Ces Petits Riens
Little bits of this and that…
Travel Tip
I’m not usually able to fall asleep on planes, in trains or cars unless I’m able to lie flat. The ability to snooze while sitting up even on the longest trips has eluded me. But I think I may have found the secret ingredient. Anticipating a lot of turbulence on our flight out of Pittsburgh on Sunday (our departure was in between two waves of strong thunderstorms) I grabbed a package of generic Dramamine at Rite Aid in the airport. I’m not usually prone to motion sickness, but a bit more fried food (and OK, a bit more alcohol) than I’m accustomed to had left my stomach a bit jumpy. Popped a pill about 30 minutes before boarding. Fortunately we had almost no turbulence, and without much effort I nodded off for a good bit of both flights home. Yet in between flights I wasn’t groggy or tired at all. I’ll give this a try again before my next long flight to see if I can duplicate results. It’s so nice to arrive feeling a bit rested!
I know that we’re supposed to drink, drink, drink water to stay hydrated during the flight, but I’m still working on that balance between staying hydrated and not having to visit the lavatory hourly (and cursing when that seatbelt sign goes on).
Do you have any tips for sleeping in flight? Tricks for staying hydrated without driving your seat-mates crazy?
Makeup
The weekend before last, I had a few hours to myself while the boys were off at Disneyland, so decided to spend a little time perusing the makeup and fragrance counters at Barney’s. Tucked almost under the stairway, the Hourglass counter was unobtrusive, and I wouldn’t have stopped to look had the store been busier. I wasn’t familiar at all with the line. But it was one of those quiet afternoons where the makeup “artists” hover like hungry mosquitoes over a still pond, and I was soon perched in a chair having mucho makeup applied. They always want to slap on much more than I normally wear, and I had to get very insistent that I DID NOT want any “pearlized” or “shimmer”or “illuminated” eye shadow (I don’t care what you call it, frosted is frosted) but for the most part, it’s a good way to try new things. I did come home with a couple of nice products.
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| Hourglass Calligraphy Liner |
I’m a total klutz with liquid eyeliner, and had given up on it years ago in favor of soft pencils or tightlining. But this pen with a very fine, firm tip is so easy to use that I’m even contemplating trying a kitten flick. It’s a little more “there” than a pencil, but still not too dramatic. I bought the indigo blue, a little softer than black and works well with my navy Clarins mascara.
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| Hourglass cheek stain in “Petal” |
I really like this blush. It’s easy to apply, sheer and build-able. You just crank the knob until a little bit of the gel appears on the pad, dab on a few spots and blend. The color reminds me of Nars “Orgasm” but it’s a stain not a powder, so looks very natural and stays put all day.
Balls
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| Nellie’s Dryer Balls |
I’ve ditched the dryer sheets for a set of these. They seem to help clothes dry faster, and with fewer wrinkles and less static. And they’ve greatly reduced the amount of lint buildup in the vent.
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Oh I thought I was the only one who fretted about the hydration/toilet issue, I always think that people are thinking ” She’s going to the toilet again?”
I love dryer balls. They work, they save money and they don’t have a scent like dryer sheets!
I always try to get a seat on the aisle, and while I’m not popping up hourly, I like the (biological) prompt to get up and move regularly throughout a flight. Once travelled with my adult daughter who didn’t get up once (she sat by the window) all the way to London from Vanc’r (Mom tried not to nag) — bad for circulation, bad for bladder. . . .
The most I’ve ever managed, sleep-wise, is 20 minutes. I wonder if the Dramamine would make a difference for me.
I agree with materfamilias, the aisle seat is the only way to fly. The worst part of hydrating heavily on airplanes is that the toilets get nastier and nastier the longer you’re up in the air. I can’t ever sleep sitting up either…I’ll give the Dramamine a shot.
Despite 30 years of international travel, I remain dreadful at sleeping on planes. Occasionally I get lucky, but if I’m on a long flight with a little TV screen in the seatback in front of me, I’m more likely to nod off (not so if there’s a big screen in the front of the cabin… I’m too little to see over the other passengers).
As for eyeliner, this is always such a toughie! Liquid liner is hard to handle (I agree); I’ve tended to go with various pencils. Chanel has some gorgeous pencil liners – very easy to apply and beautiful colors that seem to brighten the eye without someone realizing you have a bit of color accomplishing that trick. Then again, the Chanel pencils cost $30, and I found one not quite as nice (but pretty close) for 99cents at Walgreens…
I’m all for a little of this and a little of that, which my makeup drawer will attest to!
