The Minimalist Traveler's 28 Personal Care Essentials

I'm still away from home helping my elderly mother with the recovery of her fractured leg. (It explains why I'm blogging less often.) Essentially I'm living out of a suitcase! And yet when you find yourself in such circumstances, you have to continue to take good care of yourself.

In the effort, here are 12 minimalist traveler's skin and personal care products I'm using every day on my trip away from my home stash of skin and personal care toiletries:

For Skin Care:

Morning --

1) Noxema Cleansing Cream - I'm using it to wash my face and body, as well as moisturize my skin. Originally formulated by a doctor to soothe sunburns, it's cool and tingly upon use.

2) AN Artnature Vitamin C Advanced Moisture + Brightening Serum - Applying this serum to my face every morning as a multi-purpose anti-aging elixir. A vitamin C serum also gives you some protection against free radicals and the sun's harmful rays.

3) Olay Complete All Day Moisturizer For Sensitive Skin with SPF 15 - I use it every day of the year, plus as a greaseless suntan lotion in the summer.

Night, Noxema again, then --

4) Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Oil - Applying it to my face at night, the oil came as a 2-item kit with the cream below. More like a serum than an oil, its purpose is to boost the power of the Retinol. Probably we could survive with the cream only.

5) Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Regeneration
Cream - Applying it to my face at night on top of the serum (oil). Some consumers prefer Olay Retinol 24 Night Moisturizer since its consistency is lighter with more hyaluronic acid in the cream. I like and use both brands of anti-aging face creams and approve of Neutrogena's high potency and thickness. At times I'll add drops of water to the formula to make the cream a little thinner and sometimes not.

For Toothcare:

6) Philips Sonicare Toothbrush - It's well worth packing in the suitcase. You simply can't brush your teeth as thoroughly with a manual toothbrush. I'm happy my dentist's office advised me to buy it, as well as, told me to buy the basic model for about $40 without the extra bells and whistles. You don't need them.

7) Regular manual toothbrush - I use the sonic toothbrush twice a day, every morning and night, and a regular toothbrush for shorter cleaning sessions to clean my teeth if I eat any in-between sugary snacks.

8) Colgate Maximum Strength Whitening Sensitive Toothpaste - After years of drinking 2 cans of soda each workday at the Time, Inc consumer magazines, I now have sensitive teeth, so I've given up soda altogether and use sensitive toothpaste to try to "repair my enamel" as much as is possible. At mom's age of wear and tear of her teeth, we both use it.

9) Dental Floss - I miss my water pick, but felt I had to limit what to pack and left it at home. Frankly, I hate the necessary evil of teeth flossing!

10) Equate Anticavity Alcohol-Free Fluoride Mouthwash - Yeah, I buy the purple mouthwash, however, which one's really the best for our teeth and gums, only our dentist knows for sure. Probably adults don't benefit from the extra fluoride, who knows? The dentist!

For Body Care:

11) Crystal Body Deodrant Stick - The salt crystal seems to prevent wetness and underarm odor. I have the travel size with me and the thicker stick at home.

12) Cetaphil Body Moisturizing Cream For Very Dry Skin - I bought this one for my elderly mother's skin, but sometimes dip my hand into the jar as a hand and body cream. It has zero fragrance and is super moisturizing and non-greasy. Skin doctor recommended too. Now I prefer it to other brands.

For Hair Care

13) SheaMoisture Shampoo - Whatever formula is available at the drugstore.

14) SheaMoisture Conditioner - Ditto, whatever formula I find at the local drugstore has been terrific.

For Makeup: 

I've only used the 1st three items on the list below and only on Zoom calls. Since we still wear face masks in certain indoor places, I mostly don't wear makeup these days. Yet I brought the following along --

15) L'Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur

16) Dermablend Quick-Fix Concealer

17) Bobbie Brown Pot Rouge For Lips and Cheeks - in Pink Raspberry #18

18) Milani Lipstick - in Dulce Caramelo #27

19) Milani Lip Gloss - in Delight Deluxe #01

20) Adrien Arpel Eye Crayon - in Forest Green

21) Sephora Brow Sculping Pencil - in Light Brown and it has a tiny brush on one end.

