is fine because I do love to switch up palettes and single shades all the time.
All Stowaway Cosmetics are parabens, phthalates and gluten-free. It’s cruelty-free and EU compliant.
Go to the slide show and see the results of the consumer study shown in a quick, fun way. Definitely check out their product line on the website and try this makeup!
Great to know travel-friendly makeups like these exist. Yay for being small (I’m referring to us, lol)
Kath TheFabZilla recently posted…Collagen in Skincare | NEOCELL
Little people power!
How cute! And you look fabulous! Hair, too!
Erika recently posted…Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil
Thanks, Erika! I was so excited to try them, I forgot all about my flat hair 😉
When I am on a project I travel weekly and I am always on a look out for travel friendly beauty items and these are perfect!!
These take up absolutely no room at all. They definitely would’ve made my life easier last week. I am so psyched to have them for travel and at home! I think you’d love ’em!
ohhh Spicy Brown! The eyeliner sounds perfect!
Brooke @ Blushing Noir recently posted…Top 10 Fall Luxury Makeup Palettes
Brooke, the Spicy brown shade is so you (and me, too), and it’s so adorable!
What a great concept, and the swatches are just gorgeous. Wearing expired makeup is a little scary, and I know that I need to do a good sized purge soon for that very reason. I would absolutely love to try this line!
Lola’s Secret Beauty Blog recently posted…Glam Up Your Makeup for Fall Naturally with Josie Maran
Thank you, Helen! I need to do a purge too. I love to use things up so these are soooooo me. And they’re so darn cute!
These tiny packages are SO adorable!! This is such a great idea. I can’t believe a brand didn’t think of doing this before!
Tashina recently posted…September 2015 Empties Video
For sure, Tahsina! They are just terrific! While I do have sample size mascaras, the rest of the kit not so much. These will come in so handy, plus I love them so much I’ll use them at home too
Okay, I seriously LOVE this concept! Their branding is so on point, too. I want to try!
Brianna recently posted…October 2015 Goals
Right! They nailed it!
That’s definitely as great set for travel!
Destany recently posted…Reviva Labs Nourishing Cream and DMAE Firming Fluid review
I’m thrilled with it. So handy, so cute!
I know I’ve thought a hundred different times that I wish these companies would sell smaller sizes at lower prices so I could try more things more frequently. It’s awesome that someone finally did it!
Mandy Chameleon Stampede recently posted…Too Faced Melted Candy
I couldn’t agree more!
Great concept and something I’d be interested in trying. I love cream blush and I could wear the lips. If you use a lipliner with the lipstick you’ll be able to darken it without a problem. The foundation isn’t really Fair though which is too bad.
MarciaF recently posted…Top Ten Fall and Holiday Makeup Collections
Thank you for the tip, Marcia!! Now why didn’t I think of that? I’ll do it. Yes, you’re right about the shade issue with the BB cream and concealer. They are no actually a “Fair” shade. They work for me now that I’m still tanned (though my face isn’t) since it matches my neck/chest, but once that fades to normal, I’ll be out of luck. And it’s too bad because I really love the BB cream and concealer. They are excellent products, and it’s hard to come by “sample size” foundation and concealer for a trip. These truly are the “right size”. Stowaway, please make a new, truly Fair shade and call this one Light instead!
This is such an awesome concept! It would make travelling sooo foolproof.
Absolutely. The only thing you’d have to think about bringing each time is eyeshadow. I will love that!
This is such a great concept! Your skin looks fabulous too. The shades look very nice on you. 🙂
Thank you so much, Natalie! I was so excited about these products from Stowaway. I too think it’s such a smart concept! The bb cream and concealer are terrific. I hope they won’t be too dark once my tan fades because I like them a lot, and there’s nothing lighter in their range. The blush and the eyeliner are fabulous, and maybe I can wear that light Champagne lippie after all!
This is such a brilliant idea! If more brands produced smaller-sized makeup, people would buy more – and empty more!
Renu recently posted…Beessential Skin Care Products: Body Cream, Lip Balm, Body Wash and Soap Review
Yes, I think that’s what they hope to convince women to do. I think we often have the idea that more is better, but sometimes more is just more
All of these look PERFECT on you!! I like the simple, clean look of the packages too.
Kimberly recently posted…Facial Mask Monday: Studio 35 Beauty Anti-Aging Almond Mask
Thank you so much, Kimberly! Glad you think I can even pull off the lippie!
Everything mini or small I just want for some reason hehe. I love that blush shade, so pretty!
Heather recently posted…Vichy One Step Cleanser:3 in 1 Purete Thermale
I feel the same way. They’re just so adorable. All three of the blush shades and all four of the lippies are great colors. I really love this makeup way beyond using it just for travel. I just wish they’d come out with a true “fair” shade for the bb cream and concealer because the current Fair will be too dark for me and a lot of other women once the tan goes away!
I just read about this brand in an online article. What a neat concept! I honestly rarely manage to use up my makeup 🙂
That’s exactly why I wanted it so much. I hate throwing out hardly used makeup. I love the sense of accomplishment from finishing something!
Smaller sizes are great for travel and I never use up my makeup. I like the colors they sent you too!
Cindy (Prime Beauty) recently posted…RoC Smooth Perfection Instant Line Corrector
Thanks! Me too. I’m getting used to the lipstick shade
This is a really great idea
As a makeup junkie, I would love to try some of these smaller sizes! The eyeliner and blush are my picks for sure.
Nidia – Lit From Within recently posted…That Funky Emily
It’s a great way to try out new things! I love those picks too, but I have really fallen for the BB cream and Concealer too!
Cute packaging!
StephanieLouise recently posted…10 Gorgeous Purple Lippies – Matte, Gloss, Lipsticks, & More!
It’s great to see a review of this brand. I read about them in a magazine and loved the concept.
Bailey recently posted…Yves Rocher Botanical Colour Eye Pencils
Thank you, Bailey! I really do love their products! I’m wearing them now and I’m not even traveling, lol
That blush is sooooo pretty!!!
Babi recently posted…CAMEO COLOURS LACQUERS Know Them, Be Them, Raise Them collection…and a BONUS : Swatches and Review
Yes, the shade really is beautiful! I’m wearing it now 🙂
I have some Stowaway Cosmetics at home waiting to be tried when I get back from my work trip. Can’t wait!
Kristin Bassett recently posted…The Moto Jacket
I hope you enjoy it, Kristin! I’ll be eager to see which shades you got and what you think
I have never heard of this brand before but I LOVE the concept and the line looks and sounds awesome.
Honeygirlk recently posted…Made From The Earth Skin Care
It definitely is awesome. I love Stowaway!
These look great! I would do the “choose your own color” option. The less weight in my travel bags, the better! Thanks for the tip, and you look lovely in the photo–I can tell it’s a different set of shades than usual for you, and it’s a nice change 🙂
Thank you, Kim! Yes, the pale lipstick changes up my look completely. I’m not sure I would’ve chosen this color lipstick that’s 3 shades lighter than my lips, but it does give me a different look and it’s fun. Stowaway Cosmetics is just the thing for travelers, or even just a great way to cut down on clutter. Hope your trip went well!