Bring a Piece of Home with You

With holidays and time off just around the corner, for some of us, it means getting ready for travel and adventure! I asked five of my friends, Kim, Suzie, Chantal, Kristan, and Leslie to tell me what things they need to have with them when they travel. I added my own creature comforts to the list.

Beauty Supplies

Kim swears by the Moisture Bound Sleeping Recovery Mask. I never would have thought to travel with a facial mask, but Kim gives a compelling argument. She takes advantage of the travel time by applying the mask during the flight and then wipes it off just before the plane is about to land. She says the mask leaves her skin glowing and hydrated, and she arrives at her destination looking all rested and refreshed. Between you and me, I’ve never seen Kim “look tired,” in fact, she has some of the most beautiful, dewy skin I’ve ever seen. I can only imagine how amazing she looks after a long day of travelling.

One of my beauty “loves” for travelling is an all-in-one blush, lip, and eye stick. The one I’m using right now is Beauty Counter‘s Color Pinch Cream Blusher in Hibiscus. This cream stick goes on very smooth and doesn’t dry out your skin, and when I use it on my lips, it glides very easily; I don’t use it on my eyes. While this stick is free of harmful chemicals, to me, it is a bit pricey so I probably won’t buy it again. I also have some from Julep that go on creamy with a powdery finish. Some have a shimmer to them and you can also use them as highlighters. I really like the concept of all-in-one products. Hopefully, it means fewer items in my makeup bag and less time getting ready. I can’t confirm or deny this last statement.

When I recently decided to carry a small packet of baby wipes on me, I thought to myself, how come no one told me about these. And then almost immediately after, I thought, what else are my mom friends hiding from me? These are just so easy to carry and such a refreshing treat, especially on those long-haul travel days. I use the Seventh Generation Free and Clear Baby Wipes. Like the name implies, they’re free and clear of alcohol and fragrances. I call this a “Canadian Shower.” (I’m Canadian so I can say that, right?)

Chantal has curly hair and she wrote me saying that she likes having her own tried-and-true hair products when she travels because her hair is crazy (her words, not mine.) I recently experienced the horrors of traveling without my hair products to Vegas. The dry climate wreaked havoc on my hair and I had to resort to borrowing Karl’s beard oil to try to tame flyaways!!!! While it wasn’t all bad because I love the smell of the beard oil, it certainly wasn’t meant for your head. Of course, there are no guarantees that your favorite hair care products will work the same way in different climates, but I’d rather try a hair product I know and love than use something meant for another body part on my head. Good recommendation, sis!

Clothing

Again, because of her crazy hair, Chantal likes to bring a hat. I also like hats because they can help keep you warm in cold climates, or for those of us that run cold all the time, they keep you warm, period. They also protect you from the sun, keep your hair in place, and can reflect your own personal style. Hats are always in, in my book.

Chantal makes sure she has clothes to layer to ensure she isn’t cold. Again, another great suggestion. In that same vein, Kristan likes to bring fuzzy socks or slippers because her feet are always cold. Plus, as she pointed out to me, sometimes you just don’t want to walk barefoot in surroundings that aren’t your own. Good point!

Kristan always carries a bathing suit with her just in case there’s an opportunity to be in water. I do too. Water babies unite!

Almost all of the girls mentioned a scarf. I’m a huge fan. Why you ask? Suzie said it perfectly. Scarves double up as a wrap. You can wrap it over you like a blanket when you travel on the plane as well as when you go out on the town. Kristan added that you can use it as a sun shield, a picnic blanket, a sarong, a hand towel. I admit I hadn’t thought of the hand towel idea before, but why not?

Kristan carries a scarf that’s washable and isn’t very expensive. This way if it gets ruined or she leaves it behind, she won’t be too upset. So far, knock on wood, this hasn’t happened. She’s been using the same scarf for more than 10 years. Wow! Unfortunately, on her recent travels, she forgot to bring it and really missed it. To me, that’s just an opportunity to buy a new scarf...and where were you, Kristan? Portugal? Latvia? Sweden? If I see a scarf that I like while travelling, I’ll actually buy it as a souvenir of the trip.

Suzie said she always travels with a long skirt especially when travelling in the middle of nowhere. A long skirt can help keep you modest if you find yourself in an awkward bathroom situation or off the beaten track. No public bathrooms? Now that’s a true adventure!

Entertainment

Kristan recommends bringing something to read/work on. Some people still like to carry paperback books, but it seems for most people, reading is done electronically. This saves both space and weight. Kristan also likes to bring crossword, logic, or word search puzzles with her to keep her mind engaged when she doesn’t feel like reading. If I’m travelling to a country that speaks a different language, I also like to have language books and games on my phone or tablet. I’ll use the flying time to learn key phrases and vocab.

For those writers among us, don’t forget your notepad or journal and something to write with. Of course, if you do forget, Kristan has the perfect solution. She admits that finding “pretty papers and gorgeous inks” are usually her first souvenirs of any trip.

Kim will tell you not to forget to download your movies to your iPad/Tablet. She doesn't count on the airlines to have the shows that she’ll want to watch on a trip, so going prepared means she’s sure to be entertained. For her, it makes a long flight go by faster, especially flights to Singapore, Hong Kong, and other eastern Asian countries.

Kim and I are on the same page with this one. Noise cancelling earbuds! This is the one thing, without a doubt, that Kim must have on a trip. They block out all the background noises and make airplane travel much more comfortable, especially if you are sitting near loud talkers or crying babies.

Food

If you have food sensitivities or allergies, then travelling with snacks is a no-brainer. It means you’ll have something on hand if there are travel delays or you can’t find a grocery store nearby. Plus, more times than not, I’m often hungry when it isn’t mealtime or others in the group aren’t hungry. I can just hear Chantal saying “ditto.” My go-to travel snacks are protein bars.

I think Suzie and Kim shouted this at me in unison—Cin Cin Chewy Ginger Candies. Suzie told me how these candies came in handy when she travelled to India. She said the different sounds, sights, and smells were overwhelming at times and the ginger chews kept the nausea at bay. These are also good on a plane for dealing with air sickness.

Tea often accompanies Kristan on her escapades. She stashes bagged tea and sachets of tea that she makes at home in her suitcase. She also added that if she has space, she’ll bring an enormous mug with which to enjoy the tea.

Ok, if Kristan can say tea, can I say coffee? Yes, I’ve travelled with my little Pixie Nespresso coffee maker on road trips. I love my home away from home in Dauphin, Manitoba, and having a Nespresso while watching the sunrise on the prairies is one of my favorite things.

Other

Leslie had a good suggestion of bringing a water bottle. Suzie said the same thing. This way you can always have water on hand to keep hydrated.

Fem products! Oh yeah...nothing more to say here.

I always carry a microfiber towel in my suitcase now. This saves me from using a hair dryer because it speeds up drying time. On those mornings when I wash my hair, I'll use this towel to remove most of the moisture from my hair and then I let it air dry while I enjoy my morning coffee. Getting ready fast is especially important to me if I’m on a guys trip. Most of my male friends get ready quickly so I don't want to be the “last man standing.”

I thought everyone knew about packing cubes. These revolutionized my life. Being able to organize my clothing and have them in separate portable bags makes it easy to find items without having to turn out my suitcase. I especially find these help with smaller items like underwear and socks. Kim recently discovered these and can't believe she hadn't heard about them before. Sorry, Kim!

Well, that's it for now. Feel free to share your suggestions in the comments below. Safe travels, everyone!