In days of yore, our hand luggage contained six paperbacks and a Walkman. But that was before the Kindle, the iPhone, and a missed connection that led to an unexpected night in the Holiday Inn, Ronkonkoma Long Island.
We gazed at the books we’d already read and the tape player with the flat battery, and realized that the next day, we would have to wash our faces with shower gel and put back on our grubby clothes for another six-hour flight. We vowed that henceforth, our travel bags would contain a toothbrush, clean clothes, and the means to make ourselves presentable in case of tourism calamities.
This summer, we’ll be packing these six items.
Cleanse with benefits
Your average hotel room will have stuff to clean and moisturize your hair and body, but not your face, so we’re packing the Marrakech Travel Kit Weekender from Leaves of Trees. The Toronto brand specializes in fair-trade, natural products and produces an exceptional cream deodorant. In this kit, you get travel sizes of the deodorant, cleansing oil, argan oil, lipbalm and headache balm, plus a Turkish face cloth. It all comes in a compact waxed canvas bag. $95, at BeautyMark.
Dressed up
A crease-proof dress, such as the Topshop Strappy Scoop Neck Maxi Dress, is a must. It’s jersey, so you can crumple it into a ball without it creasing, and black, so it goes with anything. Wear it with flip flops, sandals or trainers. $40, at Topshop at Hudson’s Bay and TheBay.ca.
Blanket solution
What Vancouver girl gets on a plane without her Aritzia blanket scarf? If you don’t have one already, get the Mod Tapestry Blanket, which is 100 per cent wool and has an abstract pastel design. It’s smaller and easier to pack than a sweater, and can be used in place of a flimsy airline blanket on the plane. $65, at Aritzia and Aritzia.com.
Mouth almighty
It’s surprising how many hotels don’t provide toothpaste, so just in case, stash a bottle of Lush’s Toothy Tabs – solid pills made from baking soda, kaolin clay and essential oils. Crush one between your teeth, then brush as usual with your wet toothbrush. The tabs come in six flavours but we like Miles of Smiles – good old mint. $9.95 for around 100 tabs, at Lush stores and Lush.ca.
You glow girl
Little kits with basics like lipstick, blush and mascara used to be everywhere, but now they’re almost impossible to find. Happily, Benefit does a few, including Do the Hoola, which contains liquid and powder bronzers, mascara and Benebalm lip balm. $44, at Sephora and Sephora.ca.
Super undies
For our next trip, we’ll wear and pack knickers from travel brand ExOfficio. They’re comfy and can be washed and dried in your hotel bathroom. Wear them while you shower, squeeze them in a towel, and hang them up. They’ll be completely dry within four hours. We recommend the Sport Mesh Bikini Briefs. $24, at Valhalla Pure Outfitters.
