Oscar Swag Bags Soar to New Heights

[trip style = luxury]

While the Oscars are, like, so 10 days ago, the six-figure swag bag is NOT. Because who needs a gold statue when you can go glamping, travel on a luxury train through the Canadian Rockies or stay at a 10-room villa in Tuscany?

The glitzy gift bag, which only went to nominees like Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, Bradley Cooper, Steve Carell and Benedict Cumberbatch in the acting and directing categories, takes Oscar contenders from red carpet to runway with these jet-set escapes worth more than US$38,000.

Trip Style = Glamping
TerraVelo Tours’ opulent-meets-outdoorsy glamping trip takes Oscar contenders from Hollywood to Heaven-on-earth in the most awe-inspiring alcoves of Wyoming, California and Utah. Here, guests are wooed with A-list amenities from plush memory-foam beds with Frette linens to "transportable luxury bathrooms” stocked with C.O. Bigelow toiletries and Turkish towels. Couple these frills with the option to go surfing, cycling, hot air ballooning, or do sunrise yoga, and we’d like to put our name forward to be Bradley Cooper’s +1. 

Trip Style = Train
For those red carpet regulars who just can't give up the red carpet treatment, the Rocky Mountaineer has them covered. The luxury train company unfolds a red carpet every time guests step on and off the train. I experienced this journey first-hand a few years ago, and here's an except of the ride, touted as one of the "top five trains in the world" by Conde Nast Traveller.

"Meandering past frothing rivers, glassy lakes and snow-coned peaks in my glass-domed car, I was briskly reminded that I live in a place sought out by both seasoned and trip-of-a-lifetime travelers for its wild open spaces. On the Rocky Mountaineer, you co-exist with nature while dining on exec chef-prepared meals and drinking Canadian chardonnay. At one point, I remember rushing to my coach's outside viewing area to snap the scenery, camera in one hand, wine in another. At that moment, a smile came to my face. I was relaxed, well fed and wonderstruck in my own backyard."

Trip Style = Luxury
Fancy a nine-night lesson in la dolce vita? First stop: Tuscany, where nominees can unwind in Villa Armena, a grand late-Renaissance-era villa only 20 minutes from Siena. From there, they can stop for an espresso with George and Amal in Lake Como at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, an Art Nouveau palace with a floating pool on the lake and a spa with panoramic views of the ritzy region. Finally, the stars will jet-set to Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, a 180-year-old property perched on the Amalfi Coast, surrounded by a five-acre Mediterranean garden. 

Villa Armena

[photos via travel providers]

Jetset Style :: Jean Jackets

[trip style = any]

I was recently discussing packing techniques with a friend, who was setting off on a five-week trip to Hong Kong, Perth and Bali, when she told me she's not bringing a jacket. "Not even a jean jacket?" I asked. "No!" she replied, after which we discussed that we always pack a denim jacket no matter where or when we travel.

Jean jackets are, of course, the Official Jacket of Travel™. I'm only partially joking as the two things you're guaranteed to find in my suitcase are jeans and a jean jacket no matter where I go. It truly is the all-season staple that survives all trends and thrives in all climates.

Speaking of trends, if we can learn anything from fashion week runways and street style this year, it's that denim is back: denim on denim, colored denim, printed denim, ruffled denim and oversized denim. While you can never go wrong with a classic look, the biggest trends in jean jackets this spring are distressed and embellished denim.

Styling tips

• While the clock runs out on winter, transition your jacket to spring by layering it under a wool coat.
• Add dimension to an all-black or all-white look with a denim jacket.
• Channel Kelly Kapowski in a cropped and colored jean jacket.
• Add structure to a dress or feminine skirt with a cropped or oversized jacket.
• Roll or scrunch up the cuffs for a casual, relaxed look.
• Button up the jacket all the way to wear it as a shirt.
• Pair a denim jacket with heels and a bold clutch for a polished look with personality.

GUYS :: Layer a denim jacket under a tailored blazer or over a chunky sweater. Wear it with anything from wool pants to navy chinos, with a buttoned shirt or a Breton striped tee.

