Virgin Diaries :: Airtight Hair

[trip style = any]

{Editor's Note: Virgin Atlantic’s got the market cornered on runway-ready beauty (pun intended). Intent to find out how flight attendants look hot on high, I flew to London to attend their grooming school, a three-pronged skin, makeup and hair course EVERY uniformed staff—guys and gals—goes through when they sign up, up and away with Branson’s birds.}

Following this week's Virgin Diaries in Sky-High Skincare and Inflight Makeup, the final leg of our journey achieves lift for airtight hair, before touching down on solid ground.

Airtight Hair During Virgin's hair demo, everyone attending the class stood in awe as Helen Kavanagh, Virgin's Grooming Standards Hair Manager, teased, pinned and wound the crew member/model's golden tresses into red carpet territory. Whether she was doing a french twist, voluminous bun or pouffy pleat, each hairstyle clocked in at six minutes flat---six minutes for a gala-coiffed updo! To say she left me in shock and awe is a huge understatement.

Once the demo was over, Helen styled my locks into a pouffy, side-swept do a la Mad Men era. All it took was a little backcombing basics and haircare essentials like bobby pins, spongy hair donuts {Helen is holding one above} and L'Oreal Elnett hairspray to achieve six-minute liftoff.

To get the look, Helen backcombed the top of my tresses, smoothed it over with a brush and secured it with a low, side pony, which she flipped over and weaved through a part just above the elastic. Leaving a few strands out to wrap around and cover the elastic, she wound my ponytail from the bottom up around a squished donut, fanned the hair over it, then pinned it to my head.

Virgin’s Airtight Hair Tips 1/ According to my class and the Virgin manual above, you MUST secure the essential ingredients; a teasing brush, L'Oreal Elnett Hairspray, dry shampoo, suzon hair pins or large bobby pins, non-tear hair elastics and a mesh donut. 2/ A little teasing goes a long way for mile-high hair. 3/ Ladies, wearing your hair up inflight means it won't get messy and dishevelled for landing. 4/ To give it some va-va-va-room before landing, re-tease and spray over flyaways.

Recalling my skin and makeup sessions, I gleaned the grooming day's theme wasn't about spending hours on my roaming routine, but learning the travel beauty basics, plus the best products for the job. Now, every time I fly, I operate by this mantra: WWAVCMD {what would a Virgin crew member do}?

Trip Styler Tip :: As we mentioned late in 2011, Virgin’s birds are flying West {again} this summer. Starting May 14th, a seasonal non-stop service takes flight from Vancouver to London {return}. Yay!

[photos by @tripstyler (as well as one from Virgin's crew grooming mag) taken when I was a guest of Virgin Atlantic in London]

Virgin Diaries :: Facing The Sky

[trip style = any]

We're currently mid-flight in our three-part series on grooming for globetrotters, applying tips we learned at Virgin Atlantic's beauty school in London. Hot off the tarmac of Monday's sky-high skincare session, I give you:

But first; a refresher: Virgin Atlantic’s got the market cornered on runway-ready beauty {pun intended}. Intent to find out how flight attendants look hot on high, I flew to London a few months ago to attend their grooming school, a three-pronged skin, makeup and hair course EVERY uniformed staff—guys and gals—goes through when they sign up, up and away with Branson’s birds.

Face-ing The Sky After a long travel day starting at 8am in Vancouver, I arrived at Heathrow around 2am Vancouver time/10am London time. Speaking of time, it was in short demand, so upon touchdown I was whisked off to Virgin's training base, for my intensive grooming session. At this point, I was operating on pure adrenalin.

When I sat in the makeup chair in front of a too-bright-for-the-hour mirror and a counter full of open grey-hued eye shadows and pinky blushers, I obviously looked tired---raccoon-like, actually. And then the inevitable happened, Mim Allgood, Virgin's makeup maven, gingerly asked if she could take off my half-there makeup to reapply it a la Virgin. Pl-ease {and thank you}.

Bare-faced {ah!},we started fresh with a spritz of rose toner and a dollop of day cream from Dr. Hauschka. Smelling like my first ever perfume, "Tea Rose" from The Body Shop {which I still hold in high regard to this day}, Mim went about making me up. Here's what I learned:

Virgin's Modern Makeup Tips For Travelers 1/ Virgin has a minimum look; for ladies it's black or brown mascara, blusher and red lipstick. For men, it's all about manscaping. 2/ Mim used a cocktail of bareMinerals powders to mask my jet lagged skin. 3/ For the eyes, she applied a quick base, layered a grey shadow in my crease and swiped the same color with an angled brush below my lower lash line. To add more impact, she finished off with one coat of mascara, followed by a swish of mineral powder {to thicken my lashes} and a second coat of mascara. 4/ A light dusting of pink-hued blusher on the apple of my cheek followed. To St. Tropez-ify my pale skin, bronzer was applied in a "number three" formation starting just above my brows, over my high cheekbones and down my jawline. 5/ Finally, lipstick. Red, of course. Mim told me there's a shade of red that suits every woman---she'd know, she's applied the saucy stuff to thousands. If red makes you nervous, she suggests starting with a blue-red hue. To preserve your pout, exfoliate the lips and apply a liner over the whole lip. Fill in with lipstick, blot, and apply another coat. Mwah!

