Dry, Oily and Acne - What kind of messed up Skin Type is this? Sensitive!

The Issue
A year ago (almost exactly), my skin went haywire. I had moved from having clear complexion to one with cystic acne. I think at one point, I had 5 of them on my face and those suckers HURT. I could feel them throbbing on my face. The only thing that changed in my routine was that I was working out more. I wasn't about to change my workout schedule for my complexion, especially since working out is supposed to help push toxins out and give nicer skin!

My skin felt dry and oily. I know that must sound crazy. There would be a layer of oil on top of my skin, but my skin felt somewhat tight underneath. It feels this way moreso after a run outdoors.

That's me running. I'm so SLOW!

But I think I've finally pinpointed the issue here. My skin is dehydrated. It wants water. My skin produces more oil because it is dry, to keep whatever moisture it can in the skin. It isn't the oil per se that hydrates the skin. The excess oil breeds acne. Thus, when I go running, I'm losing water to the elements and in sweating, thus my skin is thirsty despite my 8 glasses of h2o a day.


What I did

I stopped taking the product advice from the people at the spa, and at Sephora and ditched the products they recommended. They would look at my oily-on-the-surface acne-ridden face and declare that I had oily, problematic skin. Boy, were they completely wrong.   Thank goodness for good return policies.

I switched to Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. For the past 2 weeks, I have been acne free, have reduced wrinkles (because skin is hydrated), and my skin is glowing (in the words of my coworker). I've also noticed that my pores aren't clogged, and my skin has stopped overproducing oil.

I've actually used Cetaphil before during this past year without success. However, I'm using it a bit differently now. Why does it work now and not before?

 I stopped using it with water.

I slather that stuff on, and use a clean, dry face towel and gently wipe it off. Then I apply moisturizer.

Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser removed all my mineral makeup and mascara. I've even run a toner-soaked cotton pad to test the cleanliness of my face and Cetaphil got it all. It doesn't work as well though if I wet my face first as Cetaphil doesn't seem to have anything to cling to. Wetting my face just meant Cetaphil slipped off my face without taking the makeup with it and it also meant it didn't soak into my skin as easily.

Who did I get addicted to Cetaphil?

My entire department at work. Whether they had dry skin, eczema or normal skin, they all love Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser now. How did I get them addicted? I had them rub the Cetaphil cleanser all over their hands and wipe it off. That feeling of residue-free hydration was enough to get them hooked. One of them commented that their hands looked less wrinkly. Another commented that her hands were no longer so dry that when she closed them, she could feel the skin tighten.  

What have they've got to lose? Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser comes in trial size at many stores (Walmart included), and a 1L bottle of the stuff costs about $20 (Canadian) at Costco.

Did you know that Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser is multi-purpose?

• It can be an exfoliant: I mixed a bit of baking soda with some Cetaphil to exfoliate my face and it did not break me out. It was a bit drying though, so will try it with sugar next time.
• It's gentle enough for babies.
• You can use it on your body.
• Great for camping!

YAY CETAPHIL GENTLE SKIN CLEANSER!

A Healthier Brunch...you win some, you lose some...

The family had been going out for brunch the past two weeks after Church. Each time the bill came to about $40! Although it's very nice to go out to brunch every once in a while, $40 is pretty steep, I mean that is pretty close to our weekly grocery budget (not including costco or sam's club runs). I told the hubby that I'll cook us brunch on weekends.
My husband is prediabetic and has high cholesterol so if it's possible, I opted for healthier options of the brunch menu. Once I said the words, "TURKEY BACON" my husband's face turned pale. I might've had it before but I honestly don't remember it. I bought a small pack of apple wood smoked pork bacon for the hubby just in case he didn't like the turkey bacon. The Turkey bacon tastes pretty good, but the crispiness is nothing like regular bacon which is one of the reasons why I like bacon. I did spray my pan with some non-fat cooking spray before cooking and used Med heat. The turkey bacon burns pretty easily.

my review for Turkey bacon compared to Pork bacon goes as follows:

• Taste: Very close to regular pork bacon.
• Texture: Not as crispy as pork bacon since it lacks the fat. The texture is comparable to pan fried ham more than pork bacon.

All in all it's a pretty good product but I would suggest using this as an ingredient in dishes (i.e. sandwiches, casseroles, etc) rather than eating it as part of brunch (that is if you don't mind the texture) although it is a great alternative for those who really shouldn't be eating regular bacon.

