This article of mine was published in Woman's Era in Oct 2010 in Second issue
Today I’m going to pack my bags,
because tomorrow me along with my friend going to tour across Rajasthan by car!
OOhOO! In front of us are Bikaaner, Jaipur, Ajmar, Kota and Udaipur. I waited a
very long time for this trip.
Though, as always, I waited until
the last minute to plan our itinerary. We are leaving tomorrow. The route so
far has been planned only to Bikaner, which just 1/10th of the way.
So if you have any ideas on where to go next after Bikaner, I will be glad to
hear your thoughts and suggestions.
So what do you think? What is most
important during the trip? Of course! Looking good! Ok, I’m kidding. During the
trip the most important thing is to be in great mood. But this could be easily
spoiled if you look into the mirror and see a tired face, with bags under your
eyes. And even better, what if a huge pimple surfaces in the most prominent
place? I envy you if you are not worried about this. But I’ll admit it. If I
don’t like the way that I look, my mood drops to zero. Yes, I should not attach
so much importance to my appearance and I am really working on this. Therefore,
currently, when I am on the road, I always keep an “emergency cosmetic bag”
with me.
I well like to share with you while
on travel
Peek into an “emergency cosmetic
bag”
Travel can wreck havoc on your skin.
You will encounter dry air-conditioner air, lack of opportunities to clean your
face, dirty hands, bad meals and stress. But you can have a glowing complexion
on the road without lugging around a ton of products, here are some remedies;
Cleanser--
during
a trip, it’s essential to clean your face from impurities that lead to clogged
pores, which can further lead to break outs. So in my bag I always carry a
toner and several cotton pads one rule of thumb is don’t overdo it! Don’t use
harsh astringents with alcohol, because if you frequently clean your face with
them, it can damage the protective layer of your skin and make it dry and
irritated. Try to use hydrosols, as they are very gentle. Without a doubt, you
can use them frequently during a trip.
Moisture—if you are
travelling by car, especially by car with air conditioner, there is a huge
probability that your skin become dehydrated, and therefore dull, and dry. So
during the trip drink a lot of water. Yeah, maybe this is a little troublesome,
as you probably will stop under every bush. But nothing will prevent your skin
from dehydration better then water!
Pimples—if the
trouble has already come and you have a pimple don’t be upset. To get rid of
it, just apply a tea tree essential oil on the skin. Apply the oil directly on
the pimple, and don’t touch the clear skin around it. In couple of days, the
pimple will be gone.
Hand
sanitizer—being on the road means not always having access to shower,
or even running water in some cases. So a quite unexpected replenishment in my
“emergency bag” is an effective hand Sanitizer.
In the past I was not very inventive
when it came to the hygiene of my hands. I just took a bottle of water and bar
soap with me to wash my hands. The hand sanitizer makes your life a lot easier,
because you don’t need to do anything but just rub it into your hands
Deodorant—my number
one saviors on the road from bad smells are coconut oil and tea tree essential
oil. You can use them directly under your arms as deodorant. They attack the
bacteria found in sweat that cause odors. Just apply coconut oil or tea tree
essential oil to your underarms and don’t rinse off. You will be free from
unpleasant odor all day long.
I was using methods mentioned above
with a great success for about several months. However, I was also interested
in making something more similar to conventional stick deodorant. So I started
to experiment, let see and will share next.
Healthy
snack—a cosmetic bag certainly is not a very suitable place for a meal.
However, we are talking about an “emergency cosmetic bag”, which means that we
should have everything for an emergency cases related to our skin. Right?
You
will almost inevitably get unhealthy food when you’re travelling, which can
lead to breakouts, irritations, and excess of skin oils. So I will put in my
bag some healthy snacks, in case only humburgers and not dogs are nearby.
Some of my favorite snacks are nuts
and fruit or vegetable salads. I buy them at my confidential food store in my
area and encourage you to search your local healthy confidential store and find
some healthy snacks there. Instead of having them on the way, they are not
heavy, so that allows you to take them everywhere with you. They are very yammy
and certainly healthy.
Zip-Top
Bags: Not Just for the TSA Line -My friend Ruksana a freqent
traveller recommends enclosing anything that could potentially leak in its own
zip-top bag. This way, she says, "If a lotion spills, it will be contained
and you won't have to clean up all of your other products as well."
Ruksana notes, "Wipes are phenomenal -- if you make sure to package them
in a zip-top bag, lest they dry out."
My friend
Khalida says you can find fantastic products at your destination.
"Often, popular beauty brands will have special offerings that either
aren't available to Indian market or will be cheaper and more readily
accessible. I just went to Japan and stocked up on a Cleansing Oil there, which
is like our herbal Cleansing Oil, but a thousand times cheaper," she says.
Khalida says, "Take three-fourths of what you need, and buy the rest
there. It's more fun and part of the cultural experience. Plus, it forces you
to pantomime things like 'shampoo' in a country where English isn't spoken, so
you get an authentic experience interacting with the locals even if you aren't
fluent." Khalida says it's smart to bring extra zip-top bags for anything
you buy on the road, but in a pinch, "use the complimentary plastic shoe
bags in your hotel room to wrap your products. ... If you can't find a shoe
bag, improvise and use a shower cap." Happy travelling!!!!!!!!!!!!
xoxo
