Competing Abroad? Our top tips!

Are you thinking of doing an international show? Whether you are travelling short or long haul there are a couple of things we would recommend doing to ensure that your trip is as stress-free as possible!

Accommodation

We would recommend booking your accommodation as close to the venue as possible. This is something you may already do in your home country, however we would say it is even more important when abroad as you don’t know the area, you may have issues with transport, traffic etc. 

Appointments…Tan, Make up, Hair etc.

Book these early! Find out the times & locations as early as possible too. The last thing you want to do on show day is stress about where/when your appointments are…Especially if you are doing a show in a country where the language barrier may be an issue. If you have everything organised before you go you can reduce potential stress, confusion & miscommunication.

You can find MUAs on our ‘International MUA & Hair directory’ here or our ‘UK MUA & Hair directory’ here. These are lists of artists that have been tried, tested & recommended by our girls.

Within this section of being organised ahead of time, we would also add booking things like your airport transfers where necessary. Your mobile data may not work when you get to the destination country, making booking/googling your way to your hotel more hassle than it is worth!

Packing

Pack ALL of your show day essentials in your hand luggage. Your bikini, heels, jewellery, bands, post show treats etc. That way if anything happens to your checked luggage (fingers crossed it doesn’t!) then at least you know that you have the essentials with you. Luggage goes missing far more often than you may think, so it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry!

In terms of the things you need to pack, we would recommend all of the standard things on our ‘Show day packing checklist’. Plus your scales (food & people ones!), skin prep products and makeup/hair tools if you are doing your own.

We would also say that it is a good idea to take any food with you that may be more difficult to get abroad. For example, protein powder & cream of rice. Take more than you think you will need to ensure that you don’t leave yourself short if your coach decides you need extra!

The flight

Whether it is a long flight or not, you could consider wearing compression socks to reduce the risk of inflammation & water retention. Whilst on the flight, try and get up frequently for a little walk to stretch your legs as this will help massively too.

Take a travel pillow (& blanket if you have the room!). Trust us, airplane seats are not made for lean butts & the flight pillows will not help as much as you would like them too! Plus, you’ll probably have a sleep and will want the extra comfort too! The blanket is pretty self-explanatory…Prep coldness is reallllll.

The time difference

This is especially important if you are travelling long haul. For example…we left the UK at 11am & after a 10 hour flight, we arrived in Texas at 3pm. This was essentially an extra 6 hours that we had to account for. It is recommended that when travelling long haul that you attempt to stick to your normal routine within the locations time zone.

So if you landed at 3, but normally go to bed at 9pm, although it is 9pm in the UK you wouldn’t go to bed until it is 9pm in Texas. This is so your body adjusts to the time difference as quickly as possible reducing the effects of jetlag. However, you then have to consider that you will probably still have your normal amount of meals, but a longer period of time that you need to spread them over. Our top tip would be to get some sleep on the flight to curb the hunger & fatigue all in one!

You also need to consider the time difference when it comes to shops, gyms etc. if you need to go to these places when you land. Double check their opening hours & the time that you are due to arrive.

We hope these tips help & if you can think of any more…let us know! If we missed anything or you have any questions, as always feel free to email us info@kompak.store or DM us on Instagram @Kompakwomen.