PANCAKES!!! The husband told me to buy the shake bottle Pancake mixes, but it only makes about 12-14 pancakes and costs nearly twice as much as a small box of pancake mix. I noticed there was a Heart healthy pancake mix. Reading the nutrition information online, the calories are about the same, there is just a little bit more dietary fiber. I bought the Krusteaz Heart Healthy Pancake mix.

The Pancakes are very delicious! You really can't tell the difference between this and regular pancakes although, I really don't see that much nutritional value enhancement from this than other pancake mixes. If I went shopping alone (i had my 2 year old son with me) I would've spent a little more time reading labels.

Hair in your face because of your odd shaped head?

I really can't stand the feeling of hair sticking to my sweaty face when I'm working out. I can't exactly throw it into a ponytail as I have short hair and bobby pins don't see to keep that hair out of my face because my hair is thick and stubborn. Not to mention that my odd shaped head tends to pop thicker fabric headbands straight off my head. Oh, and I find that plastic headbands squish my head from behind my ears. Yes, I have a lot to complain about. ;)

However, I did find myself the perfect solution: Lululemon's Mesh Headband

 It is the perfect width for my odd shaped head. Not to mention, the silicone strip down the middle on the inside keeps it from slipping off. It's the perfect tightness as well -- it is adjustable afterall. Most importantly, it stays on.

Wonder how it tested out? It has survived my runs and the ultimate test...my yoga class which included inversions (like handstand, forearm stand, etc.), and a lot of bending at the waist.

Find it at your local lululemon store or at www.lululemon.com

A Taste of Couponing and I think I Like it!

So with successful weight loss comes the bittersweet task of having to buy new clothes. It's awesome that I "have to" buy new clothes, however it sucks to have to spend money because you "have to".  I've learned to wait until there are sales or coupon promos and I've gotten some pretty sweet deals on decent stores like Ann Taylor Loft (So far my biggest bargain there is a nice glittery sheer cardigan originally about $60 and I got it for like $7!). My patience with trying to get a good deal came only with clothes shopping. I've seen TLC's extreme couponing several times, I knew I didn't have the patience to do what most of those people do but guess what? I gave it a try.

I had to go to Target after work, I went on http://coupons.target.com/ to see if there are any decent coupons before I left and selected any coupons that looked like it was something I could use. To my surprise, most of the Items that I had printed coupons for had temporary price cuts!

Here were some of my awesome buys (I don't aim to get 90% savings...i'm just happy to save on stuff i normally pay full price for):

Rice Krispies Treats 8-count! Orig $2.54, Temporary Price cut $1.99 + $0.50 printable coupon = $1.49.

 

 Dropps Laundry detergent 20count. Original price $7.99, Temporary Price cut $4.99 + $2 printable coupon = $2.99!

Original price 2/$4.48 + $1.25 off 2 printable coupon+ $0.75 off 2 newspaper coupon = $2.48 for two!

Original Price $0.99 + $0.50 printable coupon = $0.49

Original Price $3-something, Temporary price cut $2.39+ $1 newspaper coupon = $1.39!

Orig. $9.99 + $2.00 Printable coupon+ $3.00 newspaper coupon = $4.99!

Please remember that these are all prices from Target in my area. But i believe you can print these coupons for any store, although your store may not carry all items with coupons. Be cautious as well. Becaue of the increase of "Extreme Couponers" target does limit the ability to print coupons. So don't goof around and hit "print" because you won't be able to print again! You also cannot print to PDF.

Some of you may know that I am a bigggg Greek Yogurt Fan! I love Fage but it's so darn expensive. Right now Safeway has them on sale for $1.25 each! On top of that, you can go to http://www.fageusa.com/products/offers/ and print out $2 off 5 Fage yogurt! $0.85 each!

You can always go to costco and buy a huge tub of Fage 0%  for $4.99 and put your own ingredients to sweeten it (i.e honey). but the Cherry is to DIE for. I am going to try the blueberry acai one.

Anyways...I've learned that Target does allow for some coupon stacking. A really good resource is www.krazycouponlady.com she's always posting up great deals, has breakdowns for several popular stores and even lists their coupon policies (if available) she even has a page on facebook so you can get the latest and greatest deals!

