Face Masks For Frequent Flyers

[trip style = any]

Something about face masks reminds me of teenage sleepovers---a time when I wore scrunchies, played Truth or Dare and watched Girls Just Want to Have Fun with an oatmeal mask on my face. While I can still recite lines from the classic Sarah Jessica Parker movie, I've matured and started incorporating masks into my weekly skincare routine in the hopes that I'll look as amazing as Martha Stewart does at age 72. The New York Times recently published an article about her beauty regimen, which includes several face masks. They aren't only effective for detoxifying, firming or brightening your skin; they also boost hydration, which makes them the perfect travel companion.

Trip Styler Tip: I'm a huge fan of try before you buy. Drop by your local beauty store and ask for a sample or two before committing to a mask. Bonus: samples are perfectly sized for travel!

I suffered the harsh effects of recycled air and zero humidity while flying to Europe last year. My face and lips were parched for days. I wish I knew then what I know now: you've got to prep and treat your skin for travel. That means applying a hydrating mask before, after and even during a long flight. Hear me out before you call me crazy! Many masks are invisible and can be left on the skin overnight, so there won't be any embarrassing episodes on board. Plus you'll be the only one emerging from the flight looking dewy and glowy.

Trip Styler Tip: Don't forget to hydrate your lips on a long flight---I have friends who swear by MALIN+GOETZ's fragrance-free lip moisturizer. If the recycled plane air already got the best of you, steep a bag of green tea, pull it out and press it to your lips for several minutes. This trick totally works.

My top picks for hydrating gel or cream masks are Origins Drink Up 10 Minute Mask, skoah hydradew mask and GLAMGLOW Thirstymud Hydrating Treatment. PS. They all smell delicious! Another style of hydrating mask is the sheet mask, which is huge in Asia, where the biggest skincare trends are emerging these days. Case in point, Japan Airlines gives out moisturizing eye masks to business class passengers {see our editor wearing one}. Made of cotton and soaked in hydrating ingredients, these sheets are individually packaged mini facials. Perfect for travel, but maybe not applying inflight unless the lights are out. My top picks are Dr. Jart+ Water-Full Hydrogel Mask, SK-II Facial Treatment Mask and When Essence Mask.

This post is written by Trip Styler fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

[graphic by @heatherlovesit]

Dine Out Vancouver + OPUS Hotel + Giveaway

[trip style = foodie + urban]

Vancouver's food scene sizzles in every season. Living on Canada's West Coast has made my flavor benchmark soar as high as the mountains towering over the city---a bar that has become abundantly clear as I trip style and taste my way around the globe. The local catch and crops, infused with flavors from the Pacific Rim, inspire a city of uber-foodies who have a mere 1/4 teaspoon of tolerance for bad bites.

Dine Out Vancouver Once a year for 17 days over January and February, Vancouver chefs slice and simmer up a storm for Canada's largest restaurant festival: Dine Out Vancouver. Now in its 12th year, the festival has grown from a handful of prix-fixe menus at the city's hottest eateries to a celebration of gastro-wow at hundreds of the city's top tables from L'Abattoir to La Pentola to Wildebeest to YEW to PiDGiN to Bella Gelateria {multicourse gelato tasting anyone?}.

Beyond the 263 participating restaurants offering tasting menus at $18, $28 or $38, the festival has grown to include 31 quintessentially Vancouver events, think: snowshoe-and-fondue evenings {see my photos of this event on Instagram}, food truck gatherings, brunch crawls and a 'palate promenade' through Granville Island---the city's undisputed source for fresh ingredients.

A Dine Out Night Out Since we're food- and hotel-obsessed here at Trip Styler, for us, the most appetizing Dine Out story is the 25 savor and stay pairings! Excited to show off two palate- AND palette-pleasing spaces under one roof, we hightailed it to the OPUS Hotel---one of Canada's top-rated boutique hotels---for a sweet staycation.

Our evening started with craft cocktails mixed by bartender Martin Corriveau in the velvet-imbued and Tulip table-topped OPUS lobby, continued into La Pentola della Quercia for the $38 four-course tasting menu, and concluded with a tech-savvy and trip-styled stay. Bonus, the stroll 'home' was 20 steps.

Trip Styler Tip: Keep reading for delicious details how you can enter a OPUS Hotel Vancouver GIVEAWAY!

Here's a Taste Chic check-in offering a water or sparkling French wine {tough choice!}.

