tréStiQue Is The Ultimate Travel Beauty Line

For all you makeup mavens on the go, there's finally an entire travel-ready line of makeup to suit your needs. tréStiQue is a newly launching line that is all about simplicity and portability. And as someone who is a serial over-packer of beauty products (hey, you never know which lipstick shade, formula, and finish you're going to want to wear at any given hour), I fully appreciate travel-sized options. But with most travel-sized beauty products, the size is reduced, but the shape is still the same. Which means beauty packing is still an awkward jigsaw puzzle where the pieces will never quite fit into a streamlined makeup bag. And don't get me started on the fact that brushes still need to fit somewhere, too.

tréStiQue solves the jigsaw issue by having every single product in stick or crayon form. Yes, their tinted moisturizer, blush, bronzer, concealer, and eye and lip products are all convenient, twist-up pencils. And although there are other brands with these types of products already in a convenient, twist-up form, tréStiQue went ahead and solved that little brushes conundrum as well.

Known as TréSwitch Tools, every product comes with a tool on the opposite end to help with application whether it's a brush, a sponge, a balm, or even blotting papers. And because there's the option to refill or switch out the type of tool, a full face of makeup can be applied and blended with only six or seven sticks. But while this certainly sounds convenient, how do the products actually perform?

Face

From left: Tint, Moisturize & Blend Face Stick in Paradise Island Beige swatched and blended ($34); Color & Contour Cheek Stick in Bora Bora Coral swatched and blended ($34)

The Tint, Moisturize & Blend Face Stick does exactly as the name implies. It offers very sheer coverage, has a comfortable and lightweight gel-cream formula, and blends easily. This can be built up for light to medium coverage, but as someone with oily skin, I found the more I layered, the more oily I became earlier in the day. The sponge on the end is soft and blends the makeup well, and I love the convenience of not having to use my fingers or a separate tool to blend. However, because it is in the product instead of standing alone, I am wary of using it wet or washing it. Even with the cap off, I worry that mold could easily grow inside where part of the sponge is surrounded by plastic. So, I'm glad blotting papers are also offered as an add-on to this crayon.

The Color & Contour Cheek Stick in Bora Bora Coral was definitely my favorite of the bunch. I love a good cream blush in stick form, and this one did not disappoint. The color was pigmented enough that it did not blend away and cause me to have to layer it, but not too pigmented that I had to spend an hour blending. It is extremely comfortable and lightweight on the skin, and the color itself is gorgeous. The brush tool on the end is dense with a slight angled cut, and blended the product well. And with this, I don't feel as worried about washing it as I do with the sponge, because as long as the synthetic bristles point downward during cleaning, there should not be any water retention in the ferrule.

Lips & Eyes

From left: Matte Color & Shiny Balm Lip Crayon in Belize Bordeaux and Chile Red ($28 each); Color & Smudge Shadow Crayon in Tibetan Ivory and Aspen Pine ($26 each)

Although I can't say that the Matte Lip Crayons are anything special, they are good. The pigmentation is definitely there (although it needs to be built up), and the crayons are non-drying and comfortable. I found that the lipstick wore off somewhat easily unless it was blotted and another layer applied on top. When I did this, though, it lasted all night. And can we just talk about Chile Red really quickly? Best summer red, or best summer red?

The Smudge Shadow Crayons were the only miss for me in this line. I always thought my eyelids were pretty smooth, but this product showed me otherwise. Although the colors are beautiful, the product was somewhat dry and seemed to bunch up over every little line or fold (regardless if I used a primer), accentuating the texture of my lids, and creating a sort of pebbled effect where the color did not appear uniform across my lid. However, these build and blend well, and the staying power is decent considering I have oily eyelids. Without a primer, these lasted about three hours before creasing, and with a primer, about seven. Regardless of whether I used a primer, though, I had to use an oil-based makeup remover to wash these off my lids.

Currently, each product has a limited variety of colors. The tinted moisturizer, lipstick, and shadow crayons each have six colors, and the rest of the products have three or fewer. I won't fault this for a new company (even though I would love to see more color options in the future), as tréStiQue offers a wide range of product types, and each with its own attachable tool(s), to boot. Everything you need for a full face of makeup (besides powder, highlight, and mascara) is available. And honestly, it was nice to see that all of the products fit so easily into a smaller makeup bag than what I'm used to carrying.

tréStiQue launches May 28, but you can sign up now for early access at trestique.com.

Images: Miki Hayes