Now that I've got a taste of couponing, I think I'm sorta hooked now! I'm not as aggressive as most couponers but I'm definitely enjoying the savings! :) I'll definitely be snatching up the company's sunday coupon inserts for SURE!

Have a great weekend!



You know what I've discovered? That I've been putting on my sunscreen on top of my moisturizer, when it should be underneath my moisturizer! This may explain the wrinkles forming on my forehead...ok fine, that's just from worrying a lot. But did you know that there are sunscreens you put on after moisturizer and some that you put on before? How does one tell the difference?

The Ingredients!
If it's a sunscreen containing Zinc, it goes ON TOP of your moisturizer.

If it contains titanium dioxide, it goes on BEFORE your moisturizer.

Who would've thunk?

However, sunscreen  containing these types of ingredients can be quite damaging to the environment. Does anyone have a recommendation for an environmentally friendly one?

Victims of Doorbell Ditchers

Monday afternoon, the doorbell rang and my hubby runs down the stairs to answer the door. He opens the door, and there's nobody there. So he steps out, and looks around. He sees a kid hiding behind a car across the street. So he squints at the kid, tilts his head and wonders to himself, "Really, kid? That's it??" Then the kid BOOKS it. He's running up the street, turning his head back and watching my husband as if my husband is going to turn into the incredible hulk and chase him.

My husband relays the story to me, and we laugh our asses off.

The next day, Tuesday, the door bell rang, and hubby goes and answers it. Nobody at the door. No kids in sight. Getting smarter, and not sticking around at the scene of the crime. Still hilarious.

Then there's nothing for the rest of the week, until today. Hubby found this in the mailbox:

Doorbell ditch? Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Hilarious! Thank you for correcting your spelling, kids. Your signatures are most legible.

Funny conversation with a pregnant lady

My Sister-in-law and I are sitting in a restaurant having dinner with the family. She is pregnant, and needed to take her vitamins, so she pulls them out of her purse.

The_birds_and_the_bees_by_elbooga

Me: Psst! It's too late for birth control.

She: HA HA HA! WHAT?!

She: Uh, this IS birth control. *she rubs her belly*

Me: Oh! Then nevermind. It's working. Keep taking it.

Hahaha!

Sorry! the Reni-women have been so busy!

You'd think if we were true Renaissance women we'd be able to balance blogging and our normal everyday lives. Lately it's been way too hectic :(

I'm sad to report that this morning i found my first white hair on my head :'( and it's right in the front too! so far its just one, i have family members that grey prematurely so I really shouldn't whine.

Lunchbags!

I'm trying to break the habit of buying a lunch so have taken to cooking up hoards of foods and packaging it up. I take my lunch to work in a reusable lululemon bag.

This is not my picture. I got it from google, and I think it's a very pretty picture :)

There are a two main things about using this bag as a lunch bag that irks me:
1) My coworkers use the same bag: I can never find my lunch in the work-fridge quickly.
2) Difficult to clean: My Miso soup package exploded in this bag. It looked like a bad case of baby diarrhea. The inside of this bag is made with some tissue-like fabric. I wiped it, but it's still stained brown...and is quite unappetizing to look at when I open up my lunch bag. I might have to try immersing the whole bag into soapy water. (I'm not saying that this is a weight-loss tip; I'm just saying it's gross).

So I am on the hunt, my friends!

I thought this was quite awesome:

 It's the Gourmet Getaway Tote. It also comes in some other fabulous fabrics:

I think this one is my favorite. It has a retro late 60s feel.

I haven't ordered one yet, as I can't decide on what fabric I like the most. You can check it out at Fenigo.com.

These are the product features from the website:

• Safe for Carrying Food
• Insulates hot or cold food & beverage for up to 4 hours (time will vary depending on external temperature)
• Soft-grip handle makes transporting easy & comfortable
• Stretches to hold and protect a variety of items
• Perfect for school, office, camping, travel, beach, etc.
• Machine-washable. Drip dry. Stain resistant.
• Lays flat when not in use
• Made from neoprene, the wetsuit material

If I do get this bag, will keep you posted on how it works out!

EarBudi - an inexpensive way to convert your apple earphones to sport earphones

As I'm doing progressive distance running on the weekends  I wanted to run with music, however, I didn't want to spend a lot on sport earphones. After doing some research on decently priced sports headphones and earphones I came across the Earbudi. With the Earbudi, you clip them on to your Apple earphones and never have to worry about them falling out of your ears!

