My Swiss and Paris trip & Packing for it

This time last weekend, I was in Paris.

Eiffel Tower at Night: One of the most beautiful sights I have seen
I was actually on a business trip to Switzerland, but I snuck some time out on the weekend to visit the Fashion Capital of the World - Paris. I had less than 36 hours in Paris, and it was too less to be honest. It is a beautiful city & deserves at least a week.

I was quite excited & apprehensive when packing for the trip, I'm one of those people who cannot stand cold weather at all (I can't stand summers either here in Mumbai. I guess I'm just difficult to please), but at the same time I didn't want to look out of place. Ki of Dressing Up for Life helped me quite a bit when packing warm clothes for the trip and so did Mehak's / Peaches & Blush post on her Europe trip (read it here) I thought I'd share my packing list here, in case any of you might be planning a trip to colder climates.


1. In Paris, the local girls wear very monochrome colors like black, navy, beige, white/cream & grey. The only splash of color in their outfit will be the scarf. I too carried mostly neutral colors (read: Black) as I was packing for office work as well, plus I really didn't want to look like tourist and neutral colors are very easy to wear coz everything matches everything. Parisian women like to wear black fitted trousers, and jeans are all dark wash, fitted. I also had a woolen beanie cap from Accessorize, but I left it behind at Eiffel Tower. :-(



2. The streets in Paris & most parts of Swiss are cobbled, so walking on them in heels is a bit tough. But if you are a Mumbai girl, you will have most probably negotiated potholed pavements in heels, and this cobbled pathways are like clouds. However, since I wanted to walk around & explore the cities, I packed two pairs of flat leather black & beige oxford shoes from Clark's. They served me rather well. I also took knee length woolen socks as the cold from the snow does travel up the feet. Under any circumstances don't carry your white trainers - you will instantly stand out in Paris. Wear leather. Wear boots or oxfords.

3. Paris is really cold in winter and windy as well at times, in Swiss it was snowing everywhere. So Ki advised me to layer well. First a thermal, followed by my top, a thin woolen sweater (I took a black one) and finally a long, knee length beige coat on top (carry this on you, in the flight, it'll save luggage space). I additionally purchased a couple of woolen scarfs from Paris. This kept me warm even when it was snowing a lot in Zurich. I also carried some woolen gloves, but I didn't wear them (I hate gloves) and ended up with a lot of internal bleeding injuries because of the cold. So don't make the same mistake I did. I thought I was coming down with Frost Bite. (Yes, I'm also a hypochondriac) I also took a knee length black dress just in case and my DKNY Cozy in both black & white.


4. Makeup: I carried very basic makeup. Revlon Mulled Wine Lipstick, Faces Metal Brown Eyeliner, NYX Red Cheeks Cream Blush, Ponds TM & Maybelline Peach Bloom Lip Balm. That was it. It was so cold there that my cheeks naturally turned pink & I really didn't need to use the blush at all. Most days I used the brown eyeliner & peach lip balm.

5. Skincare: Again very basic, I carried Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream as moisturizer for the hands & face, (yea, I used it on my face & am glad to report that I didn't break out at all & neither did I get any flaky dry bits) sunscreen  Elovera cream and TBS Vit E Cream Cleanser. I forgot to carry Body Butter & had really dry legs. I skipped hair care & used the hotel prdts instead.

6. Accessories: I didn't carry any. I just wore tiny silver hoops and nothing else.

I essentially packed very light. I shopped a bit for skincare in French Pharmacies and also made a lot of notes on the makeup trends in both Paris & Swiss, but I'll save those for my next post.

Have you been to Paris or Switzerland? How do you pack for cold climate trips?

Comments

  1. hey something i had done on a trip abroad , though i was lucky to go in september, when the winter is setting in. i too skipped hair care, i just carried shampoo sachets and bought a small bottle of olive oil from a department store there, this was my conditioner, serum and body care product all in one.

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    1. Olive oil is real multi-tasker na for hair & skin, plus it also removes makeup :)

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  2. I went this july, switzerland was nt even as cold as paris was. I totally agree wth eiffel being one of the prettiest sites, especially the illumination. I wish I could go ther again :-)

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    1. I know!! Paris was so much colder than Switzerland! I thought I was imagining it.. It was really, really cold there.

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    2. i was in berlin for work, and unfortunately couldnt travel much, but roamed the city and loved it for its own charms. but the most awesome thing i loved were the thrifty supermarkets, where i would buy olive oil bottle. and it was the most awesome multi tasker but it took me a trip abroad to realise it. i simply had no option but to stick to one thing..

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  3. Your post brought back memories of my Swiss n Paris holiday! We had gone in July...one week each destination and it was absolutely wow! And of course, my hubby was super impressed with the wonderful treatment we got everywhere due to my fluent French...even my son said "mom next time we come to Paris, I want to speak French the way you do "....I was sooooooo flattered :)

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    Replies
    1. Wow, that is really cool! French ppl are really nice when you talk to them in their native language. I also speak a bit of french, but very little. Just enuf to get by, but I can read & understand most of it.

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  4. Hi Tanveer,
    I just got back from a backpacking trip from Italy and France last month. Although it was end of autumn and start of winters in Europe then the weather got quite nippy specially to the north of Italy , Paris and Strasbourg(Nearing Germany border), there were occasion showers too. Since we were backpacking we were restricted to limited stuff. I carried a warm sweater (bright color), long trench coat (black) , pair of woollen gloves (black), 2-3 mufflers to match , knee length leather boots to keep your feet warm. Yes I did carry my cute ear muff (grey). I ensured I carried my fav makeup to brighten up the gloom around :) Avanti

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    1. Wow Avanti! Italy sounds awesome! I like your packing list too, practical & small enough to lug around. Thanks for sharing it :D

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  5. Even i cannot stand cold at all!! And business trip to Switzerland huh? I would be lucky if my work people send me to Lonawala ..hehe

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  6. Hi Tanveer,Never heard of Elovera cream. Can you please tell me about it and wherecan I get this in delhi...Thanks!

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    1. Preeti, Elovera is a Glenmark product and you should be able to find it at most chemist stores in Delhi.. I hope this helps.

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  7. Thanks for the reply.Is Elovera cream effective for dry skin during winters if used as night cream.

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  8. Good to see u back and blogging!!!!
    I had been to london just when it was starting to get cold..was on work trip for a month..and it was windy. Had to wear gloves all the time so I guess I did the right thing then!

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  9. I hav nvr been anywhr this cold or pretty..but I'll definitely take tips from u if I evr do :)

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  10. never been to that part of world ( sorry i posted comment earlier too .. so you find that pls ignore this one ahahhah ) :D :D
    but i enjoyed reading your post Tanz :D :D .... my hubby is also same ( mumbaikar na ) ... and am exact opposite :D

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  11. OMG so amazing to hear that you were in Paris...Its my dream to go there and work on a makeup job and meet those amazing fast-forward artists there. I hope you had got time to visit the Pharmacies there and also go to MAQPRO for some of the amazing makeup products ever made. I am sure ur trip was fruitful and the Eiffel adds romanticism to every picture ever taken....I hope u had the time to sport the grey smokey eye and coppery red lips...LOL

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  12. Wow so nice that you went to Swiss & Paris, T. I've always wanted to visit both places :). I will have to come back to this post if I ever go.
    I hate packing for the cold, coz my bag gets too full for other things then =\ Now that I live in the freezing, it's always tough to pick out clothes to wear.

    ♥xx♥

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  13. Great blog , I really love your writing style that you are using for your posts and stuff,

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