While this 5-step process might seem lengthy "on paper", once Mim worked on me for a mere five minutes---she's that good---my eyes popped like sapphires and my lips dazzled like rubies. Freestyling Virgin's minimum look into my own jetset repertoire, I'd add a dash of Visine to take away red eyes, a dab of cover-up {especially focusing on the inner corners of the eye}, and per the Virgin way, paint my lips a blue-red, because red personifies polished {and distracts from a multitude of skin imperfections}. Voila, jetset in two minutes flat.

Trip Styler Tip :: As we mentioned late in 2011, Virgin’s birds are flying West {again} this summer. Starting May 14th, a seasonal non-stop service takes flight from Vancouver to London {return}. Yay!

[photos by @tripstyler taken when I was a guest of Virgin Atlantic in London]

Virgin Diaries :: Sky-High Skincare

[trip style = any]

Virgin Atlantic's got the market cornered on runway-ready beauty {pun intended}. Intent to find out how flight attendants look hot on high, I flew to London a few months ago to attend their grooming school, a three-pronged skin, makeup and hair course EVERY uniformed staff---guys and gals---goes through when they sign up, up and away with Branson's birds.

Curious how Virgin's flight attendants, dubbed "red hotties" by travelers, look impossibly airbrushed {read: runway hair, luscious red lips, rosy cheeks and bright eyes} at hour 10 of an international flight, I was schooled in Virgin's sky-high skincare, modern make-up tips and airtight hairstyles as if I was signing on as staff. Jumping into character from top to toe, I even slipped on the signature red uniform and red shoes, complete with a set of wings pinned to my lapel.

Confession: as a devotee of beauty magazines since I applied tinted lip gloss as a pre-tween, part of me wondered what I could really learn at London sky school. A lot! Sky-high beauty is VERY different from day-to-day beauty.

Gleaning enough grooming tips to fill a 747, I'm commandeering Trip Styler's content on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of this week with red carpet-ready---er, make that red concourse-ready---tips for glam globetrotting. Today will focus on sky-high skin. We'll devote Wednesday to jet lag-masking makeup tips. Friday will take us into the hair chair for updo {pun intended} 101.

Sky-High Skin "If you spend money on one (travel) skin saver, buy a good moisturizer" said Mim Allgood, Virgin's ultra-groomed Grooming Standards Manager. Looking at the dewy-faced crew, I'd tend to agree. Somehow, they come out of a long haul flight with picture-perfect skin while everyone else is as parched as the Arizona desert. This isn't just good genes. Recruits are taught to prep for travel daily with a solid skincare regime {and find a good facialist to visit once every six weeks!}. Here's the photo-ready formula:

Pre-Flight 1/ Exfoliate the night before, apply a hydrating masque and slather MORE moisturizer than your usual amount to give skin a boost of extra hydration. 2/ Before you leave for the airport, cleanse and moisturize, massaging the moisturizer onto the complexion with your knuckles for up to two minutes to achieve a plump facade. 3/ Avoid any diuretic---tea, coffee, pop---and hydrate with nature's nectar: H2O. 4/ Trip Styler Tip :: in an exclusive travel beauty interview with Dr. Murad, he said we should also "eat our water."

Inflight 1/ Keep your moisturizer close by to refresh your skin throughout the flight. Virgin flight attendants favor Dermalogica and Kiehl's. 2/ Drink a lot of water. For example, the flight attendants I interviewed each consume a litre and a half of water on an eight-hour trip. 3/ On the topic of inflight bevvies: consuming is not recommended because it saps skin of moisture. However, when the Virgin flight crew I spoke to are traveling personally, they indulge in a flute or two of bubbly. 4/ Spritz md formulations Moisture Defence Antioxidant Spray on the face throughout the flight for mini moisture surges.

Post-Flight 1/ Cleanse skin and place a few drops of lavender essential oil into a basin of hot water. Stand over top, soak a face cloth and compress your face two to three times. Not only does this refresh tired skin, but if you do it before bed, lavender is known to assist in calming the body.

The night before my flight home to Vancouver, I stood in front of the mirror in my London hotel room eager to put my training to the test. At hour six of the eight-hour flight, I noticed my skin appeared visibly plumper. In this moment my hypothesis was confirmed: travel beauty is oceans away from everyday beauty.

Trip Styler Tip :: As we mentioned late in 2011, Virgin’s birds are flying West {again} this summer. Starting May 14th, a seasonal non-stop service takes flight from Vancouver to London {return}. Yay!