A suite. At turndown, every room and suite receives retro candy like Popeye Cigarettes or Pop Rocks on the pillow.

La Pentola just before the pre-dinner rush.

The lobby---for cocktailing and chilling out.

La Pentola Northern Italy-inspired Dine Out menu with two choices for each course.

Dine Out antipasti: House-cured organic Coho salmon.

Dine Out primi: Parmesan souffle with a zucchini crudo {my fav course!}

Dine Out surprise dish: rabbit and artichoke ravioli in a brown butter sauce.

Dine Out main course: Mushroom risotto with a Qualicum Bay scallop.

Dine Out dessert: Chocolate mousse paired with beet ice cream and foam crumble, and poppy seed puree.

My deluxe king room at the OPUS. All rooms include ah-ha extras like iPads for stay use, heated bathrooms floors, WiFi, original art by local artists and a Jaguar XJ downtown car service. PS - Fido is welcome without charge!

Dine Out Details - It's on NOW, the 2014 dates are Jan 17 - Feb 2. - Some events, and restaurants---like La Pentola---still have availability. - Make a night of it, check out the hotel pairings---we dig the OPUS {from $138}. - Peruse restaurants, events, hotels and availability on the Dine Out Vancouver website.

OPUS Hotel Giveaway - One lucky reader will win one unforgettable night in a superior room at the OPUS Hotel Vancouver. - Hotel certificate expires December 30, 2014. - Enter by liking this post on Facebook---see like button below---AND by leaving a comment below notifying us of your entry. - Bonus entry: go to Instagram.com/tripstyler for details {must complete above step to confirm your entry}. - Contest closes Tuesday, February 4th, 2014 at noon PST. Winner will be selected via Random.org. Upon notification, winner has two days to claim prize. *Winner announced and contacted. Congrats Casey.

[photos by @tripstyler and OPUS Hotel, taken as a guest of Dine Out Vancouver]

Three Otherworldly Spas in Hawaii

[trip style = spa]

As a Hawaii lover and a spa-thusiast, indulging in treatments in the Aloha State is my version of fluttering near the heavenly realms. And let's be honest, in January, the mid-Pacific's natural eau de plumeria and tranquil temperatures are enough to make us book a ticket to the tropics---the spas are a bonus! Having soothed my skin on almost all of Hawaii’s islands, here’s a chorus of tried, tested and trip-styled spas to make you sing m-ahhh-halo!

Maui Fifty-thousand square feet of East-meets-West serenity is dedicated to rejuvenation and healing at Spa Grande, the state’s biggest and most highly-rated spa, in the Grand Wailea. Don’t just pop in for your treatment between poolside mai tais. Once you take a gander at the Termé Hydrotherapy Circuit mingling Swiss jet showers, a Roman whirlpool, Hawaiian sea salt soaking pools {pictured above} and a Japanese Furo bath, you’ll tell yourself “the sun can wait” while extolling the praises of your spa day. The Termé Hydrotherapy Circuit is included in most treatments, or can be booked solo for $65.

Lanai One of my Hawaii happy places is lounging at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay---featured as a TS Approved, Roam+Board stay in in 2013. The property---one of only three hotels on Hawaii’s smallest inhabited island---reaches over the tumbling landscape like a palm tree bowing toward the shore. Hidden from the hotel, a bevy of Oceanside Hale are closed for privacy on three sides with one open panel framing Lanai's most photographed landscape: Sweetheart Rock {pictured above}. Intent on luxuriating in Lanai, I complimented the hut's gorgeous view with a Makala Massage, which saw my masseuse performing a head-to-toe bamboo stick drumroll to awaken my muscles---strangely fabulous---as well as maneuvering my skin to mimic the ocean’s movement.

Trip Styler Tip: Find all the serenity-now details ofHawaii's Heavenly Spas in my Expedia Viewfinder article.

Hawaii, The Big Island One of my top treatments in 2013 was at The Fairmont Orchid's Spa Without Walls. Similar to my other spa-capades on Maui and Lanai, I booked a local treatment---always a best practice. For all 110 minutes of my Ali’i Experience, I felt like a Hawaiian princess being prepared for a suitor with the island’s most luxurious botanical essences and potions---fitting given Ali’i is the Hawaiian word for royalty. Sprawled in a cabana a mere five feet from the ocean, I was rubbed with fragrant Hawaiian herbs, massaged with sweeping lomilomi-style strokes and adorned with a crown of coconut oil. When the oil started trickling down my scalp, my state shifted from deep relaxation to divine gratitude. Heaven, indeed.

