Jet Setting Fabulously

Post London to Atlanta flight

The picture I instagrammed and tweeted

Traveling clothes for my flight from BWI to ATL

Landed in Atlanta!

I know it's been quite a while since I've posted anything new, but I've been busy busy busy! I travelled back stateside to spend some time with my family and watch both my father AND my brother graduate. My father received his masters from Georgetown, and two days later my brother received his BA from Morehouse College. I was back Stateside for 5 days, but it felt like much longer. I flew into Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon, went to dinner with my brother and father Tuesday night then flew to Washington DC on Wednesday morning. As soon as I touched down I drove to Virginia where I had a tasting with the caterer for the wedding then off to a happy hour with my mother and aunty. Thursday I spent most of the day in a Bobbi Brown masterclass before heading to another happy hour with my father's Georgetown classmates. Friday morning I watched my dad receive his masters before jet setting back to Atlanta where I attended my brother's baccalaureate, helped my mom run a trunk show, watched my brother graduate and headed back to the airport to fly back to London. I tweeted a picture of myself when I touched down in Atlanta talking about my jet lag. I didn't look nearly as tired as I was...thank God. I got a few requests on how I managed to look refreshed right off a nine and a half hour flight. So...here are my tips for keeping it fresh when you feel like crap!

1. Stay hydrated! I cannot emphasize this enough. I drank 2 liters of water on the plane. Yes, I had to get up to pee like 100x but I didn't feel like a dry corpse when I touched down at my destination either. This is important not only for your skin and well being, but also because flying causes bloat which water will flush right out! Who wants to look like Kirby when they step off the plane?! Not me!

2. Don't forget to stretch your legs and walk around. This is so important for health and vanity reasons. You're actually supposed to get up every 30 minutes or so to avoid blood clots. I usually get up every hour or after a movie. Getting up will also keep your ankles and feet from swelling from the immobility for so many hours! 

3. Pack cleansing facial wipes in your carry on. I don't care how much water you drink or how many little walks you take up and down the aisle on that plane, you will still feel dirty when you land. I keep my Simple facial cleansing wipes in my tote and wipe down my face when they finally announce we're descending. I don't wear makeup on long flights (I look like a hot, oily mess when I land if I do), so no worries about leaving a streak of mascara down my cheek!

4. Wear comfy but chic clothing. I always wear leggings, a jersey top and flats when I travel. That is my travel uniform. I can avoid pat downs (unless of course my underwire sets the metal detector off...I mean really?!) and breeze through security in this outfit. I keep jewelry to a minimum...watch and earrings. All other jewelry I keep in my carry on and put on when I get through security if I want some more. I like traveling in my Toms because they're comfortable, but super easy to slide on and off. I ALWAYS bring an oversized sweater since the plane is typically freezing. It's nice to be able to just throw something on to keep warm. I hate those blankets they give you. I can't be convinced they're really clean...

5. Touch up when you touch down. Once I arrived at my destination I dabbed a little concealer under my eyes and applied a few strokes of mascara. Despite my best efforts, I needed a little help keeping my eyes looking big when I got to baggage claim!

Well those are my travel trips to live by. Nothing really complicated or groundbreaking. Mostly common sense.

What are some of your travel rituals?