The travel-sized beauty products actually worth buying

Featuring icons in miniature, choose from one of three shades of the much-loved Pillow Talk Lip Kit (there’s barely a celebrity we’ve interviewed who doesn’t cite either the lipstick or lipliner as a staple), alongside your ideal hue of the instantly glow-giving Mini Hollywood Flawless Filter, which can be dabbed on to cheekbones, lids or limbs, or mixed into your base for easy luminosity. A dusting of Mini Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder (choose from four shades) and spritz of Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray will keep your makeup in place, even in sweaty climes.

This clever spray is one that all the family can get behind. The kind-to-skin formula hydrates dry skin, soothes prickly heat and can even refresh tired makeup at the end of the day. Our beauty writer keeps hers in the fridge for a spritz that's extra cooling in the hotter months.

Showcasing Sol de Janeiro’s joyful pistachio, salted caramel and vanilla scent, these delicious-smelling travel-sized toiletries include a deluxe size of the cult-favourite Bum Bum Cream (it scrapes in at 90ml), a shower gel and a fragrance, for supple skin that smells sweet and summery. It’s a warm-weather staple.

For skin that feels tight and fussy, Tatcha’s Dewy range is just the ticket. There’s so much to love about the Rice Wash Cleanser: it’s beautifully creamy and hydrating, yet somehow effectively rids dirt. As for the moisturiser, it leaves dull, tired skin looking firm and bouncy with a real, visible glow.

When holiday faces need emergency TLC, you’ll be glad of an appropriate skincare treatment. Malin+Goetz has thrown a deluxe Detox Mask into this travel-friendly kit, making it perfect for post-flight congestion or blemish-prone skin, while the lip balm and vitamin E rich moisturiser prevent chapping and dryness on board.

You’ll find a customisable stack of these in GHI senior beauty writer Florence’s hand luggage; choose from a blusher, lip gloss and eye colour combo, a 5 Min Makeover set or just build them up as you see fit. From concealer to eyeshadow, each pot allows for on-the-go finger painting, and the sleek, lightweight packaging will have you sailing through security.

Give your budget airline getaway a five star upgrade courtesy of KAYALI’s travel-friendly fragrance kit. It’s all inspired by some of the globe’s most aspirational destinations, from the Maldives to Capri, and because the bottles are a dinky 10ml, they won’t stop your liquids bag zipping up. All four fragrances are ones you’ll want to return to, but a great first stop-off is Maui in a Bottle, with its sunny blend of sweet banana, pear, coconut cream, jasmine and vanilla. It's limited edition, so grab it fast.

Clinically proven to boost skin hydration in dehydrating environments (an aeroplane cabin is quite literally up there), this extra potent hyaluronic acid serum provides a speedy yet light-textured moisture boost and visibly plumps skin post-application, hiding nigh-on all signs of jet lag. Layer it under SPF in the daytime and you won’t need moisturiser either, unless your skin is very dry.

No need to compromise on your anti-ageing skincare regime if you're travelling with this power trio from top aesthetics expert Dr David Jack. There's a whole morning to night regime here, starting with a vitamin C serum plus SPF50 (fun fact: these the two actives actually work better together than alone). For night-time, there's a rejuvenating retinoid serum to help with that whole 'you look well, have you been on holiday?' vibe.

Did you know it’s advisable to wear SPF on a flight? Having this dream team in your stash makes applying and reapplying a breeze. Use the silky fragrance-free Face Fluid SPF 50+ as the last step of your AM skincare routine, then spritz over Preen Screen SPF 50 mist to top up your protection during a long flight or on landing. Both are a brilliant match for makeup, too; Face Fluid contains an innovative active to reduce the appearance of pores, making foundation look more seamless, while Preen Screen boosts UV defences without disturbing your base.

This mini makeup kit has all the hits: the matte but never flat Hoola Bronzer, suits-everyone 24hr Brow Setter, BadGal Bang! mascara for lift and curl and The Porefessional Primer to create a soft-focus canvas for foundation and concealer. On first look, you might assume it’s aimed at teens, but it’s seriously versatile (use the bronzer as eyeshadow to save space and faff) and the primer and bronzer in particular will be with you for the long haul.

Trust a jet-setting makeup artist to come up with a full makeup brush kit that clicks together to streamline your kit. Each nifty brush has soft vegan bristles that blend out powder and cream makeup seamlessly, and the magnetic ‘case’ is about the same size as a Biro, so won’t weigh you down on your travels (the magnets are strong enough that they won’t separate en route either). Beauty editor Anna loves them for how easily they wash, too.

A 15ml vial of glow-giving self-tan that you can dial up or down, depending on your desired finish, this aloe vera- and vitamin E-infused liquid moisturises skin at the same time as mimicking a beach break. Drop it into your body lotion, too, for a handy all-over tan.

Whether it’s time to buff your tan off or you need to give skin more of a scrub than the regulation hotel shower gel allows for, this sugar and chia seed-based polish leaves limbs silky smooth and smells like a pudding (that’ll be the vanilla, chocolate and cardamom scent).

If the hairdryer at your holiday destination is lacking oomph, this texturising salt spray will conjure movement and ever so subtle waves out of thin air (conditioning castor oil and hibiscus extract prevent that crunchy feeling you can sometimes experience after using salt sprays). Scrunch a little into mid-lengths and ends when wet, then air-dry, or use on dry hair for extra zhoosh and UV protection. Just don’t go overboard; a little goes a long way and using too much can make hair less swishy, more stiff.

If you’re packing light, using a hotel shampoo will do the job for many hair types, but your average en suite conditioner frequently won’t do much to smooth chlorine-ravaged ends. Slip this concentrated hair mask into your clear bag and your split ends will thank you. Hero ingredient hemisqualane (a smaller form of mega hydrating molecule squalane) helps to strengthen and ‘silkify’ brittle strands without weighing hair down (especially key if you have thin hair), making detangling a breeze.

Pipette this warm, woody and intense fragrance oil on to skin and you’ll be reliving hot 1970s summers in no time. It can be blended with other scents (or whichever body lotion you have to hand) and the chic cream bottle takes up next to no space in your travel beauty kit. It’s also available in rose and vetiver base scents, too, if woody perfumes aren’t your thing.

A key player in Beauty Editor Anna Lao-Kaim's cabin bag, this creamy fragrance-free cleanser is gentle yet powerful enough to whisk away waterproof makeup, so there’s no need for a separate eye makeup remover, plus it leaves skin soft and soothed. Not to mention that the balm texture won’t leak all over your clean pants.