10 Beauty Essentials While Travelling Abroad

I leave for my two weeks in Europe tomorrow and as always I have two dilemmas:
a. I am a skincare junkie who likes to prepare for every beauty emergency
b. I'm moving around a lot and only want to take my carry-on. (I need a make-up bag made from the same stuff those clown cars are made of.)

But while two weeks away in different climates is a challenge, its nothing compared to when I went away to India for a month (I was so prepared I had three types of natural disinfectants and even surgical masks for the more polluted cities I was in.... have I mentioned I'm a germaphobe?).

So, for any of you who also needs versatility coupled with simplicity, below is a list of beauty must-haves for travel...and all while fitting in a small transparent make-up case and following the parameters of what you can bring in-flight. Note: You can bring bottles 100ml and smaller, 10 pieces max. The sum of all contents in this sealed and clear bag can only add up to 1 litre.


10 Beauty Essentials Abroad

1. A multi-purpose cleanser: Depending on where you are going and its climate, you will need to choose between a gel and a milk. For drier environments, a light cleansing milk will keep your skin hydrated and can often also act as an eye make-up remover - more humid environments call for a gel. When I went to Mexico, I packed our Organic Spearmint face and body wash and used it for my face, body and even hair. This little gem saved me packing three items.

2. A hydrating serum: If you don't think a serum is important, you're wrong. Since serums have a water-like consistency, they are perfect for keeping your skin moist. This is especially restorative after the drying flight. I always pack a soothing serum as it is gentle enough to double as an eye gel.

3. Oil: My family loves oil. Just ask my mother - she not only oils her face, body and scalp, she puts oil up her nose and drops it in her ears. She even sometimes she puts it in her eyes as she swear its has improved her eye sight. Oil lubricates your tissues and keeps your skin and body clean. I usually bring a face oil and use it for all over as its packaged in the right sized container. Oil is also essential because you can make your moisturizer heavier with by putting a pump or two of oil into it and save you from having to guess what the weather fluctuations will be like.

4. A cooling lotion: This is what you will use to moisturize. But its very important to take a cooling, calming product with you as it will help soothe your skin after burns or during an eczema flare ups that may occur (often this happens after long flights). If the weather is too dry, simply add your oil to it to give it more body.

5. A clay mask: The last thing you need to deal with when visiting Japan is a pimple the size of Mount Fujiyama. So, to aid this, pack a small sample-sized pot of clay mask. It will save you in ways you never dreamed of. I have used my clay mask on bug bites to suck out the itchy toxins as well as on rashes. Its definitely a life-saver.

6. A gelled paper mask: After any long flight I immediately apply our Pure + Simple Skin restoration mask. It comes as a paper which has been soaked in collagen, elastin and many other rejuvenating goodies. And while its a once-use only, its easy to pack as its as slim as an envelope. I have also used other masks like this from Germany, but instead of paper it can come in the form of a gel pad. While these are also very healing for your skin, they are wicked expensive.

7. Sun block: This goes without saying. I don't leave the house without sun block -- I actually carry a small bottle of it in my purse just in case. Coming from a girl obsessed with her pigmentation, I know how important it is to protect. But a natural sunblock again has its surprising benefits. A former employee of ours actually used it while hiking through the mountains on his skin rash on his groin. The rash was coming from his clothes chaffing at his skin met with the dampness of the environment (there were floods). The healing properties of zinc in a natural block not only acts as a protective layer, but also as an anti-inflammatory.

8. A tongue scraper: I scrape my tongue with a tongue scraper every morning. But if you are afraid of hassle at security, you can also get a plastic one or one which is made from something which looks like card board. Tongue diagnosis is a large part of assessment according to Eastern medicine (I'm actually reading a book right now on tongue diagnosis). A yellowish coating can indicate excess acid while a white coating can indicate toxicity and possible internal fungus. So, scraping off any crud which is on your tongue in the morning is a form of detoxification, and is a grooming practice I am religious about.