Left to right: Acne Studios tram bleach jacket, Zara oversized denim jacket, Madewell the jean jacket, Current/Elliott the oversized trucker jacket 

Left to right: APC brandy jacket, J Brand x Rob Pruitt hand-painted jeans jacket, Etoile Isabel Marant abril embroidered jacket, Lee denim jacket rider slim fit

This post is written by Trip Styler's Assistant Wayfarer/Editor Heather.

Related
Jetset Style :: Ode to Boyfriend Jeans
Jetset Style :: Everyday Travel Totes
Jetset Style :: Scandinavia-Inspired Jackets

[streetstyle photos via collage vintage, stockholm street style, we wore what, majawyh, wylde splash news, elle.com, style.com; menswear photos by tommy ton & robert spangle]

UP Your {INSTA} Travel Photo Game

[trip style = any]

I recently read an article in AFAR about how to UP your Instagram game. In it, the travel mag's creative director, Elizabeth Spiridakis Olson, shares her tips for achieving ace snaps every time.

Last night I was going through my photos of Australia from a few years ago, and I realized it would have been nice to have known a few of these tricks back then. I'm not sure how you botch photos of one of the world's most gorgeous beaches, Whitehaven, but I did. 

Elizabeth {@white_lightning} is a triple-threat. Before working at AFAR, she was the art director at Bon Appetit. With her love of travel, food and vintage fashion, her photo advice is totally trip styled! Here are three of her tips, plus a few additions from Trip Styler HQ {@tripstyler}.

Steady Yo Self
"Steady your hand and use the auto-focus lock {hold your finger down on the frame}. Crisp and sharp photos always looks best, unless the blur or action is intentional. Take the extra three seconds to make it perfect."

Trip Styler Tip: In addition to pressing the auto-focus lock every time, we also play around and shoot about 20 photos from various angles to get the best shot. 

Think Outside the Insta App
"Take the photo with your camera, then use editing software...I DO always shoot in the square though, because then the ratios are the same as they are in Instagram...The most valuable new tool in the Instagram app {to me} is the adjust tool, which allows you to make vertical and horizontal perspective adjustments. This will help you a ton if you want perfect lines and angles, but aren’t the straightest shooter."

Trip Styler Tip: Angles are uber important. We love going back to geometry class to perfectly align our photo in the frame.

Go Natural
"Natural light is always best; backlit is almost never great...As for no-nos: In most cases candlelight, dark bars/restaurants, a low-light lamp, etc. will not yield the best results. The photo will likely be blurry and hard to read."

Trip Styler Tip: There are SO MANY instances when we want to capture a candlelit moment or a delish dish in a low-lit room. While I may immortalize the moment to remember the details later, I'll never publish the photo. You have to have the right light.

Related
Pro Tips For WOW Vacation Photography 

[top photo by @tripstyler, all others via @white_lightning's instagram]

Joshua Tree

[trip style = active & adventure + weekend getaway]

It's hard to explain Joshua Tree to someone who's never been; it's a magical desert landscape that must be experienced because words can't describe this strange and surreal corner of the world.

"Somewhere in America, about two and a half hours inland from the Los Angeles sprawl is another America, a stranger one. There's a long tradition of people coming out here to get away or to simply get weird. And once you're past Palm Springs and into the high desert, people start to vibrate at a different pitch than they do elsewhere." [No Reservations: US Desert]

Joshua Tree is a dusty and desolate community about an hour from Palm Springs, where new age spiritualists, artists, musicians, hippies, hikers and even Marines (thanks to its proximity to the world's largest Marine base) coexist. 

Neighboring Joshua Tree National Park houses the Mojave and Colorado Deserts and is known for its eponymous trees, ancient rock formations and pop culture prominence. You may remember the episode of Entourage in which the gang took a trip to the park for another type of "trip" on a search for clarity. And I have to mention U2's iconic album, The Joshua Tree, which was inspired by American desert landscapes, physical as well as metaphorical and spiritual, though not Joshua Tree itself. Bono chose the title on a trip to the Mojave to shoot album photos. The band came across a single Joshua tree about 200 miles from the park and the tree inspired the title and the album packaging.

