How did you spend Christmas? I went through having an attack of nomophobia (a fear of being incommunicado or disconnected) – seriously, I had a meltdown!! It was not easy to stay these 22 days (17 without any net) away from here. Now, I’m back.
I have a lot of news to show you, but I thought it would be useful right away to share with you some of my experience as a “first long-time nail therapist”! When I was getting ready to travel, I felt a lack of guidance, you know, like what to take, which nail polish bag and how many nail polishes to take… etc.
So maybe I’ll help someone else by sharing what I’ve learned?
Going on vacation? Are you addicted to nail polish? Don’t know what to bring? So, come with me!
Knowing which nail polish bag and nail polishes to take is very difficult. I even took a poll with my friends to choose, after all, nail polish ends up reflecting our state of mind/mood. So, tell me how I was going to predict my mood sooner, in 22 places I didn’t know yet?
Did you find it difficult? I thought it was impossible. I managed to separate 25 nail polishes to take away – still finding little.
My luck is that my husband forbade me to take so many I had a rare moment of lucidity and I decided to choose only 18 bottles in the nail polish bag with me. The number is not random, 18 is the number of bottles that fit in the nail polish bag that I separated to protect my babies on the trip (remember that in international travel there are restrictions regarding the amount of liquid in hand luggage, so I thought better ship).
The criteria I used: I tried to choose nail polishes that I could replace in case some disaster happened, preferably that didn’t need more than 02 coats to close the color, of good duration and reasonably fast drying. As, it’s winter I wanted to shine a lot, so I chose a lot of glitters.
But what happened was that I regretted it – now that I’m back I’ve rethought my choices. Out of the 18 I took, I only used 10!! I missed the drying oil (which I always use and forgot!) and a basic red and black one.
The truth is that those who are addicted usually buy nail polish wherever they go (because there you will find bottles that you won’t find where you live) – and of course that story that “nail polish reflects our state of mind”. We really want to use the new ones instead of the ones we took!!
Now, these would be good choices for the trip… foundation, drying oil topcoat, perfect foot polish, two basic hand polishes (perfect coverage – one coat), and a top coat! With these little bottles (plus the ones I bought) the enamel part of the trip would have been perfect.
In addition to the nail polish bottles, I think it’s also important to remember that we need to pack the accessories we use to do our nails – There are different types of nail polish bags available to choose a best option according to the requirements you have.
In my opinion, a good travel manicure/pedicure kit contains the following items:
- Cuticle remover (or pliers) – especially if the trip is long – is really needed!
- A hand cream to carry in your purse – saves your life!
- Nail polish remover wipes – they are controversial, but they can be taken in hand luggage, they save you in emergencies with peeling nail polish and because it is not always easy/cheap to find acetone on trips.
- A sandpaper –this is so basic… HOW did I forget to bring sandpaper?
- Toe separator – this is not used by everyone, but for me it is necessary to do the toenails – otherwise one finger touches the other and smudges everything!
- Acetone – BE CAREFUL with this item… it’s a beauty to take – even because to clean the corners the tissues are useless – but it can cause problems – 1) if you use too much it will do a lot of damage!! 2) Flammable liquid cannot be taken on an airplane or in a suitcase or hand luggage!! You can be lucky that it goes unnoticed, but you already think that you may have to throw it away before boarding.
- Moisturizer for cuticle –I don’t like the packaging to take it on a trip.
- Wooden toothpick and spatula – I don’t need to explain, right? Remember to pack and ship – especially if it’s metal.
- Nail polish bags –Light and cheap nail polish bag can be used to pack all the nail polishes you’re taking with you, plus the many you’ll buy along the way – it’s great to prevent the bottles from colliding!
I believe that with this in your suitcase you will be ready to spend the holidays with beautiful nails!!!