[photos by @tripstyler taken when I was a guest of Virgin Atlantic in London]

Five Things You Didn't Know About TS

This week last year I was in Thailand lounging at this luxe-for-less villa {pictured above, take me back tout suite, K}. Instead of reading IN my plunge pool overlooking the beach---NOT a sentence I utter often---I had a Jerry Maguire "memo moment." Oh goodness. Rather than following Jerry's lead in a late-night photocopy-a-thon, one year later, I thought it was time to share a small part of it.

1/ Whether you know this or not, Trip Styler has an editorial policy. We always have. We always will.

2/ There are hundreds of hotels, destinations and travel things we DON'T write about on Trip Styler. Places or products we've tried on for size and cannot recommend because they aren't the right fit---cue bad design, odd vibe, lack of value for dollar, etc...

3/ If we’re offered trips---which happens from time to time---we only take the ones we’d pay for anyway. And when we write about a trip that’s been offered, it’s a-l-w-a-y-s noted. And don't think it's all presidential suites and flutes of Veuve, sometimes we're stuck in a small room over the kitchen vent; I count this a good thing {sometimes} unless there's a pungent onion scent permeating my room. Same goes for any travel product we're offered {like these suitcases which were on my list to buy anyway---bonus}.

4/ For every press trip we take---cut to a gaggle of travel journos taking notes 24/7 and snapping photos of everything from croissants to cultural finds---we travel as much personally on our own dime. Keeps things kosher. And when press trips come about we'd do anyway, we carefully consider them knowing it helps us to continue doing what we’re doing. For example, this month I turned down three trips. They weren't the right fit.

5/ At Trip Styler HQ, we talk our walk, and while we don't really believe in negativity---we're glass half-full kinda people---if we don't like something, it'll be presented as a "what to know", or not talked about at all. For example, on my recent trip to Hawaii I stayed at five hotels in 10 nights. I profiled one hotel in our Roam+Board standout hotel feature. As for the rest of the properties, if I came across something stellar like solar panels or midcentury style, I chronicled the cool on Instagram and my Editor's Diary. I reserve the most curated finds for Trip Styler.

Yes, we endorse exploring a mixed bag of trip styles, but we’re not pluralists who like everything. In fact, we're pretty picky.

{photo by @tripstyler taken at the x2 Kui Buri. And since we're on the topic, I researched until I was nearly blue in the face to scout this gem of a property on my personal trip in Thailand.}

Roam+Board :: Mount Engadine Lodge

mt engadine lodge review

[trip style = active + adventure]

What Planted at the end of a gravel road, the scale of Mount Engadine Lodge isn't apparent until you step beyond its cabin-cozy interior. Stroll toward the wraparound deck, and BAM, it's like you've been hit over the head with an Ansel Adams photograph; it's just you and the Canadian Rockies. Nothing else.

Snowshoes and skis arranged in a crisscross position adorn the wooden walls. Antlers serves as hooks for the brooms. River rocks are the building blocks for the wood-burning fireplaces. And speaking of wood burning, there's also a sauna. A selection of travel and lifestyle magazines {that made me want to flip pages for hours} hang fireside. There's even a knitting station. Without even trying, the nine-room chalet oozes Canadiana from every corner.

Overlooking "moose meadow" deep in Alberta's Kananaskis Country, this off-the-grid chalet is a winter and summer retreat so close to the great outdoors, you can reach out and touch it. Trip Styler approved!

Trip Styler Tip :: If you're in the area hiking, snowshoeing or skiing, stop by for afternoon tea from 3-5pm daily during the lodge's "open season" described below.

Where Two hours from the Calgary {YYC} Airport, 45 minutes above Canmore.

When The lodge is open during the white of winter and the sizzle of summer: Summer: June 14, 2013 - October 13, 2013 Holiday: December 20, 2013 - January 5, 2014* Winter Season: January 24, 2014 - March 31, 2014* *Estimated dates. Please confirm with the website.

Who/Why You need a digi-getaway steeped in nature's purest brew. You're looking for a place where mountains, out-the-doorstep adventure and home-cooked cuisine sing in perfect harmony.

Cost Rates start at $390 per couple and include all food, parking and WiFi. Alcohol is extra. Fido can come for a steal of a deal: $20/stay. Two-night minimum. Children four years and under stay for free, while children from 5-12 years are $100 per night, when staying with adults in the Moose or Elk Suites on the hide-a-beds. Solo travelers deduct $100 from the nightly rate.

More Roam+BoardLava Lava Beach Club - Hawaii IslandAce Hotel - SeattleThe Wickaninnish Inn - TofinoThe Burrard – Vancouver Hotel de Glace – QuebecAlcazar Palm Springs – CaliforniaJumeirah Zabeel Saray – DubaiMakena Resort – Maui Find more R+B hotels featured here, plus our it list of worldwide hotel picks.

[photos taken by @tripstyler while visiting Mt Engadine Lodge with Travel Alberta]