Packing for Dreamforce - Makeup & Hair Goodies

If you haven’t read my blog before, let me start by telling you that I am a makeup artist on the side. I used to do hair and makeup full time prior to my career as a Salesforce Admin and Business Analyst. If you’re curious as to how I got here, you can ready my story here. With that being said, I love makeup; I might love makeup more than I love shoes. If were given a choice as to which I loved more, I couldn’t choose! It would be like picking a favorite child. As I mentioned on my previous post about shoes, shoes are a way of expression to me, for me makeup is the same. With all of that being said, as far as Dreamforce goes, I don’t go too crazy. It is technically work, although for me, it’s my favorite time of year. I love it more than Hanukah, Christmas and my Birthday combined!

Before I get into this, I want to post a disclaimer; I would never ever tell anyone they have to or should wear makeup. As I mentioned above, I have loved makeup for as long as I can remember and it is always a key component of packing for me. 

When choosing products to bring with me on any sort of trip, I think about a few things:

• What type of event is it
• What types of looks will I be doing
• Will I be doing anyone else’s makeup

For Dreamforce I stick to full coverage looks, similar to what I would wear to work, but something that I know will stay all day, won’t move and will photograph nicely. If you didn’t hear on the Road to Dreamforce episode on admin success at Dreamforce, there is going to be a photographer available to take headshots in the Admin Zone!

I posted a picture below of the products I will most likely bring with me. I’m not going to go into detail on each item, but for each category of makeup I will go into the type of makeup I chose and why.

Skincare – When travelling, I typically only bring a few skincare items with me that are easy to use, effective and travel friendly.

Makeup Remover Wipes – my favorite brand is Neutrogena, these take off a good amount of makeup and never irritate my eyes. These are also great for touch ups. This is also more sanitary to use on others when doing makeup on other people, so you’re not potentially spreading bacteria in a bottle of eye makeup remover.

Daily Facial Cleansing Cloths – Oil of Olay makes these, but to be honest, I always get the Wal-Mart brand (they work the same). These are dry cloths that you can wet and have cleanser on them. They take off everything including waterproof mascara.

Moisturizer – I usually just put some of my moisturizer into a little travel bottle and throw it in my carry on. The one I’m currently using is by Garnier. If you have dry skin check this line out, works just as well as some of the high-end brands.

Face Makeup

Primers – The key to getting your foundation to stay all day is a good primer or primers for different purposes. Think about painting a wall, you prime the wall before you apply the paint so the paint applies evenly, same goes for foundation. I’m loving the Hourglass primer, which I apply all over, especially in my dry areas. A lot of us struggle with large pores. There is nothing you can do to make your pores go away or to change their shape, but you can minimize their appearance. I really like the pore minimizing primer by NYX for this. If you like Porefessional by Benefit, it’s almost an exact dupe for about 1/3 of the price. I just apply this where I have large pores (on my cheeks and forehead).

Foundation – I’m going to bring my Bare Minerals makeup with me. I love this foundation. You can build it up to a very full coverage or use it lightly for minimal coverage. What I love most about this is when you do make it full coverage it does last a long time. If you’re speaking and going to be under hot lights, Bare Minerals in most cases doesn’t break down where other foundations might. If you’re looking for a good drug store foundation, check out Revlon Color Stay. This has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. It can feel a bit heavy on the skin, so if you’re not used to wearing foundation you may not like it, and it isn’t as travel friendly as Bare Minerals.

Concealer – I use Maybelline Fit Me concealer, it’s creamy and really brightens your under eyes. It’s an almost exact dupe for NARS Radiant Creamy concealer for about 1/5 of the price.

Setting Powder – This is something I definitely wanted to touch on. If you know you’re going to be photographed, stay away from the white setting powders (like Makeup Forever HD), these can cause flashback. They are great for film, bad for photography. When I say flashback I mean your face appearing 3 shades lighter than the rest of your body. If you are looking for a good setting powder to set concealer or foundation with, get one that has some color in it. I recommend Ben Nye Banana Powder for setting concealer. I use the Bare Minerals mineral foundation to set the liquid version of their foundation.

Blush/Bronzer/Highlighter – I typically like to bring one palette that I can use with various colors. The one you see in the picture is by Tarte.  This palette was limited edition, so I won't be able to link to it.  I will probably bring this or something like it with a highlighter and deeper bronzer for contouring.

Eye Makeup

Eye Primer – similar to what I mentioned above about face primer, the same goes with eyes. If you don’t use primer, eye shadow can tend to crease and by the end of the day it may look like you never even had shadow on. My holy grail eye primer is Primer Potion by Urban Decay. I have tried so many other brands and this is the best one I’ve ever used.

Eye Shadow – the palette I show here is the Full Exposure Palette by Smashbox. I will probably bring this or a palette like it so I have different colors to choose from, but are all in the somewhat neutral color family. If you’re looking for a drug store alternative to this, check out the new Nudes Palette by Maybelline.

Eye Liner – This is probably the toughest product to get to stay all day. Even if a product claims to be “bullet proof” our eyes tear throughout the day, we sometimes rub them, and when we do that, off comes our eyeliner. I find that after applying a liner if you set it with some shadow of the same color it will last much longer. I tend use a gel liner on my top lash line and a pencil liner in my water line.

Mascara – You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get long, full lashes. My favorite mascara is by a brand called Essence. It’s in a pink tube in the picture below. Its less than $5 at Ulta and performs similar to They’re Real by Benefit or DiorShow by Dior. I can make my lashes look like falsies with 2-3 coats of this mascara.

False lashes – For a very dramatic look I will wear false lashes. I will probably do this for the concert. My favorite lashes are the ones in the picture. I got them at IMATS earlier this year (makeup artist trade show) and they don’t have a brand on them, sorry. But if you are looking for false lashes I recommend the Demi Wispies by Ardell. You can find them in most drug stores.

Lips

I don’t plan on doing any crazy lip looks, so I will probably bring 1-2 neutral colored lipsticks and the same for lip-glosses. I featured a few in the picture below. The only other necessity for me is some sort of lip balm. When I talk a lot my lips get very dry. My favorite at the moment is by EOS. You can get them at any drug store.

All about hair

As far as hair goes, I’m doing something different this year. I’m not going to bring much hair product with me, maybe a dry shampoo, some hairspray and a few hair ties. I’ve decided I’m going to treat myself to the DryBar on Sunday the 12th. Even though I can give myself a killer blow out, in order for me to do this I need to schlep my dryer, my brushes, and product, which adds a lot of weight to my bags. For $40, I can get my hair blown out. If you haven’t been to the DryBar you should check them out. They have two locations in San Francisco. I’ll be going to the one in Union Square and already have my appointment booked. Typically I can get my blow out to last 3-4 days with dry shampoo. If you don’t know, I have very thick, coarse, dry, curly hair, so I don’t really have a problem with oily hair. If anyone wants to go with me, let me know and I’ll tell you my appointment time and you can book yours at the same time. It’s a lot of fun.

I hope this post was helpful to some of you. If you have any specific makeup questions, please leave a comment below and I can answer. If you’re looking to have your makeup done by me, leave a comment below as well. There is no fee if you let me take before and after pictures that I can use for my portfolio. We will just need to plan ahead to make sure our schedules match up.

If you love makeup like me, and are making your list of makeup essentials for Dreamforce share it with the hashtag of #DF14COS so you can be entered into the contest, too!

As always, thank you for reading. See you soon!!! Dreamforce is almost here!!!

Cheryl