Sigourney Cantelo Beauty and Health Director of Vogue and Beauticate

Breaking News ***Carnival Cruise Line has added two of Australia’s leading beauty and style experts to an already strong field of onboard talent during this year’s Melbourne Cup cruise on Carnival Spirit.  Stylist to the stars Penny Hunt and Beauticate website founder Sigourney Cantelo – both former Beauty Editors at Vogue – will ensure Carnival Spirit’s 2600 guests will be ready to put their best foot forward at Flemington for Cup day. ***

As beauty and health director of Vogue, Sigourney Cantelo frequently travels overseas reporting on new beauty launches and spas.   She also recently launched a beauty website, Beauticate that profiles the “Who’s” and “How-To’s” of beauty.  Here she shares her love of South East Asia – one of her favourite travel destinations.

I love traveling around South East Asia. We are so lucky to have such a diverse, exotic and picturesque playground on our doorstep. Yes, the beaches can be as beautiful as any we have in Australia, but it’s the foreign-ness of Asia that I love. I love the soupy heat and spicy food. The chaos. The temples. The monkeys. The jungles. The people. The incense… And the hotels are just at another level of luxury…

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to travel to the Bulgari resort for the launch of their spa. What a stunning resort. The fusion of sleek luxe Italian design with Balinese architecture and furniture was a true thing of beauty. I love the way the villas are hidden behind these huge tall moss-covered walls that feel like ancient temples.

Last month I went back to Bali and had a lovely stay at The Oberoi – which is like the Grand Dame of Bali, old school and majestic. The next day I went to The Oberoi, Lombok which was such a culture contrast to Bali – the Muslim culture gives it a different flavour. The Oberoi Resort, Lombok was more tranquil than her busy Bali cousin. 

My husband and I honeymooned in Thailand. The Sarojin in Khao Lak was fabulous – they had an ‘Imagineer’, basically a super-concierge who could create just about any experience you could dream up. I surprised Damien with a candle-lit dinner and impromptu salsa lesson on the beach. It was pure magic. Bangkok is a frenetic mess of a city, but I love it. We basically worked our way through the Luxe City Guide ate our own body weight in Thai curries!

But, by far, the most magnificent and luxurious destination I’ve been to in the region is Song Saa in Cambodia. Run by a lovely and very clever Aussie couple, Rory and Melita, this eco resort is barefoot luxury at it’s absolute best. Mel has the most amazing eye for organic design and the over-the-water villas are jaw-dropping with stunning artifacts, repurposed Fishing boats and timber, found objects and natural details. We took our 5 month old, Max and it was a pretty special trip for his first holiday!

Some personal travel tips:

Take your time to pack carefully. I lay out all my outfits on the bed with shoes, handbags and jewellery to match. I try to stick to three or four colours to make it easy.

Always take a wheel on cabin bag with a few spare changes of clothes, your jewellery and essential toiletries – as a back up in case your suitcase gets lost. It happened to me in Barbados recently – and it was lucky because I was there to interview Rihanna on her collaboration with M.A.C. – not the best time to lose your luggage, but luckily I was prepared.

For long flights I take a silk eye mask, a lavender pillow spray, my own socks and a big cashmere wrap – it makes it easier to get comfy if you have all your little creature comforts.

I have the Currency Converter app on my phone, which makes shopping a no-brainer. (numbers are not my strong point!)

Finally, do your research – ask friends, find inspiration at vacationgoddess.com, go on Tripadvisor and travel with the Luxe City Guides – I think they do a fabulous edit on things.

Alison Carmichael-Rulten

Hi, I'm Alison Carmichael-Rulten the Publisher of Vacation Goddess, and I want to thank you for visiting Vacation Goddess – the one-stop shop for insider travel news, deals, 'Guest Goddes's stories, and of course our personal travel experiences. Plus, as we love to cruise we also try to find some amazing cruise deals for you too. From luxury, longer escapes right down to weekend breaks we know you love everything travel related. Here at Vacation Goddess, we hope you will find loads of inspiration and of course some amazing travel deals. We love a holiday at a great price and that's why we seek out what we call 'Champagne Experiences, on a Sparkling Wine Budget.' We constantly showcase a variety of special deals and offers and from time to time some very special competitions. Our recent 'Win a Trip to London' competition received over 24,00 entries. We invite you to visit us often, join our mailing list and please tell your friends