[photos by @tripstyler, except Spa Grande, courtesy Grand Wailea]

Healthy On The Road :: Boost-it Foods

[trip style = any]

January wouldn't be January at the Trip Styler HQ without an extra dose of detox. After kicking off 2014 with our favorite wayfaring cleanse, the glowing green smoothie, we're coming back to you with another one-way ticket to wellness. As you think about what pins you'll push into the map this year, before takeoff, boost your body with this list of inexpensive, natural and vitamin-rich superfoods, all favorites of the most frequent and fabulous fliers I know: the Virgin Atlantic flight crew. Lucky day: indulging in all these tropical treats is a vacation unto itself.

Coconut Water
Hydration significantly reduces feelings of jet lag, and coconut water is alkaline showing great cleansing effects on the body.

Trip Styler Tip: No coconut water in the fridge? Pop the petite and reusable Santevia Alkaline Water Stick into a jug or water bottle to achieve similar, alkalizing effects.

Bananas
Eating bananas boosts serotonin which stabilizes your mood and has a calming effect on the brain.

Pineapple
Pineapples contain high levels of vitamin C that help improve your immunity. Their juice also helps with digestion and aids in flushing your system.

Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass powder contains the same green pigment found in plants, and helps flush the liver as well as regulate digestion.

Jump Start Jetsetter
Just hitting the Virgin Clubhouse circuit this January, I'm amped for the antioxidant-packed Jump Start Jetsetter---a non-alcoholic cocktail cool enough to drink at the bar. In case you're not stopping by one of Sir Branson's lounges in the next few weeks, here's the secret sauce for a DIY version:

Pineapple Juice: antioxidant that increases intestinal productivity and rich in Vit C
Coconut Water: alkaline that has great cleansing effects on the body
Ginger: antioxidant that stimulates digestion and circulation
Agave: high in vitamins and minerals, low GI
Mint: soothes stomachs in cases of indigestion or inflammation
Angostura bitters: stimulates digestion and reduces trapped gasses
Egg whites: zero fat and low calorie protein Fresh lemon: break down fats and stimulates digestion

Finally, once you've arrived in your destination, ditch the AM coffee for a cup of warm water and a splash of lemon to wake-up your system and banish grogginess.

[photos, in order of appearance, by @tripstyler and Virgin Atlantic]

Fashion Friday :: Mad for Hats

[trip style = any]

This post is written by Trip Styler fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

I've accumulated a handful of hats over the years---straw hats for summer, wool toques for winter, ball caps for weekends and my absolute favorite, wide-brimmed fedoras for any d*mn time I please. While working as a television stylist and wardrobe consultant, I learned that there are generally two types of people when it comes to hats: people who think they look ah-mazing and people who think they look TERRIBLE. If you don't think you're a hat person, I challenge you to try some on, and then some more, like you're trying on sunglasses---super embarrassing until you the find the perfect style and fit.

Hats are memorable. They don't just make you and your outfit memorable, they also remind you of the times in your life when you wore them, like a favorite song or band. I can tell you about all the trips I've taken with my Steven Alan Janis Fedora like I can tell you about all the road trips I've taken listening to "Viva La Vida" or Milo Greene.

Here are a few more benefits of hats:
- They're better than dry shampoo for bad hair days.
- They give you an air of mystery.
- They stave off the cold.
- They automatically create a "look."

Trip Styler Tip: Don't pack your felt hat in your suitcase---wear it on the plane to avoid a "crushing" discovery upon arrival.

When looking for a hat:
- Forget trends and go for one that makes you feel fabulous.
- Try it on in person.
- Know your hat size.

Check out my nine picks for timeless toppers that will change your game at the drop of a ... hat.

1/ Rag & Bone wide brim fedora, 2/ Janessa Leone lucy, 3/ Shade + Slouch the alexandra fedora, 4/ Janessa Leone vera, 5/ Iron and Resin ranchero hat, 6/ Catarzi for ASOS classic fedora, 7/ Free People matador hat, 8/ Etudes unisex midnight hat, 9/ Federica Moretti torero hat

More Fashion Friday
Celeb Travel Must-Haves
Make a Statement
Red and Green Reimagined
Shop Seattle

[b&w photos via because i'm addicted, ascot friday, tommy ton for gq, janessa leone]