The Travel Beauty Thread

[sister13]

(January 2023) Thought I’d resurrect this thread, now that there’s a bit more possibility of travel these days! I would love to live vicariously and learn from fellow BICers, so please post any tips, pics, and/or your fave travel minis or routine!  I’m still not doing a lot of travel these days, but may post some pics and notes from past trips.  💗💗💗

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Since the old travel thread sadly got lost in the switchover (😢😢😢) it was suggested a while back, and I’ve been meaning to get a new one started. If there is one already for this, let me know. I travel a bit for work and for fun, and I love checking out beauty stores and seeking out exclusive or hard-to-find items in different places around the world. Some of my favorite makeup destinations have been the Face Powder and Perfume Museum in Torino, Italy (a surprise find) and the Les Merveilleuses Laduree in Tokyo. I have relied on great tips from other BT/BICers on many of my trips, especially Toronto and Tokyo, so I would love to keep this updated as a resource for BIC.

Please share your discoveries, store reviews, pictures, purchases, and travel tips, and I’ll try to keep and update summaries here in the main post for future reference. If you don’t have a chance for much travel, feel free to share your favorite beauty destinations in your home city. I plan to update with photos below from various trips as I have the chance to organize my archives and update. What do you guys think? Feel free to make suggestions on how to organize this thread, too, it might be a bit of a work in progress. Thanks and happy travels BT/BIC!

[sister13]

I was just reading back through this thread and wanted to share some pics and tips for @Luvstravel since you are headed to Austria! I am so excited for you! Are you going to be in Vienna/Wien? I was there in 2016 in early December and it was truly magical! I love Vienna in summer too, but the markets were amazing! I think my very favorite was the Christkindlmarkt am Rathausplatz (City Hall). They had a skating rink and arts and crafts, and wonderful food and beer and Glühwein! I’m pretty sure this one was where I got most of the Christmas presents and the most amazing wool hat that I’ve treasured ever since! 

If you are going elsewhere in Austria, some of the below will apply, but I was only in Vienna at Christmas time, and for a work conference, so I didn’t have tons of time! 

However, I also highly recommend getting out to the Schönbrunn Palace and gardens and they had a great market too! This is wool hat, enjoying a Glühwein!

For beauty, keep an eye out for Nagele & Strubell, Marionnaud and Douglas. There was another amazing perfume shop, I usually take pics of the signs so I can find the, again, but those pics are missing, but I think it was down near the Nagele & Strubell and the other beauty shops in one of the main shopping areas in the Altstadt. 

Bring warm stuff, or plan to buy some at the markets! Have the best time and I can’t wait to see pics! I’m so hoping to get to Budapest someday! 

FOOD YOU MUST EAT!

For food at the markets, everyone mostly just stands around tables together. You must get the following: Käsespätzle (Spätzle with cheese, OMG it’s so good!), Raclette if they have it, Würstl (sausages) and/or Currywurst! “Mit Senf” is with mustard if you like mustard. And Kartoffelsalat (potato salad). Glühwein is sweet spiced wine, warmed. Usually, you’ll give a deposit for the mugs and if you return the mug, you get your money back. 

I’m definitely missing some pics from this trip, my stupid iCloud got split into two somehow. But at least I found a few. Oh, and I’m still mad at myself for not buying a Dirndl!! Just note, the real Dirndl shops can be sensitive to tourists wanting to try on just for pics and not serious about buying! 

[CorgiMommy]

@sister13 the photos are awesome.  I have got to go to the Christmas markets in Europe some year.

[sister13]

It’s really wonderful, I hope to get back someday soon too! @CorgiMommy 

[Sunnysmom]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful pics with us @sister13 ! I love how European cities seem to do the coziest holiday markets and your photos really reflect this! What was your favorite part of this trip?! 

[sister13]

Thanks @Sunnysmom - these pics are not great partly because I seem to be missing most of them entirely , but also because I was working all day every day so only got out a few hours at night until my last day after the conference. I wish I’d stayed longer but I had some commitments ar home after this one. 

Anyway, my favorite part was definitely eating Käsespätzle and drinking Glühwein and talking to people at the markets. I like to practice my German whenever I can, so I just talk to random strangers whenever I have the chance and standing at the tall tables outside the food stalls and asking questions of the vendors was a perfect opportunity for that! 

And just browsing the markets, it’s really lovely and we had a little bit of flurries so it really was a winter wonderland. The decorations among all the old buildings are really wonderful too! 

And I can’t sing the praises of my slouchy hat enough. It’s so cute and tall enough that I can fit it over a bun and also pull it all the way down over my ears for full warmth! @Sunnysmom 

[Sunnysmom]

It all sounds great @sister13 and your pics are so fun! Great memories ! 