Pros:

• Inexpensive. I got mine for $9.99 at Amazon.com.
• Ability to convert only one earphone to over the ear (for use at work, or if you would like the ability to hear your surroundings with one ear, and listen to music with the other).
• matches ipod/iphone (although white headphones are easier to find these days, it's nice that these match perfectly).
• Comfy and lightweight.
  

 Cons:

• Apple Iphones aren't the best.
• Although I haven't had the problem, some reviewers on amazon mentioned that the earbudis may break with frequent removal.

Thinking Twice before you "express yourself" via a Cell Phone Case.

Remember back in the days when the Nokia 5100 phones came out, and EVERYONE was personalizing their phones with various accessories? There were faceplates to make the phone whatever color you wanted! There were faceplates that could light up, glow in the dark, etc. you name it, it was probably done.

Old School (kinda)

After awhile, Phones were just phones, and accessories weren't as hot. I mean with the nokias, people were able to match their phones with their outfits!

A few years later, enter the Iphone and various other smart phones with all their cool accessories. At first I got an incase grape colored case:

But it just didn't fully feel like me. So what did I get??? HELLO KITTY I<3 NERDS!

Kawaii Desu Ne?

 I somewhat regret using a hello kitty case. Sometimes I need to check emails during a meeting and I can't keep my phone out and face down because I don't want to get teased by my colleagues. Now don't get me wrong, if it were a meeting with my coworkers, I'd totally rock the Hello Kitty. However, I work in the Construction Industry with lots of "good ol' boys" and manly men who may not take me as seriously if they see this adorable little Kitty Cat that their little daughters adore.  Most of you would think... "I don't care, this expresses who I am!". Which is cool, but I just simply can't take the chance...oh how I dream of the day where I can sport my Bieber Case in public:

Baby baby baby OOOH when do you turn 18? JP JP!!

There are other very cool options for personalizing your phone. Check out Threadless phone cases! (i'm a big fan of Threadless tshirts too)

Threadless Iphone Cases

I also saw some pretty cool StarWars cases too!

It's actually Steve Jobs in Carbonite not Hans Solo

Feel free to use your phone cases to express who you are, but think twice about it just in case ;)

Slippery Shoes - Get back in the Bag

On Mondays, I shove my runners in my gym bag so that I can go for a run afterwork by the seawall.

The Seawall

I always place my runners in a plastic bag, but some how, in the jostle of the commute to work via train and walking, they escape and rub up against my clean clothes. Those ain't clean runners. They pick up who-knows-what when I run trails on the weekends. I really don't mind when they escape the bag and rub up against my dirty clothes though. :P

I was on Amazon and I found the perfect solution: A shoe bag. I'm not talking about the drawstring dust bag one gets for boots. I'm talking about something that will handle even the damp and dirty shoe: Pack-It™ Shoe Cube Medium.

http://www.eaglecreek.com/packing_solutions/packing_cubes/Pack-It-Shoe-Cube-Medium-41063/

Description on the Eagle Creek Website

• Capacity: 500 cu in / 8 L Weight: 4 oz / 110 g Size:12 x 7 x 5 in / 30 x 18 x 13 cm
• A lightweight shoe packing solution
• Top grab handle
• Side ventilation
• LinkSeal Mesh top for dirt resistance and visibility
• 2-way zippered opening

What I Love about it

• It's got air holes. There are grommets along the side so that your shoes can air and dry out. 
• I love the handle. Sometimes my gym bag gets super bulky, and I like to carry my shoes outside of the bag. The handle makes it easy to do this.
• There's no way my shoes are escaping this bag
• I could use it for when I travel and shove it in my luggage.
• There is enough room for the flipflops I use for showering post-run. (FYI, my foot size is 7.5).

Rating

I'm not sure why I always rate things 5/5. I only seem to review the things I love. I'm just going to nix out this section. ha ha.

Recipe: Shrimp & Spinach Pasta - For Lunch!

I was cooking up a batch of pastas a few nights ago for lunches, and randomly came up with this: Mmm! Tasty! I thought I share the recipe. It might be random, but I jotted down everything because I'm counting calories.

