I’m leaving for Italy today and I thought it would be helpful to share my tips that help you not to over-pack your hand luggage. For short-haul flights especially, it’s very easy to pack too many “plane activities” that you think you’ll during the few hours on the plane, when in reality you will just end up listening to Spotify for the whole flight.
My choice of hand luggage is my Radley handbag. I prefer this over others as it’s the perfect size to fit all I need in without leaving room for unnecessary items. For your carry – on I would recommend a medium size handbag. The benefits are that it’s in your hand or on your shoulder for security purposes, and they’re able to zip up for added security as well. They also come with multiple pockets to easily organise your belongings for easy access, as boarding passes and passports are often needed to be presented under short notice. A purse containing your usual currency and the currency of the country you’re flying to is vital as well, as you will be needing both before having access to your hold luggage. It is often a good idea to store your health insurance card in your purse as well.
For reading purposes my top picks would be a magazine or Kindle as they’re lightweight and take up little space. (If bringing your Kindle make sure to use a case for protection through security checking.) However, if wishing to bring a hard copy of a book I would recommend one you’ve already started to read. This ensures that you like and want to continue reading the book, so as to not get bored.
If veering more towards using a phone or tablet for entertainment then make sure to pack headphones or earphones. Before leaving your home don’t forget to download your Spotify playlist or a few episodes of your favourite Netflix show. Making sure to pack a portable charger as well is a good idea. Mine above is only for one full charge, and is available to purchase from Carphone Warehouse along with the rose gold earphones.
If you prefer to write down any notes bring a small size notebook and a pen and highlighter. I tend to also bring a mini size Tippex pen because I prefer to use them to correct any mistakes. Even if you don’t want to bring the notebook I would advise packing a pen just in case.
These are the necessities I can’t travel without, that I always recommend bringing. Compeed are a lifesaver for blisters and the last thing you want is not being able to walk properly around the airport, so be sure to pack them or an alternative. Chewing gum can be used in many situations, from when you’re just wanting to freshen up or to keep you going until you can find a drink of water. I bring hydrocortisone for my eczema and if requiring anything like an asthma inhaler be sure to pack it with you. Hand gel is self explanatory as there are germs everywhere on the plane and around the aiport. Travel size face suncream is brilliant if you’re going somewhere hot, and it can also be used for your body as well. The air-con on the plane always dries out my hands so I tend to bring a heel balm as oppose to hand cream because it is more rich and moisturising. Make sure to keep all liquids under 100ml!
Scent wise always bring deodorant because you never want to be the person that smells on the plane! You can only bring roll on in your carry on but it is still worth bringing to freshen up post flight as well. My perfume of choice is either Ghost Eclipse (on the right) and My Burberry (on the left). These are both under 100ml but if you prefer a body mist then The Body Shop ones are brilliant. They’re affordable, 100ml and come in a large variety of scents (the mango one is my favourite for summer).
Sunglasses are always in my bag in the summer and are great to wear if you’re on an early flight and haven’t lathered your dark circles with concealer. A nude lipstick always make you look pulled together or Vaseline works just as well and a travel hairbrush is great if you want to put your hair up or tame the airplane frizz. (Mine isn’t technically a travel one, I just broke the end off but it works just as well.) Hair bands and bobby pins can also be helpful to get hair out of your face.
For food and drink it is much easier to purchase after security or on the plane. But if you have specialised dietary needs, planes rarely cater for these so buying food in the airport not on the plane, is always a better idea.
For any enquiries about any of the products pictured just leave a comment and I will be updating you with more posts from my trip to Italy!
Meg XO