Thursday, June 7, 2012

Up In the Air. What's in my beauty bag while travelling?


This spring, I did quite lot of travelling. Nothing big and glamorous, just hopping here and there in Europe. 

I must say some days I really felt like George Clooney (or her female partner Vera Farmiga) from the movie Up In the Air: pack, go, return, say “Hi!” at home, unpack and do the laundry, pack, fly again … and so on. Not to mention catching up on my daily job inbetween.

Being on the travelling wavelength already and to make up for neglecting my blog, I thought I'll make a small overview what's in my go-to beauty bag. I know it's very hard to decide what to take and what to leave and EU Aviation Cabin Baggage Security Regulations make it even more complicated. Especially if you are a high-maintenance girl like me. I hope my tips will help somebody else to slide as flawlessy as I do through the security gates :P
These pictures were made in Riga a few weeks over 2 months ago. Wanted to post this from E-pad from Riga, but while you are having a great spring weekend at Riga with your beloved hubby, typing away at your computer is the last thing on your mind :) I know a lot of people love to do travel posts and updates on the spot, but I am a firm believer of living my interesting life while it's happening instead of blogging and bragging about it.

So, what do I take while travelling? I don't want to take anything much, because those nasty baggage limitations. This was the contents of my beauty bag this spring: 

  • Alessandro see-through zippered bag. A funny one (whoever puts coins, cell phone and passport to the same bag with the cosmetics stash?), but useful, as it's transparent and accommodates about one litre as is required for air travel. Cuts the need for separate small plastic bags, you can whip it out from your purse in a second and approach the security.
  • The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist. Works as a toner and a face hydrator – even if you have oily skin you need to moisturize it while air travelling, the cabin air makes skin to produce more oil if it's not hydrated enough. Should decant this to a smaller bottle too. A must have. 
  • Aldo Vandini Step By Step foot gel 30 ml. Travelling = walking long distances = tired feet. Absolutely a must-have for me. 
  • Rich Pure Luxury Rejuvenating Argan Oil Elixir. This is the honey-coloured spray bottle :P Decanted from it's original bottle, because the 70 ml glass bottle is just too big and heavy to carry. A must have too, because it conditions brittle hair, tames the nasty fly-aways and somehow helps hair to dry faster. See review here.
  • Tigi Bed Head Superstar blow dry lotion decanted to Sephora spray bottle. A must have. 
  • Lush Honey I Washed the Kids shampoo & shower gel decanted to old Yves Rocher Jardins du Monde shower gel bottle. I don't trust hotel freebies, so I'll always take my own shampoo & shower gel. This is one of the few that works well for body and hair both. 
  • John Frieda Sheer Blonde hairspray 50 ml. Great light hold hair spray for lighter tones. 
  • A body moisturiser from taken along from a random hotel.
  • Nivea Invisible Roll On 50 ml. You do want to be fresh and stain free at all times! If it only came in some smaller and lighter form. I must switch to something smaller soon. 
  • Toothbrush and paste. Goes unsaid. 
  • Hair conditioner. Also decanted/depotted. It's L'Occitane Repair Conditioner for Dry and Damaged hair. It is not too heavy and does not make my hair too greasy. 
  • Guinot Hydrazone Yeux Eye Cream sample. Nice and light eye cream to keep my smile lines hydrated. This is a sample size, which works perfectly for travelling, but at home I have one in regular size too. It's fairly expensive, but don't expect miracles from it, it's just an eye cream. 
  • Biotherm Biosource facial cleanser and toner samples. Not really suitable for my skin (these are for dry skin), just wanted to use these up. They worked surprisingly well for me.
  • Some Salvador Dali perfume sample. Nasty one, by the way, but small.
  • Estee Lauder Advanced Night Cream sample bottle. A fancy night treatment I haven't been able to use much. I'm always too tired to bother with night creams while travelling :) It has been highly praised, but only time I have used it I found it too drying for my oily/combination skin. 
  • Neal's Yard Remedies Rehydrating Rose Daily Moisture Face Cream. Uuh-ooh! This is a great one (I got this as a magazine freebie from UK)! Nicely moisturizing and mattifiyng for greasier skin types. Can work as night cream too, so another must have. 
  • Just a bunch of samples (face creams, masks etc.) that are easy to carry and help out in all kinds of emergencies. 
  • Some cotton pads, a haircomb, nail file, face wipes etc that are not pictured. They don't need to be kept in this plastic bag, as they don't classify as liquids. 
I keep my travel beauty bag packed all the time, replacing the items I've used up during travelling immediately after coming home. That way I don't need to waste time packing it again each time. I just grab the bag, add or take away something according to the destination (suncream, bigger/better perfume and so on) and am good to go.

I hope this post may be helpful for the summer trips to come. Would you love a travelling makeup post too?