22) Lip Balm - Beeswax is the main ingredient.

Finally, I brought my stash of samples packets that I save for overnight trips. In a pinch, I'll find a product I need (face cream, shampoo, or conditioner) to tie me over until I can get to a Walmart, Target, or drugstore. 

Moreover, the Tool Makeup Bag contains:

23) Tweezers

24) Hair ties

25) Nail clippers

26) Nail files

27) Nail buffer

28) Mini Nail Brush

The only three tools I've used are tweezers, nail clippers, and hair ties. 

I'm functioning just fine with three small organizing makeup bags of basics. Makes me think minimalism of toiletries is all we ever really need! A less is more mindset saves us tons of time and money. Why not pare down to a simple approach both at home and away from home?

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Lovely Michelle Pfeiffer could teach a master class on how to age well. Sign me up!

Aging is a good thing. You would not like the alternative! Still none of us want to look old before our time. But, anti-aging potions to keep those lines, wrinkles and age spots away can cost $100s of dollars each, making them unaffordable for oridinary consumers. So today I'm doing a roundup of the best products -- the ones that really work, but cost less than high end brands. My fountain-of-youth finds contain the same effective ingredients, yet are budget friendly enough so that you can use them everyday.

Your Daytime Routine:

Layer your morning anti-aging face products in the following order --

1. Timeless Vitamin 20% C + E + Ferulic Acid Serum - Vitamin C fights free radicals, including oxidation, which causes aging. It also stimulates the growth of new collagen and helps with sun protection. Vitamin E helps vitamin C work better. "What is ferulic acid," you may ask? Think of ferulic acid as a stabilizer and booster of vitamin C.  [Check out Timeless, a company that makes several beneficial serums for cheap, here.]

2. Timeless Coenzyme Q10 Serum + Matrixyl 3000 + Hyaluronic Acid - These are antioxidants, peptides and moisturizing ingredients. I'm using this serum around my eyes. Can't hurt!

3. Sunscreen - This is the most effective (therefore, most important!) product to minimize aging. Use a sunscreen every single day under your makeup. 

Two lightweight choices include: 

a) Olay Regenerist Lotion With Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50 - This cream formula is interchangeable with Olay All Day Complete Moisture Lotion SPF 15, but is a slightly richer formula and will protect longer without reapplying. I like both.

b) Neutrogena UltraSheer Liquid SPF 70 - A liquid, it dries to leave no residue or stickiness. You only need to go up to SPF 30. A higher SPF factor doesn't do much more. So if there's a price difference, stop at SPF 30. If a retailer doesn't charge more for SPFs over 30, accept it as a gift. 

Other recommended sunscreen products include: 

c) L'Oreal's Miracle Blur with SPF 30 - An instant skin smoother finishing treatment. It's a matifier that takes away shine and helps to erase the look of lines, wrinkles and pores. The silky gel also provides a lovely base for your makeup; and finally ...

d) Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Airbrushing Pressed Powder SPF 30 - If you use a face powder to set your makeup, why not just select one with sun protection? This one sells for about $12, and often drugstores offer a 2 for 1 deal, so you can't go wrong!

In using sunscreens, many users switch formulas to suite the time of the year. For example, I might use a creamy sunscreen like the Olay Regrenerist Lotion with SPF 50 to moisturize my face in winter, but use the Miracle Blur treatment alone in summer due to the humidity. I like to use the face powder as part of my makeup all year around -- it's a great way to ensure I'm reapplying my sunscreen.

Your Night Time Routine:

Again, follow the steps in order when layering --

1. Noxema Skin Cream - I have washed my face with Noxema since the age of 14, and I always come back to it. During a shower I usually wash with SheaMoisture Soap. It is super moisturizing and never drying, even on my face.

2. The holy grail of anti-aging skin products is prescription strength Retin-A (Tritinoin) Cream - but you must transition into using it (and it is a lengthy process); otherwise your skin will flake, feel raw, be inflamed and hurt!

