If you're looking for a travel gift guide, you came to the right place
Friends, I traveled a lot this year. If my count back through my calendar is correct, I was on 51 airplanes in 2019, and honestly, it's a miracle I only got sick one time (a miracle, or the flu shot? Probably the latter: get your flu shot!). I have many many recommendations for travel gear that I used a bunch this year, and now is when I share it all with you. There are a whole range of items in here with prices from a few dollars to a whole lot of dollars, so I hope you can find something good for yourself or someone else on this list. A note: none of this is sponsored, and I paid my own money for all of it, which is the case for everything I recommend in this newsletter (except for the books, they aren't sponsored either but I often get a lot of books sent to me for free, but I get far more sent to me than I include here). If any of that ever changes, I'll let you know!
Luggage: I took my Away suitcase on every trip, and my Lo & Son's Catalina Deluxe Small on almost every trip. The Catalina is really the perfect weekend bag, and it makes a great personal item on an airplane if you're an overpacker like I am. It has a sleeve to fit over the suitcase handle so you never have to carry it if you're taking it along with a suitcase (and that sleeve zips at the bottom and the top, so you can use it as a side pocket if you're using it alone), it has a bottom pocket for shoes and other stuff, and lots of interior pockets. It also fits under the seat in front of you, even packed full, if you cram it in there and also have short legs and can do without the leg room. AND it's 50% off right now, which is a steal. I like the Away suitcase a bunch too, but I don't swear buy it the way I do the Lo & Sons. But I did have really excellent Away customer service earlier this year, which made me like the company a lot. I have the bigger carry on, and it fits a whole lot (while I agree with so much in Roxane Gay's big travel post, I'm too anxious to check a bag on book tour, so I carried everything on in every trip except for the times I was on a small airplane and had to check) and makes it easy to organize. I got the one without the portable charger (and just got a separate portable charger, see below), which I'm glad about, because they always ask when you're getting on an airplane if you've popped it out, so I'm glad I don't have to worry about that every time. I also have these packing cubes, which I totally swear by. (Ooh, and they're on sale too!) (Though I always wish I had an extra of the long skinny ones, but alas). They help with both organization and packing in general, and once I took one trip with them, I've never gone back. I have gotten 9 dresses into each of the big ones, and then they pop right into my suitcase -- you would be amazed by how much I've managed to fit into that carry on, let me tell you.
For on the airplane: For long flights, I adore my Bucky sleep masks, I have three of them so I can always find one. They're comfortable, easy to adjust, and block out light really well. I have also become a convert to noise canceling headphones; they make such a huge difference on planes. I got the Bose in ear ones, which work great, but sadly my tiny ears make them super uncomfortable to wear for any longer than an hour or so, so I upgraded to the over the ear ones (which I didn't want to do because they're so much bulkier, but I decided they're worth it to me). I also fell in love with the Trtl pillow this year (oh, and look, it's also on sale this week!). It looks kind of silly, but we all look silly in transit, and it's easy to pack and is much more comfortable than those other neck pillows. Compression socks make me less stiff and swollen after a long flight -- LISH has fun striped ones in plus sizes and regular, as well as plain black ones and lots of other colors and patterns too. Skincare: I am not at the point where I use sheet masks in flight, but that's what sleeping masks (which are basically just heavy duty moisturizers) are for. I love the Origins Drink Up mask for in flight; it's really moisturizing and soothing and the smell is great. I do like the Jet Lag mask, but I hate the tube; it's hard to use on a plane because the cabin pressure makes everything come oozing out really quickly. really like the Lip Balm: last year at Christmas I bought myself this set of Fresh lip balms, and I tuck one into every possible purse and pouch and pocket, and they were so useful to have that I bought myself the set again this year.
For in the hotel room: I always keep a stash of sheet masks in my suitcase, mostly moisturizing ones, because travel and hotel rooms make my skin so dry. My favorite fancier ones are the Dr. Jart Vital Hydra Solutions mask and the Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin mask, but I also enjoy these MediHeal ones that come in a 10 pack from Amazon, and there are a bunch of other drugstore moisturizing sheet masks you can find easily. I also love these under eye masks; soothing and easy to pack. One of the first things I do in a hotel room is plug in a travel humidifier right by the bed -- the one I have I can't find online anymore, but there are a ton of them out there, and they're super easy to use, just plug it in and drop it in a glass of water and let it go. They definitely help with the dryness! I also love having a small travel candle with me (don't worry, I'm very careful!): hotel rooms often smell so musty (or worse), and it's nice to find a way to get rid of that smell, at least temporarily. I like the mini size of these, because they're not in glass and have a lid, so are easy to pack. And I love my Shhhower Cap, which yes, is expensive for a shower cap, but this is why it's great to get or give as a gift. It lasts a long time, can fit a lot of hair in it, the elastic doesn't wear out, and is really comfortable to wear. I wish I could recommend my toiletry case and makeup cases here because I love them both, but both of them weirdly came along with gift sets from makeup companies. BUT I will say that two things I really appreciate in both is the ability to open them and lay flat so I can easily get to everything inside, mesh pockets, so I can see everything inside, and washability, because something will inevitably leak (like my bright red Fenty long wearing lip stain did on that one memorable trip; I tipped the hotel maids a lot that time because it really looked like I killed someone in the hotel bathroom, no matter how much I tried to clean it up). This one is expensive, but looks excellent (it's also nice that it hangs, mine doesn't and there are so many hotels these days that have tiny amounts of counter space, so I always wish my bag could hang somewhere instead of taking up room on the counter and inevitably getting splashed by water). (Damn, now I want that one even though I don't need it). And a great body moisturizer is key; as I said in a recent newsletter, I love the Jergens wet skin one, and I picked up a travel size version of it at Target.