9. Tweezers: Nothing keeps you looking more grooms than well-kept eye brows. Packing tweezers will help you look and feel polished even if you are living out of your suitcase. When I was backpacking around Australia they were an emotional life-saver while staying in tree house hostels in the jungle.

10. An anti-bacterial hydrosol: Anyone who knows me knows I hate dirt, germs, bugs and bad smells. I know this seems pretty standard, but they can actually ruin my day. So I will always pack a bottle of Witch Hazel, Peppermint or Sage hydrosol. I spray my hands, body, and any part of a hotel room that I deem germy looking (Think shower heads etc). If you can't fit in a hydrosol bottle in your beauty travel pack, opt for a small dropper of oil of oregano. I have even taken this internally when travelling in places that make me fear parasites etc. A bactericide not only helps me keeps me feeling clean and safe but they also has posses a wonderful purifying smell which clear my head. If you are not travelling to a place where you are worried about hygiene, I still pack one of these hydrosols in case I want to disinfect surprise blemishes or cuts and scrapes.

Holistic Vanity Part One

"There's a part of me wants to do so much good for the world, and then there's that other part that just wants to buy sh!t," my friend Emma recently said to me. Emma, who is doing her masters, in social work is probably the most well-groomed, attractive social worker I ever met, and when she said this, I laughed because I feel exactly the same way.

One side of me wants to strive for higher consciousness, learn to be still, and give back to the community, while the other side of me is delighted by my new cream-coloured pumps and is quite happy to stuff my face with corn puffs while watching Project Runway. Perhaps this sums up the sentiment in our modern age. Maybe its the struggle of our generation? But whatever it is, I think so many of us see this dichotomy between having substance and being superficial, and are confused about the choices we are to make.

And looking for a balance between these two worlds also presents itself in my work. While we work so hard to promote (and believe) that beauty is not about impersonating celebrities but attained only through health and self-empowerment, there is a part of me that could obsess about myself in my bedroom full-length mirror forever... and, oh, I do.

I must confess I take a full inventory of my complexion every morning, taking stock of my black heads, broken capillaries and any dry patches. I monitor the progress of both my eye bags and jowls (which my girlfriends insist are a delusion - but you know how generous girlfriends can be) and run my finger over areas I am sure will one day have expression lines. I usually end with the daily examination of my pigmentation spot on my left cheek bone, which is the bane of my existence. When everything accounted for, I make note of my various plans of action based on the morning's assessment (maybe I should start using neck firming serum). Now while you may think I'm a complete narcissist, at least I'm honest.

But despite my vanity, my plans of action never include compromising my health. At the risk of sounding condescending (and as a former vegan, I am not unfamiliar with sounding this way), my belief system just doesn't include chemical medications, fillers or injections of any kind, or unnecessary surgeries. I also do not believe that any of our beauty ailments can truly be treated without examining the state of our mind, body and spirit.

As an Ayurvedic Practitioner, I attribute my pigmentation to high internal heat, my eye bags to kidney dysfunction and my onset of jowls to excess dampness. And I take a more holistic approach, misting my skin with organic rose hydrosol, decreasing my salt intake, and going to I am Yoga at least three times a week (my treasured neighbourhood hot yoga studio). I found that this approach worked also with curing my terrible and persistent acne, and if you can overcome the kind of acne I had with these health-focused principles, its something to spread around. I think in the Ayurvedic community, its the closest thing I am going to get to street cred.

But even though my skin is thankfully blemish-free, my journey to clearer skin also made way for my addition to alternative health treatments. I now employ a team of practitioners to keep me looking and feeling my best - bankrolling two acupuncturists, a colon therapist, an RMT, stress councillor as well as a psychoanalyst, an Ayurvedic doctor, and on occasion, a muscle tester. Its because of my habits that someone suggested I start a blog outlining what I found worked and didn't work to help others who are looking for the same marriage of health and gorgeousness.

This is my way of synchronizing our modern expectations with more positive values and hope that readers will find familiarity, humour and useful beauty information in my posts.