Until your skin can tolerate the strength of Retin-A, you will benefit from using non-prescription retinol, available at your local drugstore. Here are a few suggestions on good retinols. Both non-prescription retinol and prescription strength retinal-A will help soften the appearance of lines and winkles, speed up cell turnover and help generate new collagen.

3. Olay Regenerist MicroSculpting Serum - It has 3 anti-aging ingredients: peptides, hyaluronic acid and Vitamin B3. I've been using this for years.

4. Follow up with a rich night cream, such as Olay Regenerist MicroSculpting Cream. It's a super moisturizing face cream. None better! 

Honorable Anti-Aging Mentions:

Glycolic Acid - This brightens your skin by helping you shed dead skin and speeds up cell turnover. Many women like to alternate their use of a glycolic acid and retinol (or retinal-A).

a) THE SAVVY SHOPPER'S old friend, Angie Smith, recommends the L'Oreal Paris' Revitalift Bright Reveal line, with 4% glycolic acid.

b) Another winning brand is Planet Edan, which manufactures glycolic acid (liquids, gels and creams) in higher concentrations: Glycolic acid can penetrate the skin deeply to treat fine lines and acne. Just like with retinols and retinal-A, you must start slow when applying glycolic acid to your face. Your skin needs time to acclimate to higher strengths, or you could end up with chemical burns and scaring. Be especially careful with glycolic acid concentrations over 10%!

Non-greasy Face Moisturizers:

Here are 3 other face moisturizers with anti-aging properties that absorb easily into the skin. Apply them after face serums (and under your makeup, if you wish):

a) Olay Complete All Day Moisture Lotion - Conditions the skin with vitamins B3, C and E, along with SPF 15 sun protection. One of my staples, I use it as a face and body sunscreen - you must reapply SPF 15 sunscreen every few hours.

b) CeraVe Moisturizing Facial Lotion PM - Contains ceramides (they hold in moisture), B3 and hyaluronic acid. Plus, CVS Pharmacy makes a knockoff of this facial lotion.

c) Hyaluronic Acid Beauty Cream - Hyaluronic acid is naturally found in the skin, which traps moisture to help maintain firmness and elasticity. As we age, we lose moisture. This cream lubricates the skin with hyaluronic acid, glycerin, sunflower oil and heather. It is rich without clogging your pores. Feels so clean, it is the perfect summer face moisturizer. In winter, I follow this beauty cream up with a dab of the richer Puritan's Pride's Retinol Cream on my face -- it's my one/two punch against Old Man Winter!

These top-notch youth elixirs are as effective as pricey luxury brands, but you can afford to use them every day without going broke!

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Atoxelene Line Wand

There is a trendy beauty fluid celebrities use to erase wrinkles and promote youthful skin. Have you heard of it? And if so, can you pronounce it?! The name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it?

Call it Botox on a brush. Reportedly, many A-list stars keep an Atoxelene Line Wand within reach. 

Here's why: It hydrates the skin and smoothes fine lines and wrinkles with properties of hyaluronic acid and peptides. 

The Atoxelene Line Wand is applied under makeup and before red carpet events to take years off a face. The treatment works immediately, but since it is an intraceutical, the effects are also cumulative, according to Hollywood markup ... um makeup artists. The more you use it, the better your skin looks. Brush it on crow's feet, furrows, frown lines and laugh lines to soften and reduce their appearance. Moreover, its anti-aging ingredients (the peptides) encourage quicker cell turnover and the growth of collagen to keep new expression lines at bay. It's a splurge at $49. The equally popular Atoxelene daily serum costs $149.

For a similar, but cheaper treatment, try Watts Beauty Peptide - Hyaluronic Acid Concentrated Serum Complex with L-Arginine and Silk Amino Acids.

And just for fun, challenge yourself by pronouncing the names of each of these products three times without stammering!

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TruSkin Skincare

Nowadays you no longer need to spend a fortune on skincare as so many effective products are in the aisles at Target, Walmart, Amazon, and local drugstores, there's no need to look elsewhere! Selling at affordable prices -- with monthly promotions to boot -- making transformative skincare almost a steal!