[Luvstravel]

Thanks @sister13 for posting your pics and your recommendations. I had to cancel our December trip to Prague, Budapest and Vienna because my husband had to get heart Ablation and then a pacemaker so I wanted to keep us close to the U.S. this first year but hopefully in the next few years we can make that trip. I started us cruising this year to be able to travel but to keep us close ( I'm a worry wart when it comes to his health ) 

[sister13]

Ahhhh, oh my goodness, well that Is totally understandable. I am sending good vibes for his procedure! It’s hard when you are worrying about your loved ones and you definitely want to put his health first. I hope that you all have a super calm and uneventful holiday season and that you are able to go another time. It’s always hard to decide on trips when there are so many great places and you want to get to new places but also go back to places you live!!  @Luvstravel 

[Luvstravel]

I finally found the Travel Thread @greeneyedgirl107 . So I am back to traveling and love it! Me and my husband just did two nice trips. We went on an Alaska cruisetour out of Vancouver September 10th doing the cruise the first week and the land the second week. The Fall colors were beautiful and my favorite pic if this trip was were in Denali National Park and it started snowing and it settled on the trees, just magical. Then we came home for two nights and flew to Quebec ( I had airfare credit I had to use by the end of this year and snagged this East Coast cruise cheap) The weather was terrific and cruised from Quebec to Fort Lauderdale. Next year I already have booked a 21 night cruise that leaves Fort Lauderdale that goes through the Panama Canal and ends in Seattle. I also loved our East Coast cruise so much that I booked another cruise next Fall that starts in Montreal and ends in Boston. My husband and I have always traveled independently and overseas but I'm finding the cruises to be easier on him as he gets older and has some medical issues. I'm going to try to remember to tag all my old besties so ya'll can see what I've been up too 😊 Sorry, I accidentally started with East Coast pics first then Alaska. 

@tsavorite @sister13 @Samtian @eshoe 

@WinglessOne @CookieGirl1 @Sunnysmom @SportyGirly125 @Ispend2much6 @gonerogue @curlychiquita  If I missed anyone please feel free to tag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[makeitup305]

@Luvstravel What an awesome trip. Your pictures are gorgeous.

[CorgiMommy]

@Luvstravel your photos are stunning!

[Luvstravel]

Thanks @CorgiMommy  The Fall colors were so amazing to see in person!

[blackkitty2014]

@Luvstravel @I’m glad you and your husband had a great time. I think Alaska cruise is a must (If I can convince my husband to go on a cruise)😘 Otherwise we just flight to Alaska and do our own thing one day. Cruise is perfect for friend and family reunion. 

[Luvstravel]

Our family friend asked if she could tag along because her husband won't fly or cruise. It worked out great. She was able to get a balcony cabin next to us on the cruise and on land her room was next to us every night.

 

 

[blackkitty2014]

That sounds lovely @Luvstravel . My first cruise was my college roommate wedding. During the day we did our own things or with a smaller group and all get together back at night for dinner and show or game. I miss that 😘

[WinglessOne]

It’s so good to see you again, @Luvstravel —and hooray for traveling again! Experiencing new places is one of the best things in the world, and I miss it*. Looks and sounds like your trips were indeed wonderful! 

Have you gone through the Panama Canal before? I haven’t; that’s one of my must-dos. The only water locks I’ve been through are the Soo Locks, way back in my Michigan childhood. Which cruise line are you sailing for that 21 night cruise? Cruising in general is a great way to travel, I find. I mean, as long as no one’s prone to motion sickness 😂—though today’s behemoth ships (lookin’ at you, Royal Caribbean) are so wide, you can just barely feel them sway/roll through the water. Sailing on 2 of RC’s oasis class ships made me kinda miss their smaller ships (which to me are still huge). Anyway, I’m glad your husband’s able to cruise without issues. Sure, it’s not the same as flying to a destination (domestic or foreign) and spending several days in each location, but it’s still a great option. I hope you enjoy your 2024 cruises! 

*I’ve been sidelined with health issues. Hopefully I’ll get to travel again next year though, even if the destination’s just one or two states away. 🙂 

[Luvstravel]

Also @WinglessOne don't let those health issues take you down. Make sure you keep a good outlook ( I'm just speaking from seeing my husband's problems) because there is too much to see and do in this world. I literally took one back pack full of medical. I had his BP machine, his cardiac meds, also Paxlovid in case he got covid, a thermometer and covid test kits, alcohol pads, and the Emergency C I was telling you about. I felt I was ready in case anything happened but luckily it was smooth sailing on the health end 😊

[Luvstravel]

Thanks @WinglessOne . My husband had heart Ablation and then a pacemaker this summer but he's doing great. I picked Holland America to cruise with ( we did a Mediterranean cruise years ago with them ) and also I know that most passengers that cruise Holland America are older so if something was to happen they would know how to deal with it ( plus their food is fabulous) So I'm trying to stay close to the U.S. this first year just for precautions, hence the Alaska, East Coast and in April the Panama Canal.  He did great on ours trips and got his 10,000 steps in daily so it's looking good. The Panama Canal was one of his top trips he wanted to do I just decided to pick a long cruise 😁 ( no cooking, cleaning and we have them do our laundry, it's great ) The rough sea did get him a half of a day in Alaska and then also a half of a day on the East Coast but it was just for 6-8 hours. His problem comes on we he gets in the shower and is closed in on a rough sea day. I told him next trip he can skip the shower on a rough sea day and just throw some deodarant on. I think be closed up in the shower sets him off. We do take Bonine ( over the counter med ) daily for our cruises. We also took our Emergency C daily, him the gummies with 1,000 mg and me the crystals with 500mg and really think that helped on not getting covid. Last year he came back from Italy with covid but it was just a 4-5 bad day cold it seemed like. When you talked about the huge cruise ships, here is a pic when we were in Juneau Alaska and the Holland boat was the smallest but like you said, the smaller boats seem more homey and you can learn the ship pretty quick. We did a cruise on one of Norwegians larger boats and I didn't like it as well.

 

[sister13]

Wow, those shops are huge! Thanks for sharing these tips on cruises, I’ve never taken one but maybe someday. @Luvstravel 

[ather]

@Luvstravel  wow! Looks like you had a wonderful trip! 

[Luvstravel]

Thanks @ather We had a great time!