Legend has it that Joshua trees were named by Mormon travelers in the mid-19th century who believed the trees looked like Joshua lifting his hands in prayer. These Dr. Seussical trees can live, incredibly, for hundreds of years. 

Driving through Joshua Tree National Park

Visiting Joshua Tree

After three visits to the 800,000-acre park, I've barely scratched the surface and have kept primarily to the paths well traveled. While it's an excellent day trip from Palm Springs, to really experience the park, you need to camp or stay nearby.

If you only have a day, enter from the Joshua Tree gate and explore Jumbo Rocks, Arch Rock, Cholla Cactus Garden and Keys View. The high desert is known for its extreme weather, so remember to pack accordingly {good shoes, a hat, an extra layer, lots of water}. A one-day vehicle pass costs $15.

The Shadow Mountain Band at Pappy & Harriet's

Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace

Drive five miles off Twentynine Palms Highway, down a winding, lonely road, and you'll feel like you've traveled back in time to the Wild West. Built in the late 1940s by Hollywood stars like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, Pioneertown is an 1870s western town that served as both a film set and a small community with a motel, a bowling alley and a cantina. While the film crews have long departed, the cantina remains and houses an epic roadside bar that promises "live music, great barbecue and good times." 

I loved this desert watering hole so much that I visited twice on a trip to Palm Springs earlier this month. The perfect place to cap off a day at Joshua Tree, listen to live music, order a bourbon and eat a rack of ribs with fellow hikers, LA hipsters, bikers, baby boomers and desert dwellers. If you want to sit and eat, reservations are recommended on weekends {there was a two-hour table wait on the Saturday night we visited}. Pappy & Harriet's is a come-as-you-are bar that might be my new favorite place.

Roadside rock formations

Cholla Cactus Garden

A cholla cactus and Skull Rock

Jumbo Rocks and sunset at Keys View

Sunset at Keys View

This post is written by Trip Styler's Assistant Wayfarer/Editor Heather.

[photos by @heatherlovesit & @graceyvr]

Travel Beauty :: The Do-It-All Cream

[trip style = any]

When I'm on the road, any toiletry that performs double- or triple-duty is a winner in my books—I mean bag. However, it has to be fabulous on all fronts.  

A few months ago I read about a French-made creme-de-la-creme everyone from Jane Birkin to Karlie Kloss uses in their arsenal of beauty musts. Enter Embryolisse Lait‐Crème Concentré. Not only do these tastemakers and jetsetters wear it in their everyday life, they don't leave home without it. Think of it as LBD of toiletries.

Curious how one product dubbed the "24-hour miracle cream" by beauty insiders could have such a cult following, I ordered two tubes so I could test it at home and on the road. Five months later, I use it, Mr. Trip Styler uses it, and Baby Styler uses it. We don't travel without it.

As an ultra-moisturizing cream with a dewy-to-the-touch texture and hint-of-rose scent, you can use a little as day/night lotion, a lot as moisturizing face mask {ideal for après-flight or to rehydrate in dry climates}, as primer for your sunscreen or make-up, mixed with foundation for a light glow, or as make-up remover at night. 

Since a little goes a long way, I use it on my body as well as Baby Styler's, and I rub any excess in my hair to tame flyaways and give it a slight sheen before walking out the door. In case you were counting, that's nine ways to use one tube.

Trip Styler Tip: It's RARE to find a good hotel moisturizer. Most—even at the five-star properties—are heavily watered down and leave skin coated versus nourished. Of the hundreds of hotel stays I've logged around the globe, there is only one hotel moisturizer I like {Bliss Body Butter at W Hotels}, so 99% of the time I coat myself in Embryolisse. 

Around since 1950, it's also pretty simple stuff. This cruelty-free do-it-all cream is made with shea butter and emollient oils and formulated without parabens, sulphates or phthalates so you can feel good about putting your best face forward and not weighing down your traveling beauty bag.   

[photos via @tripstyler and online]