Blog — Trip Styler
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Travel Trends :: Cases, Kits & Bags

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travel trends bags, cases and kits You probably don't even know you need---okay want---these little travel helpers, but these smart looking and intelligent cases, kits and bags will make you wonder how you lived without them!

{For our third Travel Beauty Month contest, win some fab travel-sized Tarte make-up by engaging with our Facebook group.  Details Here. Contest ends end-of-day tomorrow!}

Cases, Kits & Bags Little Medic Kit The Little Medic Kit is big enough to help with booboos and small enough to fit in your suitcase. This 32-piece travel first aid kit measures just under 4" high/wide and just under 2" thick, and includes assorted size band-aids, sterile pads, tape and antiseptic wipes. Find it online for $10.

Everywhere Global Bag I can't count the amount of times I've gone somewhere and come home with an extra bag, the collection under my bed is getting ridiculous! That's why I love the Everywhere Bag because it starts mini and ends big. Just throw the folded and zipped pouch in your suitcase. If you over-shop, no worries, it expands into a 24" X 15.25" X 8" zipped bag that can be gate-checked! Find it online for $42.

Zip Case This clear, waterproof, vinyl case is meant to replace the easily tearing zip-lock bags you use when stowing your toiletries in your carry-on. This durable bag will also save you---and the environment---from buying stock in zip-locks (SC Johnson). Find it online for $8.

Wet Suit Bag This is not a bag for the wetsuit you wore surfing, but rather  a mini, specially treated, anti-mildew pouch for your wet bathing suit. Perfect for when you just can't say goodbye to 'Aruba' and have to take one more ocean dip before flying home. We've all been there. Find it online for $18.

Wine Skin I covered wine transport options like this a few months ago while doing a Travel and Wine Transport post, but this wine skin is cheaper and more compact!  Win, win. These bubble wrap-enforced plastic skins with sticky seals are only meant for one-time use, but unless you've got an overly aggressive baggage handler, I think you can get away with multi-use!  Find it online for $9.85, two per package.

*all prices quoted in USD.

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Celebrate Today ~ Disneyland Tips & Tricks

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disneyland tips and tricks[trip style = sun + family] {more pics below}

Celebrate Today On a recent trip to Newport and Laguna California, going to Disneyland wasn't part of the plan, but when I realized it was only 20 mins from Newport, my husband and I thought we'd revert to our inner child for the day. When our GPS instructed us to pull up to one of the many parking lots, we were greeted by a big sign exclaiming "Celebrate Today." Yes indeed, we would celebrate today, how apropos since that just so happens to be the mantra of my EARLY 30s!

{For our third Travel Beauty Month contest, win some fab travel-sized Tarte make-up by engaging with our Facebook group.  Details Here. Contest ends this friday.}

Two Kids in Adult Bodies We only had a day, so we strapped on our backpacks, wore comfy clothes and runners, and conquered the park like two kids in adult bodies. As an adult, your experience at Disneyland is different: you think about best practices for conquering the parks, download the best Disney apps for ultimate efficiency and ask your social network about their best tips and tricks.  In other words, you don't just goand eat breakfast with Mickey like you did when you were a kid. You're grown up now, which means you plan then go, starting at Disneyland and strategically ending at California Adventure, so you can relax with a glass of California wine!

Disneyland Strategies

  • Time of Year
    • Try to go in low or shoulder season (fall and winter).
  • Parking
    • Disney's lots are plentiful and massive, take a pic of your lot and the aisle/row, so you don't forget your car's locale.
  • Best Practices
    • Go early, take breaks, stay late (this is if you only have 24 hours, but if you're there for a multi-day trip, many of the same tips and tricks apply, except for your breaks involve going back to your hotel and chilling).
  • Rides
    • Use the early/late philosophy. In other words, go to the most popular rides early morn (opening - 9.15ish), and later at night (8 - close) especially during shows, that's when you'll encounter the smallest lines.
    • People say to hit the rides during the afternoon parade. Note that in high season at least, rides were still not very empty at this time.
    • If you get motion sick, or just want to give your brain a rest, break up the big/fast rides with rest, refueling and main street browsing.
    • The Fast Pass is your friend. Use it to get into the popular rides!
    • If you're there as a small adult group or duo, using Single Riders saves HOURS.  Follow signs closely, you enter most rides with Single Rider access via the exit! For example, there were 2 -3 hour lines for Splash Mountain and Indiana, and doing Single Riders we got on the rides within 5-10 mins!
    • For rides that post pics like Splash Mountain, if you don't want to buy the picture, take a picture of the picture. See mine below, it's not like I'll frame it, but at least I have the memory...
    • The busiest Disney rides are still Indiana, Splash Mountain & Autopia.
    • Don't forget about the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney classics!
  • Day-of
    • You can bring in a modest amount of your own drinks and food. Do this, it's helpful to have water and an energy bar when you're spaced out from space mountain while waiting in a 45-min line for the nostalgic Autopia ride!
  • World of Colour
    • California Adventure's newest light show (think Vegas' Bellagio fountains meet an Under the Sea Calypso) World of Colour only has good viewing if you secure a Fast Pass to one of their three nightly shows. As soon as the parks open, get one at the Grizzly River Rafting ride, or, if it's 8pm and you realize you don't have a pass, buy a picnic at the Sonoma Terrace and your Fast Pass is included!

