All Things In Miniature

When those seemingly arbitrary airline restrictions regarding liquids and toiletries first came into existence I, like most of the traveling public, was irrationally annoyed.  I read horror stories of Cle de Peau concealers being tossed away as the owners wept (so mean, these TSA people!), of Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks being confiscated (how could you relegate something so pretty to the wastebasket?) and of those gorgeous pictorial Chantecaille compacts summarily disposed of and I sympathized with the poor voyagers.  I railed against the idiocy of the rules...endlessly.

But one day, as one does, I got over it.  Now, in an odd way, I almost like the rules.  They've forced me to be a bit more practical with my packing, to be more organized.  And now that I've found a quart-sized bag that resembles a chic pouch rather than something one might find in the lunch box of a third grader, I am utterly and absolutely on board.

But best of all?  The TSA has introduced me to the delightful world of travel sized lotions and potions.  Now of course, for the painfully practical among us, that simply means small containers (I love the ones from Muji) into which one decants cleansers, lotions and the like (I reserve these for Dr. Bronner's in case a bit of bathroom sink laundry is in order).  But I find the miniature versions of the adult-sized products to be much more fun.  I become so easily smitten with the tiny containers and the tiny labels...it's a bit like playing with a dollhouse.

So for my last trip, the item at the top of my to-do list was to find enough tiny containers of gunk and goop to maintain my oh-so-delicate visage for nearly two weeks.  At my last visit to the dermatologist the nurse had foisted enough sample sunscreens on me to last a lifetime, so that was sorted (Elta MD UV SPF 40 is my new love).  But I needed the rest.

In a fit of laziness, rather than search far and wide for each individual product need, I picked up the Evan Healy sample kit in Whole Foods.  I swear by the line's eye cream so figured I couldn't go too wrong with the rest of the products.  And at $30 for five items, it wasn't too much of an investment if things went south.

Now may I just say that as much as I love traveling, my skin abhors it.  Rather than coming back looking relaxed and fabulous from a sojourn overseas, I tend to come back blotchy, spotty and flushed.  This time, I returned to multiple compliments about how wonderful I looked.  How my skin nearly glowed.  Now I certainly spent no shortage of time on planes or in airports (thanks American for that canceled New York flight), nor did I avoid extreme weather nor did I avoid dust, dirt and grime.  So I can only assume that all credit must go to the fantastically gentle, plant-based Evan Healy products that I was sampling.

The lavender cleanser was creamy and smelled like a field in provence, the rose hip treatment oil was just moisturizing enough, never heavy or greasy, especially when used in tandem with the facial spray, and as odd as it did smell, the moisturizer, when used in the evening, left me with baby soft skin the next morning.  I can't tell you whether the green tea mask did anything, but I sure enjoyed using it...the experience lent a bit of luxury to my spartan Parisian digs.  And shockingly enough, the tiny, tiny bits of product lasted me through the entire trip!

Between the near-perfect scores that all of the products receive on the toxicity-revealing Cosmetics Database website and their (I think) fair prices, it just may be time to upgrade to the grown-up versions...