TruSkin is a brand committed to producing advanced premium formulas with superior ingredients in the right combinations and potencies. It's made in the USA without fillers or animal testing. The elixirs treat all skin concerns, and they are budget-friendly, which is exactly what we want! After you know what you desire to be treated, you can select skin products that are right for you to do the job.

I will feature a few of the company's offerings:

1. Vitamin C Serum - To nourish the skin and fight free radicals. Creates a glow by treating dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles, and uneven skin tone. Use every morning.

2. Retinol Serum - Improves fine lines, wrinkles, skin tone, skin texture, color, pigmentation, as well as your skin's hydration levels. Clinical-strength retinol that is gentle enough for sensitive skin. Use nightly.

3. Hyaluronic Acid Serum - Supercharged with a powerful anti-aging complex that includes Vitamins C and E, Green Tea, Aloe Vera, and MSM to plump the skin with moisture. Use in winter, or as needed to soothe dry skin.

4. Tea Tree Super Serum+ - A blemish-bursting blend that includes tea tree essential oil, vitamin C, retinol, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid. Use 2 - 3 nights per week, or as a spot treatment.

5. Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer - Layer up with this ultra-hydrating vitamin C brightening cream containing Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide, and Salicylic Acid. It targets discoloration, firmness, fine lines, and blemishes. Use daily or as needed to "cocoon" the skin so it stays soft and supple.

6. Retinol Moisturizer - Provides a layer of moisturizing cream to your face that contains hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, B5 green tea, and propolis. Improve fine lines, wrinkles, skin tone, skin texture, color, pigmentation, as well as your skin's hydration levels. Use nightly.

TruSkin has a wide selection of affordable cleansers, toners, moisturizers, treatments, sizes, and skincare kits for every type of skin ... and it's so convenient to find. I found it at CVS. Next time you go to your local drugstore, check the beauty aisle.

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New Neutrogena Hydro Boost & Maybelline Master Prime

How I love when top-notch beauty products appear at the corner drugstore! 

Neutrogena is an excellent skin care line. The retailer is launching new treatments to keep your skin healthy and glowing from within. First up is Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel Cream, which is formulated with hyaluronic acid and olive extract to hydrate the delicate skin around your eyes for up to 48 hours. Hyaluronic acid is a key ingredient to help your skin attract and hold moisture. Who wants to dry up like a leathery old prune? Let's fight the signs of aging all the way! Cost: $15.

Also new is Neutogena's Hydro Boost Gel-Cream for Extra Dry Skin. Cost: $18. Apply it to your face. I only buy a single gel/cream to treat both areas -- eyes and face, since my skin can tolerate it. But if your eye area is sensitive, buy serums and moisterizers specifically formulated for your more delicate eye area, where the skin is thinner, i.e. both items. You will need to pay the piper. Sorry wallet!

Next to discuss, Maybelline has developed a master face primer. There are three lightweight formulas to fight three different skin concerns. Wear the primer under makeup to blur skin imperfections like zits, a red tone or fine lines. Without clogging pores, the primer gives your complexion a nice glow and youthful appearance. It also prevents aging: SPF 30 sunscreen guards against future wrinkles and skin cancer. Cost: $10.

How exciting! Skin care, once only sold behind a costly cosmetic counter, is now available at your local drugstore for less. Sometimes beauty is skin deep!

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Vichy Skincare Is Available At CVS

Vichy was developed in 1931 by Dr. Prosper Haller to treat sensitive skin. The French brand's formulas are created by skincare specialists and tested under strict dermatological control to confirm their efficacy. Many of the products contain Vichy (as in Vichy, France) Volcanic Water -- rich in 15 minerals -- to calm and support the skin.

YouTube dermatologists including Doctory, The Budget Demonologist, and Dr. Daniel Sugai, all board-certified and practicing physicians, like this drugstore brand which is sold at CVS. 

