Hosting The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals comes with a lot of travel must-haves and skin secrets to swear by, and Megan Batoon is sharing them all. Returning from a well-deserved rest after the second season of Amazing Vacation Rentals hit Netflix, Batoon is ready to talk about the one thing that saved her love of travel and the skin-care habits that keep her looking radiant, no matter what zip code she’s in.
4 Travel Fundamentals
Whether you’re going halfway across the world or halfway across your county, traveling light is always a priority for an easy trip. That means only bringing the essentials, and Batoon can tell you everything you need to know about travel essentials.
“I’m travelling tomorrow, and these are the first four things I packed in my bag,” Batoon explains. “A hair thing that’s so annoying to me in general is that I don’t like to have a lot of hot tools, because they take up too much space. So, I use a hot air brush, and I pack that first.”
All of Batoon’s picks are about optimizing her time and effort, using multitaskers or powerful players to achieve sleek, elegant glam.
“I always pack a Laneige lip sleeping mask, the pink one, for hydration,” Batoon says. “Third, YSL has this amazing glitter primer, Touche Eclat Blur Face Primer, that I really love, so I pack that. And then Advil Dual Action Back Pain is the fourth thing that goes in my bag. Those four things are my holy grail, whether I’m going on a weekend trip or overseas, those are my favorite things.”
Back pain became an issue for Batoon after years of cheerleading, dancing, service jobs and travel put extra pressure on her back. “When you’re traveling, it’s not just the airplanes and the sitting, but the sheer amount of walking that really contributes to back pain,” Batoon explains. “I’ll get home to my hotel and think, I can feel every one of those steps. It’s really important for me to take care of my back, and my two saving graces have really been yoga and Advil Dual Action Back Pain. It targets back pain specifically, so I know I’m getting to the problem area right away.”
Sheet Masks and Face Filters
When you’re constantly packing and unpacking, you’ll want to make sure your skin care is doing some heavy lifting. Batoon likes to pack in hydration in those precious in-between moments.
“I will almost always have a sheet mask on hand,” Batoon says. “When I’m in the hotel room, waiting for room service, sheet mask. When I’m getting ready for a flight, sheet mask.”
And of course, sun safety is a priority. “I am always, always wearing SPF,” Batoon says. “No matter what, even if I’m not going outside, I use SPF.”
Really, Batoon says she’s found consistency is key.
“I don’t ever go to bed or get up without doing something for my skin,” Batoon says, and it’s definitely been on her mind lately. “This age filter that’s going around has got everyone shaking in their boots, and I’ve seen plastic surgeons say that it’s accurate. So of course, I’ve been drinking a lot of water and loading up on retinol and peptides!”
Taking Care and Doing What Feels Good
It’s high time for a slow-down, especially if you’re as busy as Batoon has been the past few years. Between a Netflix show that requires travel, a thriving YouTube channel and a podcast, Batoon was experiencing burn-out and took a much-needed break. And right now, the plan is to do what feels good.
“It is going so good,” Batoon says. “I will have days where I will wonder if I’m throwing away everything I’ve worked for. But in the big picture, you realize that you really have to rest in between projects or you’ll never recuperate enough energy or creativity to do your best work. If you’re always working ’till burnout, yeah you’re productive, but what’s the quality of that work and your life like?”
Taking time for herself has also given her the much-needed time to celebrate her own accomplishments and work on achieving real wellness.
“I think society makes us think that we have to keep going as soon as we finish one thing, to move to the next,” Batoon explains. “But, hang on! We can take a second to feel the gratitude for being able to do something like that and how proud of ourselves we are. Then we can feel good enough about ourselves to go on and create more. This is our one life, you know? We can do the work, and we can also take the time to rest.”
Cold Plunges and Home-Grown Havens
But that doesn’t mean she’s not excited to get back to finding the best vacation rentals out there, with season two currently streaming now on Netflix. You’ll find hidden-gems and bizarre features you never expected—Batoon certainly did.
“You know how cold plunges are really big right now?” Batoon asks. “There was one rental, I think in Iceland, that had a cold plunge in their backyard that the host had just shoveled through the ice to reveal this cold water just in his backyard!”
For Batoon, the best part was just how many wonderful rental options were close to home.
“When I think about traveling, I usually think really faraway places like Bali or Jamaica. But I think what is really interesting is seeing all the really cool places that you can go just a few hours from your hometown within North America. There are some amazing places that I wouldn’t have ever been to if not for the show.“
