Travel tips from yours truly

Yes, I’m late with the post this week. Even later than usual. I’d like to offer my apologies, especially since I had a review all typed and ready to go, I was just so sidetracked that I didn’t post it. “Sidetracked?”, you wonder in amazement, “but Mo, there’s nothing on this earth you love more than cosmetics and sharing your thoughts with us. What could possibly sidetrack you from this calling”? The answer, my dear friends, is a trip.

Not a grand tropical vacation, mind you,  it’s just a quick whirlwind getaway to Utah so I can participate in the wedding of my very best pal. I’ll get to visit old friends and probably even meet up with Jen in the real world. Oh the excitement! But as I have sat here mentally packing my bag for the last week (because actually packing it is so much more work), I’ve started thinking about all those pesky regulations about traveling and carry ons and liquids and how it affects the cosmophiles (I just made that up) amongst us. And I KNOW there is still some confusion out there as to what’s allowed and where, so I’m going to lay out the ground rules and offer some helpful hints so that you don’t have to choose between missing your flight or surrendering your favorite cleanser to the gaping maw of an airport checkpoint trash can.

3-1-1. That’s 3 ounces, 1 quart bag, 1 per traveler. In your carry on luggage you can have all the 3.4 ounce or smaller liquids, gels, creams, or aerosols you want, provided you can fit them all in a single 1 quart bag. Please remove that bag from your luggage, or TSA officers will have to go in your luggage and find it on their own. A clear bag does no good if it’s buried under clothes and shoes.
Contact solution is an exception. So are prescription and over the counter medical items, like cough syrup. If you are taking an oversize container of these onto the plane, be prepared to open your bottle and submit the contents for testing. Nothing will touch your product, the officers will just hold a small swab over the opening to collect vapors and then return your product to you once it’s been given the all clear. Some brands of contact solution will give a false positive on this test, though I can’t remember which ones off the top of my head. Please be kind if you are told you can’t take an oversize  item that tests positive as an explosive onto your plane. I’m sure you understand that one.
Your eye cream IS a cream. Your liquid foundation is a liquid. So is water. The fact that you paid money for it doesn’t suddenly make your product defy the laws of science. Place your full size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, face cream, perfume, etc into your checked bag if you don’t want to abandon it at the checkpoint or return it to your car.
Being nice can do you some good. In some situations an officer or supervisor can allow certain items which don’t fall within the regulations. If your 6 ounce toothpaste is only half full and they still want you to abandon it, ask for a supervisor. Be nice and explain your position. The F bomb isn’t going to help anyone.
Trial size serves a purpose. You can get extra samples of your favorite products at the makeup counter or through the mail. Many of these are well packaged and can be set aside until you plan on taking a trip. One tiny tube of toothpaste I received recently will last much longer than just my weekend trip, and my stockpile of Sephora samples will serve me well. Bionic-Beauty.com often has links to freebies and samples and you can find them elsewhere if you poke around for a while. Traveling can be a fun chance to try out new products and clean out that big box of extras you have stashed under the bathroom sink. Or maybe that’s just me.

Understand that if you take an oversize item in your carry on you might lose it. Since these items are just tossed into a trash or hazmat bin it’s a loss all around and not one you want to endure. It breaks my heart when I have to see someone sadly bid farewell to their favorite treatment mask just because they didn’t pay attention to the rules which, incidentally, are posted everywhere in the airport and can be found here. So remember to pack your sunscreen when you head out to Jamaica, just pack it in your checked luggage.