My nearby CVS often has Vichy product samples. The five items I've tried are ultra-moisturizing and gentle for sensitive or irritated skin, providing the tender loving care it needs. I used them after experiencing what looked and felt like a vitamin C burn on the eye area of my face. I guess that double vitamin C serum (of another brand) isn't right for me since it was the 1st time I've had a painful reaction from using vitamin C serum.

The Vicky samples I used to soothe the area are:

1) Vichy Liftactv Supreme Serum 10 - The chief ingredient is hyaluronic acid to plump up dry skin, which is how it reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

2) Vichy Mineral 89 Fortifying & Hydrating Daily Skin Booster - It's a fast-absorbing, lightweight, thickish facial liquid for dry and sensitive skin. Unscented and non-sticky, apply it as step 1 followed by a moisturizer.

3) Vicky Aqualia Thermal Riche-Rich - Moistens the face with hyaluronic acid and Vichy Volcanic Water. Provides lasting 48-hour hydration for dry and sensitive skin.

4) Vichy Lifeactiv Supreme Jour - Day - With rhamnose (a type of sugar found in plants) and Vichy mineralizing water, it fights fine lines and wrinkles while smoothing, firming, and moisturizing the skin.

5) Vichy Liftactiv Supreme Nuit - Night - Targets wrinkles and the loss of firmness, it contains rhamnose, vitamin C, adenosine, and Vichy mineral water to fight the stubborn signs of aging.

Vichy formulas feel luxurious, are non-greasy, and definitely moisturize and plump up the skin as claimed. Although the ingredients in its moisturizers don't have as many anti-aging clinical studies behind them as retin-A (considered the gold standard), Vichy is a 90+-year-old skincare company that employs dermatologists and health experts to develop its salves. On the face, they do absorb well into the skin. Without burning or producing a bad reaction, you can feel some type of action going on after the application.

If you have dry, sensitive, or irritated skin that needs rest from retin-A, retinol, or vitamin C serums -- which at times can leave your face feeling raw and sensitive -- Vichy is a luxury drugstore brand that plumps up your skin with dermatologist-tested and approved moisturizers containing ingredients to soothe and help your skin recover, plus look younger via its hydration. 

Vichy is pricey, yet not out-of-reach. The next time you're at CVS, see if you can score some samples to try the brand.

New on the market at about the same price point and as "consciously clean" for sensitive skin is Scarlett Johansson's line called The Outset. The focus of the line is to nourish your skin barrier for hydration, beauty, and balance. Its aim is similar to Vichy's with the latter adding rhamnose to also firm the skin.

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Winterize Your Skin: Natural Awakenings Advanced Healing Skin Cream

Manuka honey is the healing ingredient.

Winter is rough on skin. My hands used to feel dry and chapped, my cuticles cracked, and the skin below my knees flaked off like dandruff. But not this winter.

Slathering on rich moisturiser all winter long, right now I'm using Alba Botanical Very Emollient Body Lotion Original Unscented, and it's making a difference.

For years I made the mistake of using lotions and creams that contain perfume. Freesia smelled great! Although my aim was to moisturize my skin, the perfume in the lotion was, in fact, drying it out. Essential oils are different. Although essential oils have fragrance, they are not drying when added to moisturizers, and certain essential oils go further to benefit the skin with healing and anti-aging properties.

Nowadays I'm always on the lookout for good skin care products. Choice is good for consumers.

At my local health food store, I stumbled upon another promising skin cream, Natural Awakenings Advanced Healing Skin Cream. It's more expensive than what I buy, but it has some ultra hydrating and therapeutic  ingredients. The balm contains essential oil of rosehip, peppermint, nutmeg, clove, black pepper and lavender; aloe vera; shea butter; oat flour; flower essence of oak, sunflower, pine and vervain. It also has Manuka honey (from New Zealand) which has anitbacterial properties. Manuka honey is used to heal damaged skin. 