Tech: Extra long charging cord, extra long charging cord! I swear by these -- I got a two pack so I could always have one at home and one for travel. It makes life so much easier when you're trying to charge your phone in a hotel room that only has a plug in a random corner, or in an airport where half the plugs don't work. And on that note, a portable charger makes life so much easier; I have this Anker one, and it made my travel life much less full of anxiety; it holds at least two full charges, and means that I don't stress if my battery suddenly drops or my flight doesn't have plugs. Oh, and this wall plug that can hold two USB ports makes things so much easier in hotel rooms that only have one bedside plug if you want to plug in a few things.
Other things:
A good spill proof water bottle: at one point this year, after a week in a hotel and four more days to go, and a sore throat from so much talking in loud rooms, I went into the Starbucks by my hotel and bought this water bottle, which is also sort of thermos like, and had them fill it with hot water for me, so I could go back to my room and make a whole bunch of hot tea and hot toddies, and it's been a very useful purchase.
Speaking of hot tea: I'm not a tea drinker in general, but it's been very useful to have a stash of tea bags in my travel bag so I could throw together a hot drink relatively easily.
A little travel wipes packet: A very good gift would be to make up a little packet of travel Clorox wipes, makeup wipes, and baby wipes -- all very useful on the road! (Add to that band aids of various sizes, which I had to purchase in transit many times)
A variety of small pouches: I have so many pouches of various sizes, and they are so useful for travel! (You could use one to tuck lots of the smaller things above in for a good gift). I have an on the plane skincare pouch (with a heavy moisturizer, lip balms, etc.), an on the plane technology pouch (with cords, in ear headphones, portable charger), a medicine pouch (with ibuprofen, headache meds, and whatever else you need to bring with you), etc. etc.
Hand cream! A theme of this newsletter is that your skin gets super dry during travel, and hands get the driest because of all of the hand washing. I really really love the L'Occitane hand creams; they come in various scents or scent free, and are super moisturizing. I also like the Kiehls ones a lot; I bought this last year when I was in Palm Springs and felt like I was turning into the desert myself, and it was fantastic.
Sunscreen: So many sunscreens give your skin a white cast, especially if you have brown skin, but these two do not! Supergoop is my favorite; it works well with my skin type (normal to dry), goes on easily, and doesn't irritate my skin at all (which a lot of sunscreens do). I also like this La Roche Posay, which I picked up in Target, but it's a little too drying for me for this time of year, but for summer, or if you have less dry skin than I do, it would be perfect.
The Calm app or other meditative apps or soothing music: I have the free version of the app because I just use it for the soothing/white noise on planes and in hotel rooms, and I also have some soothing music I bought a while ago so it's always on my phone (for when I have no wifi), and I put one or the other on as soon as I get on a flight, especially one where I want to try to sleep.
Other general travel recommendations: always bring your favorite hoodie or other cozy cardigan type thing -- I failed to do this a number of times and always regretted it, especially since I'm always chilly in hotel rooms. Pack socks, even if you hate them in general (I do); I like the Bomba low cut no shows a lot -- they work with slip on sneakers and ballet flats alike. (And they're also on sale right now!). Eat vegetables whenever you can, because often you can't, and they make me feel better. If you're on a multi-city trip, have a go to travel outfit (mine is always a black dress, sometimes a light one or sometimes a heavy one, depending on the weather); that way you don't have to make any extra decisions on a travel day, especially if it starts early in the morning. Put the extra lock on your hotel room door as soon as you walk in every time; so often people from the hotel wander in with almost no notice. Try to have compassion for all of the people around you; it's hard sometimes, especially when you're grumpy and hungry and sleep deprived, but it makes all of our lives easier. And in general, bring something with you that makes you happy, even if it isn't utilitarian -- too many lipsticks or that purse you love or that chocolate bar someone bought you you've been saving to treat yourself, whatever works for you. Travel can be a slog, and it's nice to do something good for yourself when you can.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to all of the Americans out there, and a great week for everyone else!
Jasmine
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