Servings : 6
Calories per serving: 362
Ingredients:

• Catelli Whole Wheat Pasta 375g box (6 servings)
• Defrosted - Frozen Cooked and Peeled Prawns (1 bag of 454g)
• 1 Red Onion 3 cups of Tomato Sauce (I used Western Family - the super tall can)
• 2 cups of Spinach 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 5 Large Mushrooms
• 1 Tablespoon of minced Garlic
• 1 Tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar (I used Safeway Select)
• 1 Teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt for preparing the pasta

Steps:

1. Boil the pasta in salt water as you normally would and to your liking (firm, al dente, soft). Drain, and run under cold water. I then divvied it up amongst 6 containers.
2. Divvy up your can of tomato sauce amongst the 6 containers (about 1/2 cup each).
3. Preheat your sauce pan (or wok - cuz I don't have a saucepan!) on medium to high heat Add the ingredients in this order:
• teaspoon of olive oil and garlic
• red onion
• prawns
• red peppers
• mushrooms
• balsamic vinegar
4. Stir fry the above ingredients.
5. Once everything is cooked, turn off the heat and stir in your spinach. There should be enough heat to just cook your spinach.
6. Divvy up the stir fry to each container.

Enjoy!

Breathing Technique for running! Fish Face!!!

You'd think that breathing while running would come naturally. I've read and tried so many things but just can't seem to get it right. I might have a good few days of running but can never pin point what I did to help me breathe better while running to improve my endurance and to prevent side stitches.

General Running breathing technique/tips (gathered from various websites):

1. Develop a 3:2 ratio for breathing, inhale 3 steps and exhale for 2 steps. 
2. Belly Breathe rather than Chest breathe.
3. Breathe through the mouth and nose if possible.

Honestly, I don't think about the 3:2 ratio for breathing, I'm typically chatting up with my coworkers and am not counting my foot strikes. Regarding the Belly Breathing technique, it's funny. I thought I was belly breathing but for a while there, I was constantly hit by side stitches and my breathing was very difficult to control!

My coworker gave me some advice to do a 2 short exhales and 1 deep inhale technique, it helped for one day but I felt like I was doing Lamaze breathing (hoo hoo heeeeeeeee) and this technique seemed to encourage shallow chest breathing for me. (this may work for you though! but it didn't help me).

I finally came really really close to finding something that worked while trying to find out how i could prevent side stitches. One remedy for side stitches that I came across was to purse your lips as though you're about to blow out a candle. This helped train me to exhale with minimal expansion of the lungs in the chest (try it right now!!). The only problem I had with pursing your lips is that your face isn't totally relaxed. So what's the equivalent to a totally relaxed face that's close to pursing your lips???

Fish Face!!

Not to be confused with Fish Lips (where you suck in your cheeks). I noticed when I exhaled while pursing my lips, I was breathing more towards the back of the lungs and deeper. For exhaling, I read somewhere (sorry I've been to so many websites, I tried to google them to see if i can reference them but I couldn't find them again) one website likened it to a Yawn. When I pretended to yawn, similar to pursing your lips, I felt as though I was breathing more towards the back of the lungs. By completely relaxing your face while running and breathing in and out with lips similar to our swimming friend in the picture it's allowed me to breathe properly while running. I'm not sure if this will work for everyone but I used to not even be able to run 100m before getting hit with a massive side stitch or my lungs would hurt like heck. Once I figured out what worked for me for running I'm now comfortable to add on some distance. I even ran over 5miles today without any side stitches or achy lungs!

Share with us what works for you or let us know if you have any questions about fitness :) We're not experts but we'll pretend we are thanks to the power of Google ;P just kidding! or am I?

Review: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunblock

I used to get manicures from a woman, an Esthetician who had studied laser technology, with the most flawless skin: Barely noticeable pores, unblemished, even skintone, etc. She looked like she fell out of a photoshopped studio picture. We got around to talking about skincare (because how could I not ask her about her skin?), and she said to wear sun protection everyday, even if it's not sunny out. Her biggest tip was to not rely on moisturizers or makeup that already contained SPF.

Mineral makeup with SPF? Forget it. Moisturizers with built in SPF? Slap on that layer of sun protection anyways! After you apply your moisturizer after cleansing, you should apply a separate sunscreen product. It's an extra layer of protection from the sun's harmful UV rays.

