Traveling for destination weddings and clients has been an exciting step in my career as a makeup artist and hairstylist. I get butterflies in my stomach knowing that I get to experience a breathtaking new location while working! It invigorates my passion for beauty and travel.
The not so fun part however is planning and packing my kit, but it’s absolutely vital for a successful work trip. To make the process easier, I start reviewing my kit at least a week in advance just in case I need to make any purchases. On the actual day I pack my kit, I set aside several hours to light a candle, play some good music, and clear out my dining table to clean and re-organize my kit. This usually happens a day or two before I leave so that my kit is freshly clean and organized.
Condensing Your Makeup Kit
For destination weddings and clients, I prefer to condense my kit as much as possible to make the kit less heavy and difficult to travel with. I use my rolling relavel makeup kit for travel and typically keep my makeup kit on me at all times since it meets the carry on size. I make sure to have the products needed for my client and I pay special attention to either removing large liquids or transferring them to more compact and travel friendly bottles. I also pack liquids and powders into ziplocks or toiletry pouches like these in case there is any spillage when traveling. I like to separate my powders and make sure they are tightly packed so they don’t move around during travel. I have had the unfortunate experience of exploding products while traveling and it’s best to double contain for an extra safety measure. If you plan to check your makeup bag, you might want to pack a smaller kit with travel size products for a full face to keep with you at all times to be prepared for a worst case scenario, like lost luggage
Checking Your Hair Bags
Since my hair kit requires me to bring large bottles of hairspray, I like to pack my hair kit in a luggage and check my hair bag. All my hair products are kept in zuca pouches to contain any spills. Any containers that could easily open during travel are either placed in a large ziploc bag or transferred to a more travel friendly container. For an added safety measure, I buy smaller travel sizes of my hair products to keep with me at all times in case my luggage gets lost. Thankfully this has never happened, but I like to be prepared for worst case scenarios.
Preparing for European travel
Europe has its own type of plugs so be sure to pack an adaptor. I have several of these adaptors for my hot tools. I like to buy doubles of anything that I really need so I can pack one in my carry on and check the other. Also note that American blow dryers tend to burn out even with adaptors as they are too powerful. I recommend either using the one provided at your venue or buying a Dual Voltage brush or blow dryer. The curling and straightening irons should work fine with an adaptor and a lower heat setting.
There’s definitely a bit of extra planning and preparation involved for destination weddings and clients, but to me it’s been worth the hassle for a unique experience I’ll never forget! Let me know if this is helpful or if you have any other related questions or comments.
XO,
Ana B
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