The 'Long Haul Flight' Survival Plan.

Did you catch my post about first time flying? In the grand scheme of things, UK to Paris? That flight was a breeze, a perfect first flight route if you ask me! My ears had barely stopped popping before it was time for them to go again for the way down. I returned from Paris infected by quite a bad case of Wanderlust, and now i've survived flying once, I think I can do it again and i'm currently planning some get-aways a little further afield.

The lovely folks over at RelayRides got in touch recently asking travel bloggers to share their travel secrets from tips to essentials and emergency must-haves. RelayRides is a peer to peer car rental market place, who aim to connect people who need a car, with owners of unused cars. A very nifty idea if you ask me. Their 'Airport Rentals' section is growing, and already operating in a bunch of big U.S cities that are on my travel lust list. Something that always bothers me about traveling is the best route from the airport to the hotel. Public transport with luggage is not fun at all! But being able to pick up a car at the airport and drive to your hotel? That is cool, convenient and a great way to save a bit of money on airport transfers.

So today I thought i'd share with you my plan for surviving a really, really long flight.

Whether you're off on a Valentine's get away, traveling for business, preparing for a summer holiday (or just really, really, reeeeaaaally prepared for your December hols like me), those long flights, delays and connections can get a little tiresome, right? The last thing anyone wants thrown into all that is to feel uncomfortable. The key to solving this, is the personal item.

My research has led me to believe a bunch of airlines allow a 'personal item' like a handbag, in addition to a carry on bag. So check out my newest travel companion, the Kipling Beonica! I snagged this in the sale which makes it even sweeter. We swear by Kipling bags in my house, and between mum and I... We've got quite the collection. They are sturdy, spacious and have a place for everything. This doesn't seem like a huge bag... But it's definitely got a little case of the Tardis going on as it's definitely bigger on the inside. So let's take a peek at what I plan on stashing inside it!

I've read good things about memory foam travel pillows, especially for really long flights. I know my neck always hurts after long train or car journeys, so I can only imagine what a flight is like. I was hunting for a good while and eventually stumbled upon the fact that Very now stock Antler products. I remember my mum saying Antler made high quality products, so I popped it in my basket. It's very soft and has little extras like a swivel clip and popper neck fastening to keep it in place. The only downside is it's made me want a memory foam mattress... Pricey!

As it's so small, i'd also pop my Antler plug adapting kit into my carry on. It comes in it's own protective case and has attachments for almost everywhere in the world. It was a little on the pricey side, but it covers all bases and I know it's going to be good quality. The Label31 portable battery charger is my handbag hero and something I wouldn't go anywhere without. It takes up hardly any room, and is perfect for keeping phones, cameras or your music going all day!

For a long journey, I need music. I love my Skull Candy headphones and old Sony mp3 combo, but they do take up a bit of space, so i'll trade those headphones for some in-ear ones. They are more likely to protect my ears from the dreaded popping too! I'll also throw in my transformers headphone splitter. It looks bulky but the actual headphone splitting part is a small piece that can be removed, and takes up next to no room.

Lots of goodies spilling out of my next pick, a hat (or an eye mask, or my personal favourite, a very big snuggly hood) to pull over eyes to catch a bit of a snooze. Definitely a must for really long flights, although probably skippable if it's only an hour or so. Unless the destination is cold, then a hat will keep your ears warm and save space in your case for more goodies.

A few beauty essentials I hope will keep me feeling human on the seriously long flights looming in the future are these goodies. Both TokyoMilk Dark Absinthe lip balm and Tainted Love hand cream smell incredible. My hands and the skin around my mouth are prone to drying up so these are two of the most important things for me. I was lucky enough to snag a mini Urban Decay b6 prep spray, and its the perfect size for in-flight refreshing. I always have hand sanitizer with me and find it especially handy if you are heading straight out exploring from the flight. I'm hoping the Nip & Fab Eye Fix will be enough to combat my post flight (and very stubbon) dark circles, and i'm saving this adorable pot of L'Occitane's Immortelle cream as the cold weather recently has been messing with my skin like nobodies business.

For me, one of the worst feelings in the world is feeling a bit smelly. Well when you're up in a giant can for hours on end there isn't a lot of things one can do to stop that happening. I keep stashing away little samples from magazines, beauty boxes and so on has given me a great selection of handbag heroes, and they will slip into teeny tiny little gaps in your carry on liquid bag. Miniature perfumes, solid perfumes and perfume pencils will also do the trick! For my trip to Paris, I bought a selection of little spray bottles to decant my perfume into. I took two and it was just the right amount to last me a week. I plan to chose a nice light perfume for traveling, as i've seen a lot of grumbling online about strong perfumes giving other travelers headaches.

Pictured: Viktor & Rolf BonBon Sample, Vera Wang Princess perfume pencil, 10ml Spray bottle, miniature Ghost.

The Charlotte Tilbury Luxury palette in Vintage Vamp has two gorgeous light shades that can be swept on in a flash and brighten up tired eyes. It feels really luxurious, so after spending a long time on a flight, I know using it would perk me up a little. Another way to quickly add a pop of colour, Benefit's Benebalm. I think the Benebalm gives off the best pop of colour and it's a multi-tasker as it's a balm as well. 

And last up is my little travel buddy, Pegasus! Pegs sticks with me. That way, I know he isn't going to fly off on his own somewhere and get lost. I'm a sleep snuggler, so I definitely need to have my buddy with me. Pegasus is from a range of plushes called Disney Babies that were and may still be available at the Disney parks in Florida and Paris. It may be available elsewhere too! There are a bunch of other adorable characters in the range like Thumper, Stitch, the Princesses, Buzz Lightyear and Simba to name a few!

I have plenty of ideas and we're even planning our next big trip, but I can't say where yet as I don't want to jinx it! (Still waiting for my cohorts time off to be approved. My finger is practically hovering above the book button during my waking hours.) My Mum has even recruited me to help her plan a dream trip! If only she could take a passport photo she is happy with... Although I thought the entire point of a passport photo was to hate it? What do you think?

Is there anything you can't be without to survive long flights? I'd love to know!

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