Imagine my hesitation! When one says "sunscreen" or "sunblock", I automatically think "greasy", "filmy", and "sticky". The thought of something sitting on my skin made me cringe. However, I was willing to give it a shot! I often hear about how it's good for you, and that it prevents premature wrinkling. As cute as pugs are, I don't think I can pull off that look.

Oh my! How Wrinkly!

I lucked out! The first sun protection I tried became a holy grail! I've been using it for 2 years consistently. I present to you Neutrogena UltraSheer Dry Touch Sunblock.

I'm not sure if you are supposed to use this for your face, as I know Neutrogena also makes sun protection specifically for the face, but I slap this on my face regardless.


Details (on the bottle)
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunblock provides broad spectrumUVA/UVB protection and combines it with Dry-Touch technology to give an ultra-light, on-shiny finish. This lightweight sunblock absorbs quickly and has a light, fresh scent. The non-oily formula is enriched with Vitamin A, C, and E.

• Waterproof, sweatproof, rubproof
• Non-comedogenic (won't clog pores)

Directions (on bottle)
Apply liberally 15 to 30 minutes before going into the sun. Reapply after swimming, perspiring heavily or washing. WARNING: For external use only. Avoid contact with eyes. Discontinue use if rash appears or irritation develops. For use on children under 6 months of age, consult your doctor.


How I Use It
I cleanse my skin, apply my moisturizer, let my moisturizer absorb, and then apply the sunblock. I currently use SPF 30, but have also used SPF 55 (because of paranoia).

Benefits

• It's everything it says on the label: Non sticky, light, absorbs quickly, non-shiny finish, and has a light fresh scent.
• Vitamin A, C, and E: These vitamins are great for anti-aging, and protecting the skin not only from UV light, but also pollution and other cell-damaging free radicals.
• It hasn't broken me out and I wear it for my runs on hot days
• Say no to wrinkles! Prevention is better than botox, or bangs that cover your forehead (especially true, if you look horrible with bangs like I do).
  

Overall Rating
5/5 - Holy grail products deserve this score. I haven't ever considered switching.

I can have pretty nails again! - Gel Nail Polish

I had unintentionally gave up on getting manicures because they don't last very long. I used to get weekly manicures and monthly pedicures. But since my son was born, I hardly ever got my nails done. I'm constantly washing my hands, dishes etc, that the nail polish would start chipping within a few days.

My dear sweet cousin treated me to a manicure and pedicure a few weeks ago. She told me to try Gel Nail Polish (I remember once when Blublu had told me about Gel Nail Polish before too). So i decided to try it out.

What it is: A special nail polish that is UV-cured.
Benefits: Because the polish is cured using a UV light, your nails are completely dry right out of the drying lamp. You can rummage through your purse for your keys with no worries! Gel Nail Polish also lasts for a very long time (approx 2 weeks) without chipping.
Cost: Approximately $10-$15 more than a standard manicure.




Nails Freshly done by Glossnails (Sacramento,CA)

 I chose Gelish brand nail polish. It's been about 3-4 weeks since I had my nails done and they're in pretty good condition despite it starting to grow out. You do need to get the polish soaked off though, regular nail polish won't take care of it.

Gelish Nail Polish!

There are plenty of other brands of Gel Nail polishes. Ask your manicurist if they have Gel polishes! Become a believer. I highly recommend this for people that work in the food industry, crafters, etc. No more worries about nail polish getting chipped, scratched or worn out! :)

Travelling Tips and the Airplane Outfit - From Colder to Hot Climates

I have been on plenty of planes the past three years. With business trips and vacations, I've learned a few things about packing smart, and packing light. No matter where I go, I am able to fit everything I need into a gym bag. Not to mention I've finally figured out what to wear when a girl like me gets on a plane in rainy-and-cold Vancouver, and gets off in a place like hot-and-sweltering Mexico. Clearly, the clothes I bring have to be convertible, as all I have is a gym bag.

WHAT TO WEAR
These are the items I wear on the plane.

Yoga Tights
I wear these on a plane under a dress (which I'll discuss later). I wear them on the way to the airport, and on the plane to stay warm. However, once we land in hotter climates, I whip those suckers off while still seated in the plane - I'll let you know later how it is I do this discreetly.

