Afternoon Chat: Your Best Travel Tips!

As you guys know, Heather and I have just returned from a week in England, and I am ZONKED OUT WITH THE JETLAG so apologies if any of our posts today are more riddled with crazy than usual. But, as we’re just back from a trip, and Memorial Day Weekend looms for Americans (and I know this upcoming weekend is also a bank holiday for those of you in the UK), today seems PRIME for a renewed discussion of one of our fave topics: TRAVEL TIPS.

I’ll start with mine, such as they are:

OMG if you’re an American who can afford to get Global Entry (it’s $100), IT IS WORTH IT. We were through customs in the United States in 10 minutes. That is not a typo. It’s sincerely the best $100 I’ve ever spent. (It also gets you TSA Pre-Check). I cannot recommend this enough.
You know how you read articles in like InStyle or whatever and it’s some glossy magazine editor waxing poetic about how a spritz of Evian on the face is the best thing EVER and you think, “how good could it BE?!” Well, I am susceptible to such things and I bought this two-pack of little atomized Evian spritzers on Amazon and let me tell you, it IS really refreshing and GREAT to spray your face and the faces of people around you whilst on a long flight. I spritzed the hell out of myself and I’d do it again!
Compression socks are the real deal. I wore these very cute striped ones (always on brand) on the way to the UK and my feet and ankles thanked me. I wore NO compression socks on the way home BECAUSE I’M AN IDIOT and today my ankles look like those of a woman about to give birth.
You may have seen on our Instagram that I love love love love this Laneige lip mask (and btw, for all the stuff we put on Instagram that is available at Amazon, we actually have this master page of Amazon recommendations), and I am not kidding. It’s the single best thing I have ever bought for my chronically dry lips. EVER. EV.ER.
You might remember that I also bought this Summer Fridays Jetlag Mask that you’ve probably seen all over Instagram, and I used it before we left when I was just kind of dry and meh and it was…fine? But then I used it this morning, when I really AM jetlagged and dry as hell and it made a huge difference? So apparently it works when you actually ARE jetlagged.
GOD BLESS THE GIANT SCARF. I packed my Pippa Scarf — it’s this huge, lightweight cashmere/modal scarf that Pippa Middleton did with the British Heart Foundation like three years ago, which I bought because that’s the sort of person I am, and it turned out to be THE BEST — and it was a life-saver in my carry-on, because there was this dipshit on our fight who left his window shade open ON AN OVERNIGHT FLIGHT CHASING THE SUN. And I had forgotten my eye mask, so I used it as an impromptu one. I also used it on the flight home, because the plane was approximately 30 degrees. (That scarf, obviously, isn’t available anymore, but this is a decent option .)
I cannot stress enough the importance of a carry-on that works for you. We checked our bags, but needed carry-on bags for all our shit, as you do, and getting a carry-on that I LOVE has changed my life. I carry this Liberty tote, because it’s the perfect size for my laptop and all the rest of my things (scarf, Kindle, snacks, earphones, tiny spritz-y Evian bottles, etc). It does NOT zip shut, though, so bear that in mind if you want a zippy carry-on. (Since mine just gets stashed under my seat, I don’t feel like I need a zip; when I do want a zip, I use my Longchamp, which is also really great and takes a beating.)
Have fun! And don’t forget to make sure you have coffee waiting for you when you get home. The best thing I ever did for myself was make sure I picked up some cold brew at Trader Joe’s to leave in the fridge for my return.