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!

[itsfi]

@blackkitty2014, this photo!!!! 📸😍 It needs to be framed, or turned into a postcard. Or both. Gorgeous!!! 😘 Looks like an amazing road trip! 🛣️ 

[blackkitty2014]

Thx you @itsfi @Ispend2much6 🌹

[blackkitty2014]

Thx you @Titian06 @CorgiMommy . This is Moonstone Beach, Cambria California. It’s exact half way between LA and San Francisco. Years ago I did multiple trip from LA to SF using Pacific Coast Hwy (Hwy1). It is a beautiful drive but I never stopped in between. My husband suggested we do a little trip to Cambria where there are many little beach front B&B. A further sound (13 mile or so) there is Cayucos another little cute beach town. The only con of these beaches is that they are cold so no swimming.  Surfers have still go out but they have wetsuit on. We got lucky with 70s degree weather at the moment. A further north (about 7 miles) is San Simeon Hearst Castle 😘 a bonus if you are wine drinker because we have lots of wineries around.

[CorgiMommy]

@blackkitty2014 beautiful 

[Titian06]

Thanks for sharing, @blackkitty2014 ! 😘  

[itsfi]

Ahhh, the Pacific Coast Highway!!! What a spectacular drive @blackkitty2014.Cambria is on my list of places to visit in the State.

[blackkitty2014]

It’s a small sleepy beach town. It’s great for weekend getaway or mini trip @itsfi 😘

[Titian06]

OMGosh, that's beautiful, @blackkitty2014 ! 🥰

[CorgiMommy]

Spoiler

@blackkitty2014 beautiful!  If you don't mind where's this?

[itsfi]

There were some twists and turns (and I'm not just talking about the windy roads) to get there, but we did get there, and my time in Costa Rica was absolutely fabulous! ❤️ Very thankful for the opportunity to get away for some R&R. 

This ⬆️ was the view from my room. 😍 By mid-to-late afternoon, the clouds would clear and I had an amazing view of the volcano.

This vacation was about rest and relaxation for me (see more below ⬇️) so other than taking daily walks it was fairly low key on the activities front. I did, however, carve out some time for a chocolate and coffee tour! Because I mean, chocolate 🍫 and coffee ☕ ❣️ I'll post photos of food from my trip to the What's On Your Plate? Thread later this week (and will come back to post a link).

Cacao beans, straight from the pod and dried, to being made into chocolate ...

I was taken aback by how much sugar is in commercial chocolate - I knew there was a lot but my word, there's A LOT! The amount I had to put into the chocolate I made (just to take away the bitterness) was staggering. It was fun but a chocolatier I will not be. 🤣

And then ... coffee.

@PrettyPaint, I learned quite a bit of fun and interesting facts about coffee, but the part of this tour that hit the spot was actually having a cup of coffee. 😋

Oh, and spotting some animals along the way

There were siestas, walks, time with family and time alone, at the pools, spa, hot springs ...

Not sure why these 2 pics are so small. 😂 

Ahhhh, the sauna. I could post on and on about the time at the spa ... So relaxing. No aches, pains, tightness, soreness or stress the entire trip.

🛍Other than some souvenirs and gifts I picked up for others, I didn't do any shopping while on vacation. I did, however, pick up a few beauty products for my trip (including a nice and subtly scented mosquito-repelling body moisturizer), which I posted (belatedly) to the Just Because July Hauls 2024 Thread, all of which are worthy of repurchase for either another vacation or use back home.

It's good to be home, but I do miss some things from my time away. 

@sister13 

[curlychiquita]

It looks so beautiful, @itsfi! I’m glad you had a fabulous vacation! 

[itsfi]

@curlychiquita, it was a good time for a vacation and Costa Rica definitely provided some much appreciated R&R. 

[gonerogue]

Oooh my work bestie just got back from CR today and sent me the most beautiful pics as well. I hope you had an amazing time @itsfi ! ❤️

[itsfi]

@gonerogue, what a fun trip for your coworker! The vacation was great - just what everyone needed. 

[sister13]

Such an amazing trip! I would love to go to Costa Rica someday! Ooh, the coffee and the chocolate and the SLOTHS! Amazing. Thanks for sharing these experiences, and I'm so glad you got some beauty time in too! @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@sister13, definitely put it on your “to visit” list. I feel like I want to go on vacation every month now; it was very relaxing. Oh my goodness, mama sloth and her baby were such surprise to see. 😃 

[CorgiMommy]

What an awesome vacation!  Looks relaxing plus the sloth is adorable.   Costa Rica is a place I highly recommend 

[itsfi]

@CorgiMommy, it was a great choice for a vacation. Yes, I agree; highly recommend. Which part(s) of Costa Rica have you visited?

[ather]

@itsfi  Wow! These pictures are absolutely beautiful! That volcano is so beautiful to see from your room!!! Hmm so you don’t want to be a chocolatier maybe a gourmet coffee maker! Was the coffee better there or was it also more bitter? When I was in Cuba I remember coffee being so much better. And they served it with a sugar cane and it was so yummy!  Oooo did sauna sounds perfect! A great way to wind down and relax! Your toes are a beautiful red! I’m so happy you had a relaxing vacation! 

[itsfi]

@ather, I would love to be a chocolatier but I was not getting the right ratio for the chocolate to taste good. 😆 I was able to get the consistency right but getting the flavors to reflect what I was thinking of in my head? That was more problematic. I’ll stick to enjoying chocolate - maybe I can be the taste tester. 😂 

The coffee was so good. Oh, I should have tried it with sugar cane. I’m used to drinking my coffee with nothing in it, just black coffee, so I didn’t even think about sugar cane. 

Thank you, thank you. It was a good vacation. It’s been a long time since I’ve been that relaxed. I was offline for much of it. 

[blackkitty2014]

This sounds really nice @itsfi . Though it would be more perfect if you remember to take me with you 😂🤣. Yay you stay in the volcano area. We did stay at the volcano and Jaco last time we went. I love the volcano area. I’m glad you enjoy hot spring and Spa (Those are so nice there) 😘 We didn’t able to see the 🦥 sloth up close but the Tuscan came visit 😘 Did you do water rafting by any chance? And you read during vacation too. Sound just perfect 🤩