Giorgio Armani Beauty Neo Nude Fusion Powder

My dedication to liquid foundation was, until recently, unwavering. I bought my first bottle of the stuff in university and never looked back. But one broken foundation bottle in hastily packed duffle bag a few years ago left me searching for a good travel alternative. It took some research, but I’ve finally found that alternative Armani Beauty’s Neo Nude Fusion Powder.

What it is: The brand calls it a finishing powder with the practicality of a compact and the luminosity of a liquid foundation, giving you the best of both worlds on-the-go. Essentially, it’s an easy-to-pack-when-traveling powder that gives you nearly the same coverage your regular liquid foundation would. If you travel carry-on only, this means no fussing with fitting your foundation into a regulation-sized plastic ziploc bag pre-flight.

What to do with it: Neo Nude Fusion Powder is designed to give full coverage and a no-make-up make-up effect at once. That means that pre-application preparation is minimal. Just cleanse and moisturise your skin, then apply a primer (if you use one) before using the brush provided or your own kabuki brush to apply the powder all over your face. I’ve found that one swipe over most of my face, with a bit extra around my hairline, temples, and jawline, is all I really need to achieve full coverage.

What it costs: $68 for 3.5 g

Why it’s fabulous: It’s the effortlessness of it that made me fall for Neo Nude Fusion Powder. The more years pass, the more quick cross-country trips I take for work. Work travel is never fun or glamourous. Meetings run long. Taxis arrive late. I pack as little as possible to avoid accidents and breakage, which inevitably happen when you’re sprinting, in heels, to catch a plane. But how can I sacrifice my beloved foundation? In the past, I would buy a cheap back-up bottle for work trips. The problem was, I never felt great about the colour or coverage, which undermined my confidence in meetings. Armani’s Neo Nude Fusion Powder has simplified my work trips permanently. I don’t need to pack foundation or sacrifice looking what I think is my best. For me, it’s a win-win.