Packing stuff and product advice....

[bluepea]

Getting closer and just need some advice.

First of all, anyone know where I can get an inexpenisive travel refillable make up brush? I have only seen them two places (eBay from some make up collection kit) and Nieman Marcus (30 bones a piece). I tried to looked at Target to no avail.

Things like travel sized shaving cream - easy to get in Europe - bigger cities, stores like Wal Mart? How are prices on average? Comparable or not? I know saline is a huge expense there.

Do you think it'd be a dumb idea for a girl and guy to share one razor (Mach 3)? Can get the cartridges wholesale and cheap. Or should I break down and spend the extra 10$ or so to buy my own.

Anyone here on the ring (BC)? Any advice, horror stories, etc? I specifically want the ring.

What about my eyebrows?? What did the girls here do? Just bring tweezers? Or did you stop to get them waxed? Or did you bring some kind of self waxing kit (what I do now)?

I think that's about it for now.

[foofiter]

First I am a guy but I think I can help...on the razor at least.

Just take one mach 3 handle and enough blades for both of you. You can just switch them. I doubt the both of you will NEED to shave at the same time. My gf uses my handle here all the time.

Hook me up with some cheap blades! I will buy 100 if they are cheap enough and pay you for your troubles!

foofiter

[agriadam]

hey man I just looked it up I can get a case of mach 3 blades for $127.32 their are 12-"Mach 3 Blades Turbo 12-Pack" to a case that means each "Mach 3 Blades Turbo 12-Pack" is only $10.61 with a suggested retail price of $27.99(note I have never paid that much for a 12 pack of blades maybe around $20) butu if that was the case than it would be a 62% margin. I'm not ready to buy now but just thought I would let you in on that information.

[space virgin]

God, I feel like such a failure at being a woman. Usually my makeup is kept to a bare minimum anyway, so I don't know what to tell you about the brushes...

And I would say that yeah, you don't need two entirely separate razors, but you should bring separate blades. Honestly when I was gone for a long period of time I didn't give a rat's ass about shaving, lol. And when it would start to bug me I'd just go pick up a disposable somewhere. And shaving cream? You mean SOAP?? ahahaha. You're going to be on the road, man-- if you can find a small thing of shaving cream and it's that important to you, bring it. Otherwise just accept the hairy.

As far as the ring, I don't have any experience with it but I've heard that it's okay. Expect the same things as if you're on the pill.

I also don't really pay much attention to eyebrow tweezing even when I'm being high-maintenance, lol. I wouldn't bother bringing any wax with you-- big waste of space. Just bring some tweezers or go get your brows waxed over there if it's really bugging you.

I hope this helps at least a little!!

[U2fan]

It has generally been my experience that any sort of toiletry items you can get here you can pretty easily get in Europe...it might be tiny mom and pop like store, and obviously a brand you haven't heard of, but you can get it. Prices are a different story.....vary widely depending on where you are.

[bluepea]

Agh, no soap! I have super sensitive skin so shaving cream is the way to go for me. I do have one small thing of it to bring - just wondering how easy it would be to get another travel size. Yes, I have to shave. I'm only OCD about a few things and keeping hair free is one.

Anyone ever get anything waxed anywhere in Europe?

I had another question to ask but I forgot.

I think we will just do one razor then. Foo - actually looked on eBay and found them really cheap. We'll be stopping at Sams tomorrow to compare prices and will let you know if I can get you a better hookup.

Keep it coming.

I thank you in advance!

[tumblezweedz]

If your skin is really sensitive, you're probably best taking whatever creams/soaps work for you, even if you can't get a travel size. Unless you use a really widespread brand, you may not be able to find it on the road, and it wouldn't be fun wandering around with a rash or something!

Travel sizes aren't widely available in eastern Europe, probably more so in western. One of the biggest Walmart-like chains over here is Carrefour - I've seen 'em everywhere from Spain to Poland - which usually have a good selection of just about everything, though not quite at Walmart prices. It would probably be a good bet for most toiletries, and if you find something you like, you can probably find the same brands at most of their stores.

My beauty regime consists of having a shower and combing my hair, so I don't have many details about your other questions, though there are spas EVERYWHERE even here in Vilnius, so I'd imagine you would have no trouble finding a place for some pampering, though at what cost, I don't know.

[bluepea]

Thanks TW for the thorough advice on that kind of stuff. Most of our initial time there will be in Western Europe, though I'd like to travel Eastern after a bit.

I'm doomed about the make up brush though!

Hmmm, my brother in law says that the German spas are just cover ups for drinking nekked. He found that out the hard way. He also failed to mention if there was anything "spa-ish" about them...

[tumblezweedz]

Don't know about in Germany... here we have "beauty spas", that's more what I was thinking, not the "health" type. We have those, too, but the staff are scary looking soviet era types, so I didn't go!

When and for how long will you be travelling?

[bluepea]

Oh, that was just a funny story my brother in law told us. We leave on 6/13. We're gonna travel until: a. traveled out, b. get bored, c. no money. Yeah we have the first two months pretty well planned then after that, it's up in the air. Start in Ireland, head to Germany (my brother in law lives there), have a million other places to visit, then we have a work exchange in Corsica. After that, we're not sure. Yeah, I leave in 20 days. To say that I'm freaking out is an understatement. I'm so stressed and so bitchy. I feel sorry for everyone around me.