The Advanced Healing Skin Cream is in the not cheap, but affordable catagory. Depending on how chapped and raw your skin is, it might be worth the price. You could also try adding essential oils and the honey in your cupboard (as all honey is antibacterial) to your present (perfumeless) skin lotion, until you can justify paying the piper. There's nothing wrong with adding the same beneficial ingredients of a quality formula to make a DIY skin potion for less!

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Health Care Reform, A Doctor Weighs In

Dr. Carl N. Steeg is a retired pediatric cardiologist.  During his career, he was the Director of Pediatric Cardiology at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  Politically, he is a moderate who tends to vote on issues, not parties.  At the ballot box he has voted for Democrats and Republicans alike and has supported both liberal and conservative issues, after carefully weighing the pros and cons.  Since he has spent years as an academic, as well as, seeing patients, I wanted to get his views on our changing health care system.  Here is our interview:

Q:  Why do you think health care needed an overhaul?

A:  Basic health care is a right, not a privilege. It's [now] a system built on capital and competition.  This has some advantages, but not necessarily for the greater good.  People should be as secure in their right to health care, as they are in the right for clean water, protection and security.

Q:  As a doctor, do you support the recent changes in health care?

A:  Basically I do, because it tends to move us to a universal (or single-payer, if you will, system which insures coverage for all).  The question remains at what financial sacrifice?

Q:  President Obama had to compromise to get his legislation passed.  What do you think of his plan?

A:  It moves medicine in the correct direction.  There will always be compromises.  After all, it's all politics, isn’t it?  The compromises deal primarily with financial issues, not with the basic concepts of universal coverage.

Q:  Will “Obamacare” help people?

A:  I hope so, and I believe it will.  Should there be some negative aspects, or loopholes that come to pass in which the status of certain people may actually get worse, then Obama must lead in efforts to correct these loopholes.

Q:  Can the U.S. afford President Obama's plan?

A:  I don’t know.  In my readings I haven't come up with an answer as to whether it will cost more, less, or about the same in the long run.  The question should not be can we afford it.  The question is, where are the country’s priorities.  We as a country must understand that nothing is free.  The ultimate question is, what in the way of taxes are we willing to pay in order to achieve health care reform.

Q:  Do you think the government can run a complicated system like health care efficiently?

A:  No, the country cannot run complicated systems well.  I don’t know who can run complicated systems well – computers can, maybe.  But does universal health care have to be so complicated?  There are ways to make it less complicated and more available.

Q: Explain how.

A:  The delivery of medical care can be handled by nurse practitioners for many issues that do not require the services of a doctor.  This lowers costs and makes basic care more available.  As far as less complicated, when dealing with medical providers today, you often deal with multiple insurance carriers -- who must communicate with each other.  It would be less complicated to deal with one or two.

Q: Do you see a single-payer system as inevitable?
There is little doubt in my mind that we are in the agonizing process of moving towards universal health care, such as exists almost everywhere in the world.  People want to be free of the fear of non-affordable health care, and this need will, by the demand of the people, eventually come to pass.  We Americans, imbued with our historical fear of big government, and ever historically dedicated to what we believe are our “individual rights,” will have to change.  We, as a society, will not be in a position, in the near future, where, rights such as health care will be relegated to each individual’s responsibility without thinking of the effects on our whole society.  It would cause a two-tiered system which, as medicine becomes ever more costly, shouldn't exist.

Q:  I think some Americans worry about health care moving towards a system resembling socialism.  How do you respond to these fears?

A:  Of course we already have it in the form of Medicare, don't we?  It's interesting that we provide finances for the care of all Americans over a certain age, whatever their financial status, but not for all Americans yet to reach that age.  Socialized medicine is OK after 65, but not before 65.  Weird.

Q: Having spent your career as a doctor, give us some final thoughts on what you believe we face in improving health care:

A:  [Like other industrialized countries] medical care should be available for everyone equally.  It is one of the "rights" in "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and it should be a guarantee that a caring society grants to its members.  But we have to come to the realization that there are many tricky turns -- financial, philosophical, and ethical -- in our road to getting there.

Thank you, Carl, for your unique perspective.  Healthcare is already universal, in the sense that it hits everyone as a need, a concern and a big expense.

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