Travel Tips from a Travel Pro & A Giveaway!!!

By Caitlin Parke
On Aug 21, 2013

This post appears in the All-Natural Style Secrets campaign.

**GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED**

I’m leaving for Miami later this week so I figured it’s a proper time for this post. Woop!

If you’ve followed along with this blog for a while now, you know that, for several years, I lived out of a suitcase traveling the country as a Road Warrior for my job. When I say traveling, I mean literally every Monday morning I boarded a flight to a far-off destination and returned ‘home’ Thursday night. That’s 50-ish weeks out of a year (removing some of the holiday weeks we didn’t need to travel). If you’re adding up the math in your head right now, you’re probably realizing that yes – I spent more nights in a hotel bed than my own.

Luckily, I escaped that lifestyle several years ago, and now have time to pursue personal interests, outside of work, such as crossfit and this-here blog. My extensive travel experience, however, left me as a self-proclaimed travel pro.

Throughout the years, I gathered a number of travel tips and secrets that I’m now sharing with you! Double woop!! Pack your suitcase folks, set up your out of office and let’s go jet-setting with these travel tips!!

<< immediately off the plane in Indy. no filter. >>

Tip #1 (The most important): Carry a beauty toolkit.

Let’s be real – traveling is gross. Long flights and crowded subway trains leave us feeling icky and germ phobic – regardless of our natural tendencies. To battle the feelings of yuck, I learned to carry an essential ‘beauty’ toolkit. To any men out there, you can modify the toolkit to your personal preferences, but the concepts are the same (Purel, Axe body spray and some mints, anyone?). To all the women, here’s what I recommend carrying — and what can normally be found in my travel bag!

Yes to Cucumbers Travel Towelettes – Whether cleansing my face, removing makeup or quickly wiping off my hands, these towelettes are my go-to for any travel occasion. Hypoallergenic and paraben free, they make me feel clean and refreshed no matter if I’m jet-setting to the city streets of NYC or off on some country roads in South Carolina.
Seventh Generation Skin Serum – My skin gets really dry when I’m on long flights or the subway so I always like to carry some sort of serum / lotion with me, especially for my face. This is the lightest and most natural skin serum I’ve come across to date! The serum is hypoallergenic and free of parabens, phthalates and synthetic fragrances so I feel moisturized, but not bogged down by unnatural products, which is an especially great feeling while traveling. (Note: You only need about 1-2 squirts to cover your entire face!) The serum contains jojoba oil, yet it feels so light on your skin. (Jojoba is actually one of the lighter natural oils and has been a part of my beauty routine for years.) Due to the acai and passion flower oils, it also smells amazing, which is so refreshing when I’m cramped up next to some peeps I don’t know in the middle seat on the plane. (Disclosure: I received a free sample of this product from Lucky and Seventh Generation for use in connection with this blog). All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
Salon Grafix Invisible Dry Shampoo – Ladies. The travel gods answered with this one. When unfortunate travel situations (10+ hour flights, delays, cancellations, overnight bus trips?) leave us without running water, we need miracles. Dry shampoo is our miracle! A quick spray around my head removes visible oil and leaves a refreshing fragrance that empowers me to tackle any and all travel obstacles. Watch out TSA!
Essential Oil (any brand, any smell) – I use Aura Cacia Lavender Essential Oil. When you’re traveling and smelling things that are just, plainly, unidentifiable, it is essential to carry essential oil. Get it A few quick dabs on your wrists or your neck offer a calming and soothing relief even if you’re in the middle of travel chaos.

Tip #2: Book your flight on a Tuesday.

(This tip is actually from my mother.) But, it works!! I saved $60 on my flight to Miami by just buying it on a Tuesday.

Tip #3: Most hotels will let you check in early.

When I took that crazy a$$ trip to Chicago a couple of weeks ago, I checked into my hotel at 6:30AM. 6:30AM!! It was awesome. Not only did I get to shower after an overnight bus ride and before the conference, but I also used my hotel room for a full 24-hours. I definitely got my money’s worth!

Even if hotels do not have rooms available, they will allow you to check your bag, which is very helpful when you get to your destination early and want to explore the sights and sounds.

**Did someone mention a Giveaway??!**

Ah yes, I did!

You can win your own version of My Essential, Awesome, and Can’t Live without It Travel Beauty Toolkit for free (courtesy of me)!!!

All you have to do is (1) comment on this post below with your favorite all-natural, travel beauty item OR your favorite travel tip.

AND

(2) You can win 5 EXTRA entries to the giveaway (quintuple your chances of winning!!) by tweeting your favorite all-natural travel beauty tip. Include me in your tweet (@crossroadsheart) and USE THE HASHTAG #AllNaturalStyleSecrets.

You must CC me and use the hashtag to be entered into the giveaway! Let’s get creative!

I will choose one winner, right here on my blog, on Monday August 26^th at 8:00AM. You have, until then, to enter! I will accept only one entry via comment below. I will accept as many tweets as you want to tweet! (5 entries for each tweet! Just remember to include me (@crossroadsheart) and use the hashtag #AllNaturalStyleSecrets!)