Recently, I watched a good friend struggle with the 3-dimentional jigsaw required to fit one’s liquids in the modest plastic bag provided at UK Airports.  Having already ditched a half-carrier bag’s worth of lotions, and, balancing a full-sized bottle of rather expensive perfume on the top of various face creams, deoderants and sunscreen, she handed the gaping bag to the (very patient) security officer.  Her triumph and relief melted as she was told that the bag needed to be sealed – a complete impossibility due to the Givenchy-embossed bottle struggling to escape. I shifted my few small bottles, which were mixed with the refugees I had already taken from her bag and somehow managed to fit in her perfume in my plastic bag too.  Everyone was happy and the Givenchy was saved from the large bin by the X-ray scanner.

Next time I hope she’ll decant her precious beauty products into 50ml plastic containers, but what about the perfume? Well I shall probably buy her a Portascent atomiser for her birthday. It’s such a simple but clever gift, and perfect for travelling. Made of aluminium it’s extremely light and small, and of course unbreakable. You can fill it with perfume in seconds. Simply remove the spray end from any perfume bottle, exposing the nozzle underneath. The Portascent has a port underneath which fits over the nozzle. Pump the Portascent up and down on the nozzle and it will fill up with perfume. A word of caution, you must keep the cap on the Portascent when you do this or it won’t work.  If your perfume bottle isn’t a spray, there’s an option for pouring too. It looks neat and attractive, and carries 120 sprays – perfect for a holiday, or even just carrying around in your handbag, in case you bump into Daniel Craig on the commute home. At just £7.99 from Leakproof.co.uk it makes a really useful present.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.