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Ülalpool on üles loetud, mis oli minu kosmeetikakotis sellekevadistel reisidel. Päris palju asju, kuid kõik mahtusid käsipagasiga reisimisel nõuetekohasesse liitrisuurusesse läbipaistvasse kotikesse. Nagu näete, siis on mul lennujaama plastkottide asemel oma kena kotike, mille juba kodus valmis pakin, et turvakontrollist läbi libiseda kui nuga võist. Kaasa võtan võimalusel tootenäidised (loomulikult need, mille sobivuses olen veendunud!) või siis pakin lemmiktooted pisikestesse pudelitesse ümber. Soovitan neid nippe teilegi!

Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull


Friday, May 25, 2012

Question Wednesday Blog Hop {Travel Edition}



This tag originates from Nykki's Mane blog. I don't plan to do it every week, only when I find the subject inspiring. This time Questions Wednesday questions are about travelling, a much beloved subject and perfect for breaking the long silence here (hint: it had something to do with travelling :))You can see what other bloggers answered here. 


1. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?
I have done a fair share of travelling around Europe, touched the ground in Asia and even been to Africa once. Now my radar is set on Asian and Arabian countries and Caucasus region. I would especially like to go to Vietnam, Thailand, Azerbaidjan and Georgia. Saudi Arabia or Iraq would definitely be interesting, but a bit dangerous though, so I guess it's not gonna happen in real life. On completely different note, I also crave a summer vacation trip to Croatia.

A view of Abu Dhabi coastline.
2. Where is the coolest/best place you have ever traveled?
Hmm... I think it's impossible to make a statement like this, because each place is cool and unique in an whole different way, be it close to home or far-far away.

The list of my favourite destinations is quite long. I would always visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi again in an heartbeat, because it is a great all-in-one destination: interesting architecture and world's tallest skyscrapers, huge malls and exotic souk's, beautiful beaches and a selection of cool leisure activities all within a short cab ride. Not to mention the incredible luxury everywhere. The Sex and the City girls didn't have half as much fun there as they could have had :)

Girls do some shopping in The Dubai Mall.
I also like Turkey very much for exotic food, historical sights and shopping opportunities (the biggest beauty haul of my life happened in Turkey!), Germany is great for business and beer, Barcelona and Budapest for sun, beautiful sights and wine tasting, Ireland for being such a friendly, cozy and home-like country and so on.

The Body Shop at Dubai Mall.

3. How do you feel about road trips?
I am definitely in. I have been on two really long ones, one of them was more than 8000 kms and another about 4000 kms long. It's an easy way to travel, I like the independence a car gives you and being free of stupid air travel regulations.

Indoor skiing slope at the Dubai Mall.

4. You just won two tickets to your dream vacation, who's going with you?

My husband of course.

The Dubai Laguna. World's tallest building Burj Khalifa is still being built on the background.
Nice roadsign, isn't it?

5. Airport security is only allowing you to take 3 make-up items with you, what are they?
Some face powder to control the shine, a mascara and moisturizing lipgloss.

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the biggest mosque in UAE.

World's third biggest chandelier with millions of Swarovski crystals. 

A segment of world's largest hand- made carpet.

For my lovely Estonian ladies:
Reisides on keeleoskus hädavajalik, siin on võimalus seda harjutada :)




Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull


Burj al Arab in sunset.




Thursday, April 12, 2012

Question Wednesday {Nail Polish Edition}


I discovered this fun tag via Miss L.  This originates from Nykki's Mane Blog. Of course it's already Thursday, but slow life is lux life, you know :) (On that note, I noticed I haven't blogged over a month now. I hope the remaining few readers will forgive me. Sometimes life is just crazy.)

Spa Ritual Dreams Becoming Reality+ Nubar 2010 + China Glaze matte topcoat
Off to the questions.

1. Favourite everyday nail polish colour?
Definitely reds and corals. I just feel so comfy and "me" and not overdone wearing them. I'm just so classic and happy and colourful :P Followed closely by blues and dark blues.

2) Favourite nail polish trends?
Crackle and other interesting topcoats, of course! While everybody else claims that they are so over crackle, I'm SO not over it. Come on, it's a lazy girl's way to turn a plain manicure into interesting one and also hide all those nicks in a second! And crackles come in every colour now. How could you not love them?

3) Acrylics or natural?
Neither. Acrylic nails smell bad and my natural nails break so easily.
I vote for gel nails. I have had them over ten years (yes, it's true!) and will probably continue to have for another ten. It takes a whole post to explain the advantages.

4) Favourite nail polish brand?
I have a few favourites, because my nail polish collection is so big it's virtually forcing my husband out of our bedroom :) My most beloveds are China Glaze, OPI, Alessandro, Eveline, FlorMar, Spa Ritual and Avon.

5) How often do you change your nail polish?
Umm... shame on me, but only once in week :S On toenails too.

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull
Yes, I know my nails were slightly grown out while taking the picture :P

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Kuulge, need vastused on päris lihtsad ja keelteoskus tuleb elus kasuks :)

Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull