When Bringing Beauty Products Onboard a Plane, Here's What You Should Know

Terrorism has indeed changed the way travelers travel. There are increased security checkpoints, ferocious-looking, gun-toting soldiers glaring at you, and no more beautiful airline cutlery to keep as souvenirs. However, these are all bearable-the most unpleasant thing a modern won has to content with today is the banning of liquids. By this, I mean that liquid beauty products are a no-no on boards today.

It is a terribly hassle because women like to have certain beauty supplies with her at all times. These would include a facial mist to refresh you onboard, facial foam and facial creams. After all, everyone knows that the air onboard is drier than the Sahara Desert-what will a woman do without her beauty essentials?

This ban effectively removes most of the beauty products in your arsenal of toiletries. While some may rejoice-finding their load lightened, most will mourn. Most women love their beauty products and travel often. Here is a short list (not exhaustive) of what that is banned onboard:

Liquid perfume
Hair conditioners
Hair serums and essences
Watery toothpastes
Hand sanitizers
Eye lubricants
Contact lens solutions
Sunblock

Although most liquid beauty products are banned onboard, the customs officers know women simply cannot go without some; therefore a small allowance is made. At checkpoints, women are issued small plastic zip-lock bags-their quota for liquid based products. If your liquid essentials are too big to fit into this small plastic bag, they must either be stowed away safely in your check-in luggage or to be thrown away altogether. Cruel, yes, but necessary for the sake of safety.

Do take heart though, for many major cosmetic companies have taken note of the woman traveler's plight and have come out with tiny travel sized essentials. Some even come in beautiful clear cases which match the frightfully ugly plastic ones issued-though thankfully only in size. You may want to check out brands like Clinque, This Works, Dior, Chanel and Kiehl's for more of such handy carry-on essentials that a woman simply cannot do without.

Although some products are banned, do take heart that there are still a few that you can lug onboard with you. Such include nail clippers for emergency painful nail breakage, nail files and small cuticle trimmers. However, these must be small and do not come with foldable knives. If they do include penknives, you can be sure they will be thrown away. In case of emergencies, you may also want to carry a small spectacle-repair kit with you, consisting of several small screwdrivers and tiny metal mechanisms.

You may think that this is disallowed, but surprisingly it is not. You should also consider allocating some space in your plastic bag for eye drops as dry eyes are common onboard. Although it is previously mentioned that eye lubricants are disallowed, tiny sample-sized ones may be brought in for health reasons.

Should you wish to apply makeup, it is advisable that you do your full makeup before boarding the plane as your mascaras, creams, lotions and perfumes will surely take up more space than you are allocated to. If you try to smuggle some onboard, be warned: they will be thrown away should you be caught, no matter how many hundreds you paid for your just-opened bottle of La Mer Cream. Furthermore, security is very tight as the officials do not want to leave anything to chance.

While being detained and missing your flight are the most serious consequences you would face for trying to smuggle extra cosmetics onboard, they are certainly unpleasant. If you do not make a scene when they attempt to throw away your bottle of cream which cost all of last month's paycheck, you should be able to get to your destination on time-though without the cream. Thus, you would be better off in obeying the law and stowing your creams away in your check-in luggage. After all, it is only for awhile that you are parted with your precious creams, and this gives you the excuse to shop for tiny travel sized darling products! It is after all, a win-win situation.