Winter holidays have arrived and some of you will be packing and getting everything ready for a great vacation abroad! Others may be leaving the country for tertiary studies. In any case, I've got you covered luggage/flight wise.
The art of packing is hard to master, but it is manageable, with a little help.
Firstly, though, you should already know what you are going to wear for the trip.
DO NOT
Wear heels. Your feet will swell during the trip, and it will be painful to walk afterwards if you have heels on. Keep it simple, such as ballet flats (keeps your toes happy and warm too).
Wear a tracksuit, or sweats. Comfort is key, but I am a firm believer in making some effort in dressing up.
Wear anything that will take up too much space, or are a source of potential embarassment: tight dresses (dresses in general too), coats, full skirts, mini skirts etc. Avoid jeans - they can be uncomfortable after a few hours, especially skinny jeans, which can leave your legs numb.
Wear tons of make-up. Stick to moisturiser and a tinted balm/lip gloss. My favourite products are Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturing Lotion and Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Colour Balm. You could always bring eye cream too.
DO
Bring socks, in case for some reason there aren't any.
Layer, so you are prepared for the airport (stuffy, hot), plane (cold!!), destination (cold/hot/pleasant). I would suggest leggings/trousers + cotton/jersey top + oversize sweater (rather than a coat, which can be bulky).
Bring mints. Toothbrush and toothpaste are usually provided in mini satchets.
Bring an eye mask too. It may help.
Bring a small make-up bag to freshen up before landing. This should contain some freshening or facial cleansing wipes (if you can get your hands on them), mascara, concealer, lip tint, a hairbrush, and some elastic bands - its best to tie up hair into a neat, clean ponytail or braid before getting on the plane and getting off.
Bring a good,sturdy bag or hand luggage, with your essentials. Make sure you have sufficient reading material, your laptop, kindle, etc. Don't overpack, and make sure you know the dimensions of your hand luggage to avoid any messy situations.
Here are standard requirements (they may have changed though):
Hand luggage should be no more than 56cm long x 45cm wide x 25cm deep in size
Liquids must be contained in a single, transparent, re-sealable plastic bag (about the size of a small freezer bag) - 20cm x 20cm.
The definition of liquids includes:
- All drinks including water, soup, syrups, creams, lotions, oils, perfumes, mascara etc.
- Sprays and pressurised containers including, shaving foam and spray deodorant
- Pastes including, toothpastes and gels.
And make sure that all sharp items (tweezers, scissors etc) are in your checked in luggage (not hand luggage!!!)
Bring neosporin or any anti bacterial lotion to dab near your nose - in such a confined space, germs are going to spread. (This tip was from Style A to Zoe, one of my favourite style books ever).
Buy classy luggage - black is best. Don't tie on icky decorations that you think will help you on getting your luggage back on arrival - differentiate your luggage with a tag that stands out (but is still discreet and appropriately sized).
Be extremely careful concerning your liquid/cream products, cosmetic or otherwise. Keep them separately, in a resealable plastic bag, and make sure the amount you carry is as small as possible - you can always buy more of the product later. Make sure that your make-up and make-up bag do not come into contact with clothes.
Your research. You need to know where you are going, the temperature/climate of that region, what to wear and what not to wear. With that in mind....
Start packing!
Do make sure all your clothes are clean and freshly washed, first of all. Then pack them with the heaviest items at the bottom, and to save space, layer them flat with as few folds as possible (this applies to both heavy and light, delicate clothing).
Once you've reached the light/delicate stage, examine if anything needs to be wrapped first (plastic or tissue), and as a rule turn everything inside out
Concerning shoes, place them at the bottom before the clothes go in. You won't risk anything delicate catching in the heels of the shoe that way. Stuff the shoes with socks or fabric to preserve their shape, and put them in cloth bags (not plastic,as they tear, and not in boxes, as they add weight stupidly).
Make sure your case is not overpacked - if you find yourself squeezing things in, stop. Keep it light! You are probably going to buy more stuff later on, you don't want to have problems returning home with overweight luggage.
That said, ALWAYS WEIGH LUGGAGE before leaving the house.
Have a great trip, a great week and weekend
xoxo
Alex
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