WHY workout tights? Because I do workout at the fitness center in the hotel, run around the city, or practice yoga in my hotel room or on the beach. This extra functionality makes it so that I don't have to pack an extra pair of pants specifically for working out.

Another reason is because sometimes the plane gets hot, and these suckers are dri-fit.

My favorite pair of tights are Lululemon Wunder Under Crops!

These suckers are four-way stretch, which makes it awesome for when you're sitting comfortably in an awkward position in your tiny little airplane seat for 4+ hours.

I cannot tell a lie! I wear these tights as much as possible! I actually wear yoga clothes to work. I wear these tights, a yoga tank underneath a dressy top, and flats or boots. At the end of the day, I head to the yoga studio, whip off my top, and am ready to get my plank on.


Light-Weight Black Dress
I like to wear a light-weight black tank dress with simple shaping when I'm on the plane. The piece I own is also Lululemon. So again, it's dri-fit, and stretchy - which makes the plane ride more bearable. I wear my tights under these. Once I get off the plane, no matter how hot it is, I certainly do not feel hot (especially since by then, I've whipped off my tights).

What's great about this piece is that you can dress it up with a fancy belt, jewellery, or a big hat! Thus, it's not only for the plane ride, but for a fancier dinner in your destination city, or for exploring - it IS athletic, afterall!

Large Shawl
A large shawl doubles as a blanket on the plane. Mine was large enough to share with my husband. I got mine at H&M for $20. However, since this piece is generic enough, I'm sure you can find it in any department store.

The fantastic thing about this piece is that you can place it over your lap, and whip off/on your tights when your plane lands. It will also keep you warm on your way to the airport if you live in a place like Vancouver where it's wet-cold and chills you to the bone.

I've also worn it on chilly nights in the destination city!

Foldable Ballet Flats

Super comfortable, and easy to whip off when you're going through security at the airport or when you don't feel like wearing shoes on the plane. As well, if you decide to switch to your runners/flip flops (or whatever other pair of shoes you have) on the plane ride back, you can fold these suckers up, and shove them in your carry-on.

OTHER THINGS TO HAVE HANDY ON YOUR PLANE RIDE
Some things to consider...

Feminine Wipes
To stay fresh :) They do come in travel packets at the drug store and sometimes you can find fancier ones at the Spa. Alternatively, you could use panty liners. (I'm really hoping the guys aren't reading this right now.)

These are from a Canadian Company

Misting Toner
The air in the cabin can parch your skin. Consider bringing a misting toner for your face. I don't actually use one, but am going to start. There's Evian Mineral Water Spray,  and Caudalie Beauty Elixer, just to name two. I'm sure you can stop by your local beauty store to check out the selection. You can also use this on your feet if they're feeling tired from exploring your destination city.

Lotion
Don't forget about your hands!

My favorite and in the lovely scent of Lavender!

Tinted Lip Balm
I prefer tinted lip balm because it has color AND it's moisturizing. I like to bring my C.O Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint. The reason being that it helps with the fresh breath factor and leaves your lips tingly.

Get it at Bath & Body Works!

Happy travelling!

Swimming Tip: Protect your Skin from the Drying Effects of Chlorine

Chlorine dries out the skin on my face and makes it itch! I slather on the lotion afterwards, but I still itch, and there's nothing better than prevention. I found a way to minimize the drying effects!

Before I head out to the pool in the AM, I create a barrier on my face. How? As follows...

1. Cleanse with Cetaphil: I don't typically use this as my daily cleanser, but I do use it before I head to the pool. I slather on this cleanser on my dry face, and then I wipe it off with a clean face towel. I do NOT use water. I find that rinsing off Cetaphil is more drying than wiping it off. Before heading out to the pool, I want as much moisture in my skin as possible.


Moisturize: I use Clarins Hydraquench for Normal to Dry Skin. This moisturizer is my holy grail and Cherwhoah also swears by it. However, if you have a moisturizer that works for you, then stick with it!



Holy grail moisturizer!

2. Waterproof Sunscreen: I use Neutrogena's Ultra Sheet Dry Touch, also a holy grail of mine. It is not greasy, is light, does not break me out, and I forget I'm wearing it. This step is especially important as it creates a barrier between the pool and my skin. It basically traps the moisture in the skin, and keeps the chlorine out.
 



Holy grail Sunscreen!

Very important point: Do not rub your face while in the pool. You're rubbing off the barrier!