Q&A and Beauty Travel Tips

Reader questions answered...

Q1: What country are you from?

A1: Born and raised in US, but I'm of Korean descent. I'm not sure which you meant.

Q2: Will you be making YouTube videos?

A2: Quite possibly. YouTube has much larger scale audience than blogging and I'm bit hesitant to be honest, lol. But maybe!

Q3: Why is Monave international shipping so expensive?

A3: I contacted Monave and was told that shipping is directly calculated by USPS and not something they do themselves. And I have to say, int'l shipping is expensive especially with increased gas prices. USPS First-class int'l is cheap but doesn't offer insurance or tracking. For an extra $10.80 on top of postage, it can be registered, which still doesn't provide tracking and limited insurance up to $45.51 coverage. Only Priority and Express int'l include insurance and tracking. Priority is only a few dollars more than First-class with registration. So, for the couple extra bucks, you'll get the package delivered faster, with tracking, and insurance.

Moving on!

I won't be blogging for a few days as I'm traveling somewhere for a few days. If you haven't traveled by plane in a while (like me), there are tons of new rules and regulations due to homeland security. One specific rule for carry-ons is 3-1-1 for domestic flights.

* 3: Liquid, cream, gel, or aerosol must be in a 3 oz container or smaller.
* 1: Those items must be put inside a 1 quart zipper top bag.
* 1: Only 1 quart bag per person.

If you want to have more than that, you must check your bag! With sky high gas prices, there are now fees to check your bags. For short travel, carry-on is just much more convenient and the 3-1-1 rule is not realistic for a girl with makeup needs. Clearly, TSA and National Security are headed by men because no woman would create this bastard of a 3-1-1 rule. Exceptions are medications, eye drops, and anything medical related. These items can brought in excess of 3 oz, but they must be x-rayed and/or examined by airport security.

I had the hardest time packing everything in smaller containers. I need makeup remover, moisturizer (AM & PM), sunscreen, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, and hand sanitizer. Plus mascara and ligloss (not lipstick though) count as liquids! They have to go in your quart size bag. And at first, I thought a quart size bag was one of those giant freezer type bags. NO. It's like a smidge bigger than your average sandwich bag. Let me just say, my bag is about to burst and I don't even have everything I need in it yet!! I haven't put in toner or face wash yet. I'm thinking about skipping toner and buying some of those Ponds towelettes instead. I have slightly big bottle of hand sanitizer and I think I'm going buy a smaller one since it's taking up so much room. Also, I have a little spray bottle with Clorox Any Surface sanitizing cleaner, lol. This is for the shower, toilet, and doorknobs.

Note, you are permitted to carry-on blow dryers and flat & curling irons. I actually didn't see anything on the TSA site about that stuff so I called them to ask. After I asked, the rep put me on hold and came back said, "Are these electrical or fueled by butane?" Apparently, there are such things as butane fueled blow dryers such. Who knew!

Also, when traveling, glance at your airline's contract of carriage. It will show the airline's policy regarding delayed or canceled flights. It may be that they book you on the next available flight, even if it's not on their airline. They may have to compensate you or provide overnight accommodations. Policies will vary from airline to airline, so make sure to check your specific airline. I mean, delayed and canceled flights are inevitable. As a passenger, you're entitled to your rights as outlined in the contract of carriage and it's unlikely that the airline will inform you of them. It's just best to know them and be prepared. Here's a link to an article I found about tips to travel cheap too.