[agriadam]

Originally posted by jamiepeaski@May 24 2005, 01:28 PM
I'm so stressed and so bitchy. I feel sorry for everyone around me.

Jacob has my sympathy.

[benna2]

The Target here in my town has an aisle that is basically all travel sized stuff....they do have little cans of shaving cream/gel for about $1.00-$1.50, and the good brand too (I use Skintimate) They also have little shampoos/conditioners, deoderants, toothbrushes, Purel Hand gel, body wash, even small rolls of toilet paper. All for under 2 bucks I think.

As for the razor, you could probably get by with just using the one handle, I myself would want my own, just because the blades would get pretty dull after you shave your legs and then him shaving his face....Would you actually switch the blades back and forth after each other uses it? Maybe I am just a high maitenance girl, but I would want to just spend the 8 bucks or so and have my own!! (I probably have countless people rolling their eyes at me right now!)

The ring...don't know, sorry. The only birth control I have to use these days is the very old fashioned but 100% effective route of not getting laid!

Bring some tweezers to groom your eyebrows but get them waxed into a nice shape before you go. That way it is easier for the overall maitanance if you just pluck a little bit every few days or so. They also sell some wax strips that are small, like bandaids, so if you have a good hand and don't think you will take your whole eyebrow off, try those. They don't take up much room.

I have no idea what kind of makeup brush you are talking about....maybe post a link or something to give me more of an idea.

Anyway have a fabulous trip and it's good to know I am not the only girl who thinks about these things!

[bluepea]

Thanks for the tips. Actually my girlfriend and I just went travel shopping and stocked up at Target a few days ago. I did get the travel size shaving cream - I think exactly that one.

This is the link to the brush. This is the one from Nieman Marcus. I want two so I really don't want to spend that much!!! Can't seem to find them anywhere else for cheaper! I'll check eBay again.

I can't help thinking about these things! I can run around in the mud and skip a few showers without blinking but if my eyebrows grow out or my legs and other areas get scraggly, then I panic.

Jacob has my sympathy.

I think he's gonna need it.

[GoKrazy]

If you worry about hairy legs, then it may be worth it to go and get them waxed before you leave. This way it will take longer for the hair to come back and it will be finer then before. Then you can continue waxing or you can shave once again when they grow back.

I have used the little eyebrow waxing strips before and they work well. As stated before they are the size of a bandaid, so perfect for travel. They are easy to use and if you are worried about it, practice at home a bit to make sure you don't mess up while away.

[beergal]

Anyone ever get anything waxed anywhere in Europe?

ha ha

ok it costs about £7 to have your eyebrows waxed here in the UK

[bluepea]

Woah, thanks Beergal... Hmm... will stick to doing it on my own!

I've actually used those strip before. Then I just started doing the hot wax myself and really liked that a lot more... Mabye I'll go back to the dark side. They're really hard to get perfect! Ah well.

Leg waxing... oooh oooh... ow.... hmmm... maybe... good suggestion.. how bad is it??

[space virgin]

^It's not bad at all. Seriously. On a scale of 1 to 10 it's maybe a 5 (to me). There are more painful areas to wax, lol. The only problem is that you'd have to not shave your legs for about two weeks or so to get the hair long enough to make waxing effective, otherwise you're wasting your money. And if you haven't done it before, please, for the love of all that is holy-- do not do it yourself! Go to a salon.

*edited to add: On a scale of 1 to 10 in the " somewhat irritating but not life-threatening, nausea-inducing or bone-crushing" type of pain. That's a whole other scale.

[simply_angelic]

Originally posted by space virgin@May 26 2005, 01:29 PM
And if you haven't done it before, please, for the love of all that is holy-- do not do it yourself!* Go to a salon.*

I second that SV! I tried waxing on my own my first time and it took me so bloody looooong to get it right. I wasn't fast enough.....didn't lather it thin enough, etc etc and at first it only waxed patched took me like 2 1/2 hours to get it right!

[bluepea]

Okay I must take a second to burst into urban lingo and say - Mad props to Benna!! She helped me find my brushes at a MUCH better price!!!

Went to dr. today and got the ring. It came with a high level of recommendation from all the staff! She was so cool - she used to backpack a lot (tomorrow she's going to Peru) and was like "how will you get more? You can always have someone stop in and pick them up for you and then mail them overseas!" Ah, a backpacker at heart.

I'm weighing the waxing thing... it just sounds so.. painful. I'll believe you though SV. I actually have a pretty high pain tolerance, I'm just still a sissy. I'd have to wait two weeks anyway. Good story SA! Nothing like learning from experience.

[benna2]

No problem. Bargain shopping is my hobby and I never pay full price for
anything except groceries!! haha.

Did you end up buying that one off ebay then? I figured you could
probably end up getting it for about 13 or 14 bucks, plus shipping...still
under 30 I guess.

Anyway have a great time on your trip!