Eating & Drinking

  • Make reservations at restaurants like
  • Adult Bevs
    • Disney doesn't serve alcohol but California Adventure does!
  • Healthy Eating
    • There are healthy options like pickles, fruit and salad, but most of the food at the parks are deeply, deeply fried!  At the end of the day, you end up feeling fairly deep fried yourself.  But really, when in Rome...
  • Recommendations
    • Breakfast - either eat your own, or have a Mickey-shaped waffle at the Carnation Cafe.
    • Snack - Dole Whip = heaven on earth at the Adventureland Tiki Bar, & Corn Dog (like you've never tasted before) in a cart at the end of Main Street!
    • Lunch - The Monte Cristo Sandwhich at the Blue Bayou (deep fried sandwich with cheese, turkey & ham which you slather raspberry jam onto) is semi-weird but out-of-this-world good. Giant portions. We were full with one shared serving.
    • Dinner - Wine Country Trattoria
  • Tips
    • Use lunch and dinner as your opportunity to sit down, chill out and enjoy. Both options I've recommended above have table service---you'll spend a lot, but the rest and retreat from the hustle and bustle is well worth it!
    • If you don't have any restaurant reservations (don't worry neither did we), but still want the full-on Disney culinary experience, go to the Blue Bayou around 3.30pm when lunch is clearing out and dinner is about to start at 4pm. But don't leave it too late, the Monte Cristo isn't on the dinner menu!
    • The to-go picnics offered by the Sonoma Terrace at Cali Adventure are pretty decent and include a World of Colour Fast Pass. They come in a branded World of Colour reusable shopping bag,  as if you needed another one of those.

Disneyland Essentials

  • Comfy clothes & shoes ~ trust me ~ opt for function over fashion
  • Sweater and/or scarf for at night, even in summer, it really cools down at night
  • Hat
  • Sunglasses
  • Sunscreen
  • Backpack or cross-body bag
  • Phone/Camera
  • Gravol (you might want it after the California Screamin' ride, I know I did...)
  • Small water bottle, healthy snacks (the only healthy thing you'll eat all day...)

Pictures disneyland magic kingdeom {The Magic Kingdom}

Splash Mountain {Splash Mountain picture of a picture. The girl behind me was hard-core, she'd been on the ride 25 times in two days---she rode a lot at night and as a Single Rider.}

Jungle Cruise {Fave Ride: Jungle Cruise}

{Us....at at Kodak picture spot}

Big Thunder {Classic Disney: Big Thunder Railway}

it's a small world {Love, Love, Love everything about the vintage, whimsical design of this ride}

glow cali adventure {Check out the Glow party at Cali Adventure---entertaining}

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Travel Apps :: Fairmont

fairmont iphone appThose who peruse this blog more often than not know my love of Fairmont is fairly obvious, as is my healthy obsession with travel apps. So you can imagine my excitement upon learning that Fairmont Hotels & Resorts just launched their first iphone app! Finally! {For our third Travel Beauty Month contest, win some fab travel-sized Tarte products by engaging with our Facebook group.  Details Here. Contest ends this friday.}

Providing access to booking, reservations, hotel information, packages, destination recommendations, social sharing and President's Club (Fairmont's loyalty program); this app effectively, but not overwhelmingly, provides an easy way to plan, book and research your upcoming trip on-the-go.

Fairmont describes the app as a "concierge in your pocket." I couldn't agree more.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts App Details

  • free
  • works with iPhone, iTouch and iPad.
  • according to their twitter account, Fairmont is looking into developing the app for Blackberry and Android which would be a smart move since I suspect most of their target market are Blackberry users. Just sayin'... For now, other smartphone users can peruse Fairmont's mobile site (which will display automatically when browsing Fairmont on a mobile)
  • uses GPS technology to learn about the area around your hotel (requires wifi or data plan)
  • upload photos you take to Fairmont's Everyone's an Original network
  • find restaurants, events, shopping and more
  • provides exact directions whether you’re walking or driving

Other Travel Apps we’ve Reviewed

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Travel Beauty Cheats

travel beauty secretsLook fabulous and feel better even when your journey involves lots of layovers and flights...

