On Saturday, April and I will be flying out to Madrid to see Rosy, and I am so excited!
Alas, before I get to Madrid I must first attempt to pack every personal belonging I could possibly need into a tiny holdall as we’re flying with Ryanair. After much thought, I’ve managed to narrow down my travel essentials to fourteen items, apart from clothes which I’ll hopefully have photos of when I return. So here are the fourteen travel essentials I’ll be packing in my carry-on, and please let me know if I’ve forgotten anything!
01 Eye Mask
Although an eye mask may not be particularly useful on a short flight, I have a feeling I’ll need it whilst staying at the Living Cat’s Hostel in Madrid. I’ve included both of the eye masks I own as although they look fairly similar, they both have their pros and cons. Firstly, the Cath Kidston one is perfect if you have a slightly larger head, which I most certainly do. However, the Laura Ashley eye mask is smaller but is far softer and silkier on the skin. It all depends on your preference: lose and comfy or tight and soft.
02 Vaseline
Air travel is notorious for making your skin and lips as dry as a raisin in the desert, so if you want to avoid irritated or cracked lips you should definitely pack lip balm. Any lip balm is applicable of course, but my personal favourite is Vaseline Rosy Lips as it moisturises and adds a tint of colour.
03 Hair Brush
I am still completely in awe of the Tangle Teezer, I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever owned in my life! Not only does it remove tangles from your hair but you also throw it in your handbag or carry on without adding extra bulk or weight.
04 Headphones
I have completely given up on ever finding headphones that are comfy, stay in my ears, provide high quality audio, don’t break within five seconds and don’t cost more than rent at this point. That said, I’ve had my current pair of JVC Gumy Headphone thingies for over a year and they’re still fine. Plus, they cost £3 less than their white and black counterparts because Tesco is colourist apparently.
05 Face Wipes
Few first world problems make you feel more grimy than flying, so face wipes are a must. The best face wipes I can recall having in the past six months were L’OREAL Paris’ Skin Perfection Purifying Cleansing Wipes as they always left my skin feeling clean and soft. If you can’t find these, Simple Cleansing Wipes and Nivea Daily Essentials are always great options as well.
06 Camera
To be fair, most smartphones these days work fine as a camera so taking a bulky DSLR along with you isn’t that much of a necessity as before. However, if you want high-quality images or your phone storage is full a camera is a must-have. I own a Fujifilm Finepix… something, a Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 and a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ45, the last of which I will hopefully remember to take to Madrid with me. I personally love my Panasonic Lumix, but if you like to film videos or take pictures of yourself then this is definitely not the camera for you as it doesn’t have a flip out screen.
07 Flats
Because I’m flying with RyanAir there’s no way I can pack my big ankle boots and trainers simply don’t go with everything, so a great alternative that I constantly return to is ballet flats. They’re easy to pack, easy to slip on and they go with everything.
08 Sunglasses
I haven’t been to Spain since I was one, so I have no idea what the weather is like there in autumn. According to my iPhone’s weather app it’s going to be sunny throughout the next weekend so sunglasses are being packed!
09 Makeup
Whenever I go away I tend to only take a few items of makeup with me, which makes me wonder why I have an entire Marvel toiletry bag and a fairly large Primark makeup bag full of products. On this particular voyage to the continent, I’ll be using my ‘Otterly Gorgeous’ Casey Rogers makeup bag which I usually use on journeys. I’ll be filling it with Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation, Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner Pen in Carbon Black, Laura Geller Eyeliner Pencil in Blackbird, Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder, a couple of lipsticks and some Real Techniques brushes.
10 Hairbands & Grips
My hair is almost constantly in my face, so hair grips and bands are essential. Plus, how else would I mark my territory if I didn’t leave a trail of hair grips?
11 Travel Bottles
Here in the UK, we are not allowed to take bottles of liquids containing over 100ml onto flights in our carry-ons. In fact, you must take any liquids you’re carrying onto the plane with you out at security and display them in a see-through bag. So I can avoid having to dig out all of my liquids and place them in the bags provided at the airport like I had to do when I went to Malta last November, I decided to get these bottles and plastic travel bags ahead of time.
12 Toothbrush & Toothpaste
Of course, you don’t have to place all of your products into 100ml plastic bottles. Most brands do travel-friendly versions of their stuff, so you can buy tiny shampoos, toothpastes, deodorant and all sorts from supermarkets all over the place. You just have to remember to take your toiletries with you!
13 Entertainment
‘Entertainment’ to me takes the form of my iPad, which is absolutely perfect for travelling as I can read books, watch YouTube and stay in touch with people all from one place. Whilst I remember, you may want to take a travel adapter with you if you plan to plug anything in!
14 Comfortable Shoes
I’ve saved my favourite for last: comfy shoes. Comfy shoes are essential as you can’t possible have an easy or enjoyable time when your feet feel like they’re trying to eject themselves from your body, be that via pain or constantly flying of your feet like ballet shoes might. By far the best comfy shoes I’ve ever owned are my No Time To Tie Converse as they simply slip on and are incredibly kind to feet. I bought my pair from a mall in New Jersey, but I couldn’t find them anywhere on the Internet so I’m not sure if those particular ones are still available. Also, I’m getting the impression they may be for children so apparently I have child feet in America. If you can ever get your hands on a pair of No Time To Tie Converse though, go for it!