No advice, but I’m glad you got a little alone time while the guys were at Disney.
Like Tabitha, I worry about what people are thinking when I visit the toilet so often during a flight. In fact on our last trip, one of the flight attendants asked me if I was “all right”. I can’t sleep sitting up, unless it’s the middle of the afternoon at some horrible noisy movie (like Batman) and then, there’s no keeping me awake.
I always take and aisle seat, too. Mostly because I don’t like to sit by the window and be reminded how many tens of thousands of feet we are above ground but also so I am free to move around the cabin if I want to stretch my legs or use the bathroom.
On a recent very long flight to Zurich, my husband and I were offered a reasonably priced upgrade to business class. We jumped on the offer and enjoyed our seats that made into flat beds. I was able to sleep about 2 hours and it was fitful because of the constant shaking of minor turbulence. I am a fussy sleeper anyway, so sleeping on planes is difficult for me no matter what the situation.
I will have to try those dryer balls. They look handy!
I enjoyed reading your “petits riens.” — Did not know about the dryer balls but will give them a try. As for your question about airplanes, well… I am afraid I have not good advice to share. I fly home once a year (in coach class,) and hate airplanes a little bit more every time. I can’t sleep, however hard I try – seats are so uncomfortable – and jet lag is always very hard on me at least 7 days after I land in Europe. I would agree aisle seats are probably the best option. I so hate feeling “stuck” in my seat as the hours go by… Walking up and down the aisle seems to help a bit. Maybe next time I will bring an eyeliner pencil and finally learn how to apply it. This should keep me busy for a while. 🙂 Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
I wonder if Dramamine it comes in a chewable? I travel with children’s benadryl and chew half a tab if I’m feeling edgy which is how I feel if the ride isn’t totally smooth.
Husband has a stash of sleeping pills and he takes those but somehow I’ve made it 50+ years without that and I don’t drink so there I am, chewing children’s medications.
Well, you just taught me something…I have never used dryer balls! But, you have intrigued me enough that I just might give them a try! I am a big fan of Dramamine when traveling…takes off any nervousness I might have along the trip!
stunning,love it,love it…the fashion is just so awesome,love the images…love your blog xo
Have the same problem with need for frequent trips to the loo because of all the water I drink in flight. An aisle seat is definitely the way to go and all that walking up and down hopefully is good for preventing DVT. Whenever we travel relatively short haul my husband and I try to book seats across the aisle from each other in Economy.
On long haul from Sydney to Singapore or Bangkok and then to Heathrow and after to Paris or wherever, we always travel British Airways Business Class. Their seats fold down to form flat beds and we do manage to get some sleep. The other good thing about BA Business Class (they call it Club World) is that you can each have three check-in suitcases if you wish. There’s also plenty of room for hand luggage. So much more relaxing. Of course it’s more expensive but husband feels the extra money is worth it for the extra health benefits, especially as we’re no longer young.
What I loathe is the security checks. Of course they’re necessary but this time around on departing from Orly for Heathrow, husband was forced to take off his shirt (he was wearing a money belt sling around his shoulder) while I was forced to unzip my pants and pull them down so that they could put them fingers inside my panties to check my moneybelt. Naturally we had both cooperated without complaint but it was very unpleasant. As we were both very well dressed and clearly very WASP people in our late 60s and I have a disability and walk with a stick, this seems rather excessive as we in no way fit target groups as significant security risks. We suspect on this occasion it was a ruse to attempt to steal some of our hand baggage while we were distracted and distressed. After I got through and looked back to see my husband still shirtless in front of the security belt and goods X-ray tunnel, I realised I’d have to check our hand luggage carefully. We had quite a bit as we needed to present shopping to French Customs for the detaxe stamp. One of the more luxury bags was missing. When I complained the security staff insisted that everything had gone through and that all our bags were there. I queried this and they kept insisting nothing was missing. Finally I shouted very loudly that I wished to see the Security Manager as one of my bags had been stolen. Everybody around us stopped what they were doing and started paying attention. The security people looked worried and conferred. Suddenly my missing bag appeared from the tunnel. My husband said he had put it on the belt some time before and it had gone into the tunnel but it did not emerge until I made a fuss. It definitely seemed suspicious to us. So it’s really worth being very careful and suspicious if you’re subjected to exceptionally invasive security checks if you’re not normally treated like that.
@ Anonymous, that’s terrible! I’ve known people who have had expensive items stolen out of checked luggage, but the audacity to try to steal a carry on just boggles the mind!