{For our third Travel Beauty Month contest, win some fab travel-sized Tarte products by engaging with our Facebook group.  Details Here. Contest ends this friday.}

Let's be honest. The rigors of traveling can wreak havoc on your appearance. Last year after a flight from Milan to London, a sweaty run through Heathrow, London to Istanbul, and finally Istanbul to Nairobi, I remember arriving in Nairobi tired, sick and run-down. Upon arrival at 1am, I asked my husband if I looked presentable and he tactfully replied, "you're not at your best."  AKA - i looked like I'd been travelling, or perhaps slightly alien-like.  If I'd spent only 2 mins in the airport bathroom 'freshening up,' that conversation would have not occurred.  And so...

For our third Travel Beauty Month post, we’re featuring travel beauty secrets and cheats so you can arrive fresh-faced to your next destination! Thanks to my friend and flight attendant for helping with the below tips!

Pre-Travel

  • Drink emergen-c to ensure your body's at its best and you stay alert.
  • Moisturize like you've never moisturized before. Recycled plane air does nothing for the skin.
  • Drink lots of water. Bring an empty water bottle with you through security and fill it up after. This one is <duh> obvious, but even though you'll be that person getting up to #1 all the time, try to sit in an aisle and rejoice that your hydrated skin will be more plump than your non-peeing neighbors'.
  • Eat a good meal and bring a healthy snack onboard. Airplane food is high in sodium (= bloating).
  • Resist the urge to pile on the make-up. More make-up = more fussing and more opportunity for raccoon eyes or make-up-stained pillow.
  • If you are going to wear eye make-up, use a sheer, slightly shimmery neutral tone like this Nars Duo Cream Eyeshadow to brighten your eyes.
  • Trip Styler Tip: forget mascara, and tint your lashes and eye brows. You'll look alert and pack one less item!

During Travel

  • A moisturizing spritz like this Evian travel-sized spritzer is your friend. Use often. Not only will it refresh your complexion, but a quick spray when you land will ensure you'll walk into the airport with a glow.
  • Every time the drink cart comes down the aisle, get one or two waters. Hydrating and avoiding salty plane food will help keep swelling in your extremities down.
  • Dab a small amount of vaseline on your lips and contours of your eyes to keep them ultra moisturized.
  • On a multi-leg flight schedule?  Bring dry shampoo to add a day or two onto your coif.
  • Get your shimmer on. Try Benefit's Realness of Concealness kit packed with their bestsellers like eye brightener and lip plumper to give you that natural I just look this good all the time look.
  • Colour me.  The perfect size for travel, Tarte's Bronze to Go provides just the right amount of bronze to make it seem like you were in St. Tropez for a week, in which case, I'd be jealous.

Post Travel

  • Do a little impromptu stretching to get the bloodflow back!
  • Wash and moisturize hands. The dry air, as well as airplane bathroom soap always dries out the skin.
  • Have another emergen-c drink.
  • Brush your teeth, like a shower, it'll immediately refresh you!
  • Spritz again, or wash your face...
  • Expand your eyes. When it's time to hit the town and your post-flight cat-nap just didn't cut it, turn to Tarte's travel-sized High Definition Eyes with an ingenious eye-liner that actually sticks to your inner rims and a natural mascara that increases lash volume by a whopping 424%!

Related Content Travel Beauty Month :: Dry Shampoos Travel Beauty Month :: Minis

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Travel Beauty Month :: Tarte Giveaway

travel beauty month tarte high def eyestravel beauty month tarte bronze to go August is Travel Beauty Month at Trip Styler. Since we already know you're beautiful on the inside, we're featuring posts devoted to helping you maintain and enhance your outer allure---which can *sometimes* show hints of travel's time-zone hopping and lack of H2O.

All month we'll be doing travel beauty-themed giveaways for products that take the edge off of jet-setting.

Our first post focused how to add mileage to your coif while away, our second post featured our fave travel-sized beauty minis and our third post shares tried-and-true travel beauty cheats!

Week of August 23 Tarte Giveaway Contest Details 1) One lucky winner will score Tarte travel-sized: -  High Definition Eyes: A deluxe kit of tarte's best-selling EmphasEYES™ inner rim eye liner and clinically proven natural mascara. - Bronze To Go: A deluxe kit of tarte's best-selling Mineral Powder Bronzer in Park Ave Princess with a Glam on the Go Kabuki Brush! 2) How to win: - if you haven't already, "like" us on Facebook.com/TripStyler, and - suggest Trip Styler on Facebook to your friends, or share a Trip Styler facebook post on your wall, and - then write on our wall telling us you've liked, and suggested or shared us! 3) Contest begins Monday August 23rd, is open to residents of Canada and the US and closes Friday, August 27th. 4) The winner will be selected via random.org, announced and contacted following August 27th.

Good luck! Don't forget to tell your friends.

Update: congrats to Nicole S for winning! Thank you to all those who entered!