When you travel a lot, like me, you learn to travel light. Frequent flyers follow one cardinal rule: Lay out everything you think you need on the bed, AND THEN PUT HALF OF IT BACK. Be ruthless. The ultimate goal is to travel anywhere and everywhere with a carryon, and to wear every single item in your suitcase. If I come home from a trip with clothes I haven’t worn, it makes me deeply unhappy!
Make it a challenge. Keep your color scheme consistent so that you can mix up your pieces and create more looks with less. Add in accessories for a splash of color. And, when it comes to beauty, of course, collect minis and samples—that way you can always travel light.
I just got back from an incredible trip to the Banyan Tree Hotels in Bangkok, Koh Samui and Phuket . On the way back, we stopped in Doha, Qatar . (That’s another story, and I’ll share that another time!) I wasn’t sure what I’d need in Qatar. So I dragged a regular-size suitcase around the world instead of a carry-on, and I deeply regretted it!
But what if you arrive at your destination and realize you’ve left something essential behind? Then it’s time to get clever.
I visited with seasoned traveler Joshua Onysko, founder and CEO of Pangea Organics, before he headed to the South of France to tour the lavender fields where Pangea organic lavender is grown, and the largest organic rose farm in Egypt, where Pangea’s rose oil is distilled within four hours after the blooms are harvested. Nice work, Joshua!
When he’s on the road, Joshua relies on what he calls “Cosmetic Cocktailing”: the art of mixing organic beauty products together in order to get more out of less. “I will not leave my house without Pangea Balancing Oil and Lip Balm,” he says. “With those two products, I can do everything except shower!” And how, exactly, does that work? “I blend the balancing oil with the lip balm for an eye cream if I run out.” Another tip? “I blend the oil with the face cream, for uber-hydration.” If you prefer something more traditional, look for Pangea Organics 30-Day Organic Kit with cleanser, toner, moisturizer and mask. $40.
Here are some extra tips on how to pinch-hit one thing in your cosmetic bag for another:
Forget your foundation? Mix a bit of face powder in with your moisturizer
No shaving cream for your legs? Try hair conditioner
Desperate for hair gel? Run a tiny bit of shaving cream through your hair
No blush? Dab a bit of lipstick on your cheeks
Lose your lipstick? Mix blush into lip balm in your palm (if you use natural products, you don’t need to worry about synthetic dyes and fragrances absorbing into your lips)
Frizzy hair? Take a tiny dab of hand cream, pat it through your hair, pull your hair back, twist it, release it, and you’re frizz-free!
Happy travels! –Rona