If you’re ANYWHERE on the East Coast these past weeks you’re most likely spending most of your waking hours dreaming of warmer temperatures and scouring the internet for escape routes to anyplace not blustering with freezing winds or blanketed by record snows. Even here in Florida, where I woke up to a windy 30 degree sunrise, we are in the middle of 48hrs of the coldest temperatures the state has felt in over 5 yrs.
It’s time for some thawing out travel for us all, and since I’ve been traveling almost non stop for 2 months I’m sharing my 7 best winter travel tips & tricks, skin saviors, and favorite travel-sized treasures with you today. Now you should have the perfect packing prescription to get you to that place in the sun, STAT!
Getting Organized: Packing in Pouches
A wise family member recently suggested I organize my purse in “pouches” or in a series of small bags to avoid the endless archeological dig for that lipstick or car key. This move has truly changed my life, or at least my days. Bagging in groups such as makeup, electronics and keys, jewelry, and hair accessories allows me to switch my handbags in a flash in the morning without going through the hassle of dumping, sorting, and ultimately forgetting something. When transitioning to this way of organizing, it’s even helpful to use slider lock ziplock bags. This way you can get used to where everything lives before switching to stronger more durable pouches.
Layer Your Looks
I use this same packing-in-packs approach when packing my suitcase. I like to travel with outfit choices and options for any mood or weather change, so I am prone to massively over packing. By packing in pouches, I can build an outfit place it in a large ziplock and include a small ziplock of the accessories I plan to pair with it. If I find myself short on zip-locks, I will pack in layers, layering each outfit complete with belt, scarf, or other accessories, and layer other outfits on top, so that when I arrive I can unpack allowing outfits to hang or remain together for easy effortless dressing while away. This has really cut down on my luggage weight, as it also helps me to choose jewelry, shoes, sunglasses, and purses that work with multiple outfits.
Healthy Selfie Styled Hair
When away from home or headed to some place other than a familiar city, I am doing my own hair. I love my blowouts (it’s my big indulgence) and since I have a lot of hair doing my own is a process that needs allotted time. I hate having to spend a ton of time in the bathroom when traveling as it cuts down on time exploring and enjoying my trip so I have heavily researched and tried out a zillion products that will cut down on primping time. As I have mentioned before I love love love the Oribe lines and their perfect travel sized version of all my favorite products. When out of the shower, take a dime size squirt of their Gold Lust serum and apply to ends to hydrate dryness and seal, protecting your hair against heat and hard water that might be following where you are. Try out their Grandiose Plumping Mousse for instant soft volume. It also speeds up drying time when you take the blow dryer to it. If you are in a humid be achy spot you can also take a small handful to dry hair later in the day to instantly add subtle waves and volume in a flash. When hair is dry, spray it with plenty of Oribe’s Dry Texturizing Spray. It will give you fast volume and life and act as a soft hold hair spray all in one spritz.
Skin Saviors & In Transit Treatments
Hydration Hydration Hydration has to be the most important element to maintain when it comes to your skin while traveling. Altitude, change in climate, recirculated and dry air, and lack of sleep due to jet lag or time changes all can reek serious havoc on our skin. And there is nothing worse than arriving in paradise only to wake up to the smell of a beachy breeze, and the sight of a blooming breakout. Obviously drinking lots of water from the morning of travel day onward throughout your trip is key (I like to start increasing my water intake the night prior in fact) but you’ll want to take some topical skin steps to up the ante.
I have almost every product from Amore Pacific’s Moisture Bound line and think they are the most effective brand out there when it comes to total immediate skin hydration and health. But my favorite travel product of theirs is not only stunningly effective but shockingly affordable. At $35 their Skin Energy Mist is like spritzing stolen water from the fountain of youth on your face. I use it when traveling in place of a toner, immediately after cleansing, and carry it with me all day using it as needed when my skin starts to feel a bit dry. Like sunblock, we all tend to forget that reapplication throughout the day is key to protecting our skin. This hydrating mist is wonderful because with one to two spritz your entire face is instantly rejuvenated, glowing, and happy. It is also can be amply sprayed over makeup.
When flying, I rely on Kate Somerville’s DermaQuench Liquid Lift foaming spray. It is extremely powerful at fighting off free radicals and sealing the skin with water and anti aging properties for hours upon hours. Before takeoff and 30 minutes before landing I will use this miracle (and now cult) product as well as before bed while away to fight fine lines and dryness. When on a long flight, or the morning after a vacation night of one too many wines, the worst is waking up with puffiness and eye bags. I should literally buy stock in Klorane for the amount of soothing eye contour patches I purchase each month. Place them on before you fall asleep on board a long flight and awake looking refreshed and wide eyed or stick them on in the morning after cleansing and moisturizing for 20 minutes, chug that water, and any signs of the night before are literally erased. If I’ve had a long day or not a lot of sleep, I will even put them on while getting ready to go out. Even 15 min does wonders, and they act as amazing under eye pads while you do your eye makeup and lashes. Just peel off before applying primer, foundation, and concealer.
No Makeup Makeup
When it comes to travel days I dread the look of caking and dry makeup, that I know while result in clogging my pores, but opting for no makeup is not an option you want to choose once you pass 21. Sorry ladies. But with the birth of BB and CC creams, tinted moisturizers, and serum infused non cosmogenic foundations (non clogging) achieving a no makeup makeup look is quick and simple and stunning kind to your skin. I love using my Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream duo for face and eyes. This duo provides broad spectrum protection with an SPF 35 for face and 15 for under the eyes. It has a shocking light and silky feel, with a full coverage appeal and working to brighten skin with daily use. To prime my skin for this light layer of good-for-the-face makeup, and then to set the makeup and pop my eyes, I rely on my increasingly favorite brand, Too Faced for some serious essentials. Their Hangover Rx Primer is infused with coconut water and probiotics that instantly nourish and brighten the skin, while evening out dry spots and fine lines. I wear it every day without fail. To set my foundation or BB cream, Too Faced Primed and Poreless Powder is pure magic: stops shine and erases pores for a flawless and cakeless look. I finish my look with the best mascara of all time, their Better Than Sex black mascara. The barebones basic essentials for a happy in flight and after flight face.
Goodbye to Gut-Wrenching Woes
Oh the places you’ll go, the things you’ll eat, and the price you will pay! I have a very sensitive stomach and have spent years at odds with my gut’s distaste for travel and change. That is until I really concentrated on researching and taking care of my stomach when away from my own fridge. Waking up each morning to a glass of hot water and lemon is the perfect way to easily realign and re-alkaline your system, but when it comes to meal time, most of use need help to tackle exotic foods and unfamiliar tastes, ingredients, or food combinations. 10-15 minutes before every meal I take a Garden of Life Raw Enzymes for Women digestive enzyme capsule. This are raw, vegan, overtime enzymes that include potent probiotics to easy any discomfort or irregularity and cut down massively on gas and bloating from long flights and time change. They are gentle enough to work with your body and also contain added vitamins and minerals that will help aid in fighting sluggishness and in increasing your energy. Taking digestive enzymes and probiotics will also help your skin, and fight any facial blemishes that can pop up while on a vacation diet…
The Power of SMELLggestion
Travel size spritz bottles and roller balls of my favorite scents are essential items in my carry on liquid case. A quick spray or roll of a familiar aroma can change your mood instantly, allowing you to relax if you are a nervous flyer, or simply setting a better tone while in a crammed airport, customs line, or when arriving in a new unfamiliar place. I love every scent by Jo Malone and Tocca and find they aren’t too overpowering to spray little at your seat or in your hotel room.
