buh-bye beauty aids and other flighty stuff

SEATTLE-TACOMA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- Flying has once again changed its colors. No more hauling that double tall Starbucks on board along with a chaser of Evian water. And forget putting those HABA's in your backback in the overhead bin. HABA's, industry jargon for "health and beauty aids," have become taboo, too.

Pictured above are some of my favorite products from my dop kit that can no longer accompany me on the plane: Bumble & Bumble for my hair; Darphin, Sothys and Clinique skin products; Crest toothpaste; Boston contact lens solution and cleanser; Purell hand sanitizer; Bobbi Brown blush and eye-shadow and MAC lipstick.

That leaves me with an Oral B toothbrush; Q-Tips; Johnson & Johnson dental floss; contact lens case sans solution; prescription medication; and a hair brush and comb.

Granted, this isn't too high a price to pay for world peace. But with everybody forced into checking their luggage to comply with the new ruling on carrying no liquids/no gels, who's to say that my stuff is going to end up at my final destination?

I've had enough lost luggage experiences in the past year to write about, thank you.

So here's what I'm thinking of doing. I'll have a duplicate travel kit made of all my HABA's, and several days before I leave for a trip, I'll FedEx it off to my destination.

I have to credit travel guru Peter Greenberg for the idea. He believes we should "ship, not schlep" our bags, and FedExes his bag to wherever he flies. Well, I'm way too disorganized to be shipping my luggage in advance. After all, I'm a "pack the bag an hour before leaving for the airport" kind of gal. But I can certainly pop my HABA's into an envelope and know they'll be waiting for me when I arrive.

I'm just thankful that Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie are no longer a couple.

What would have happened to those little vials of blood they wore around their necks?



FIRST OUT OF THE BOX with an e-mail about the Transportation Security Administration's new guidelines regarding carry-on luggage was Southwest Airlines. I belong to eight frequent flyer "clubs," and Southwest has been the only one so far to address the issue.

Herein part of their e-mail:

The TSA is currently prohibiting all liquids and gels in carryon luggage. This includes all beverages, shampoo, lotions, creams, toothpaste, hair gel and other items of similar consistency. Additionally, any of these items purchasef beyond the security checkpoint will not be permitted onboard the aircraft.

The e-mail continues:

Baby formula or breast milk, if a baby or small child is traveling, and prescription medicine with a name that matches the Customer's name (along with insulin and essential other non-prescription medicines) can be carried onboard and are subject to inspection at the checkpoint.

I'll be flying again in a few weeks so I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, keep the sunscreen in an authorized place.

On your nose.