Mary Kate McGrath's SXSW Travel Essentials

An Editor in Chief's SXSW Travel Essentials

PureWow EIC Mary Kate McGrath will be sharing a few of her favorite things with DuJour, starting with her must-haves for Austin's annual music conference and festival

Written by Mary Kate McGrath

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A dress to host in
For our party, I want something light and breezy. The trick is finding something that will let me play hostess, hug hundreds of people and then take me to the next round of parties later in the evening. Is this Anna Sui the perfect frock? I think so.

Printed Silk-Georgette Dress, $340, ANNA SUI, net-a-porter.com

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An Editor in Chief's SXSW Travel Essentials

PureWow EIC Mary Kate McGrath will be sharing a few of her favorite things with DuJour, starting with her must-haves for Austin's annual music conference and festival

Written by Mary Kate McGrath

Read the Full Story ≫

A pair of heels to shuffle around in
Loeffler Randall makes some of the most comfortable stacked heels my toes have ever experienced. I just got my grubby paws on these gems and I am counting the minutes until I can wear them.

Luz Tassel Sandal, $450, LOEFFLER RANDALL, loefflerrandall.com

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An Editor in Chief's SXSW Travel Essentials

PureWow EIC Mary Kate McGrath will be sharing a few of her favorite things with DuJour, starting with her must-haves for Austin's annual music conference and festival

Written by Mary Kate McGrath

Read the Full Story ≫

A quick elixir for an avocado margarita headache
One of my editors discovered these credit card-sized, fast dissolving, pain relieving powders while doing research for a travel story. So now, after one too many avocado margaritas at Chuy's with the PureWow team, I can recover quickly...and discreetly.

Headache Relief To-Go, $1, URGENT RX, urgentrx.com

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An Editor in Chief's SXSW Travel Essentials

PureWow EIC Mary Kate McGrath will be sharing a few of her favorite things with DuJour, starting with her must-haves for Austin's annual music conference and festival

Written by Mary Kate McGrath

Read the Full Story ≫

An app to save me from Surge charges
In anticipation of the mad dash for Ubers in Austin, I'm downloading SurgeProtector. It's a separate but similar-looking app that you fire up instead of Uber (it taps into the Uber network). A map appears. Above, it lists your current surge pricing. Below is a button that says "Goodbye Surge." Tap it and a purple pin drops to show you the nearest no-surge zone. Genius.

SurgeProtector, free to download, SURGEPROTECTOR, itunes.apple.com

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An Editor in Chief's SXSW Travel Essentials

PureWow EIC Mary Kate McGrath will be sharing a few of her favorite things with DuJour, starting with her must-haves for Austin's annual music conference and festival

Written by Mary Kate McGrath

Read the Full Story ≫

A screen to slather
Whether I'm in Austin or in NYC, this super absorbent sunscreen is always on my face.

City Block Sheer Oil-Free Daily Face Protector Broad Spectrum SPF 25, $23, CLINIQUE, clinique.com

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An Editor in Chief's SXSW Travel Essentials

PureWow EIC Mary Kate McGrath will be sharing a few of her favorite things with DuJour, starting with her must-haves for Austin's annual music conference and festival

Written by Mary Kate McGrath

Read the Full Story ≫

A bevy of red lipsticks
Including a new favorite from Troi Ollivierre (the guy behind all those J.Crew punchy pouts) and my old Rodin lip balm standby.

Louis Lipstick, $28, TROI OLLIVIERRE, troiollivierrebeauty.com

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An Editor in Chief's SXSW Travel Essentials

PureWow EIC Mary Kate McGrath will be sharing a few of her favorite things with DuJour, starting with her must-haves for Austin's annual music conference and festival

Written by Mary Kate McGrath

Read the Full Story ≫

And I throw it all in here
Don't tell my husband, but I bought this Slightly Alabama bag for him with the sole intention of using it on every overnight on my calendar. This is not your normal leather weekender. It takes a whole team of mostly bearded Brooklyners 35 hours to make a single Sheffield duffle by hand. The 5" strap means I can squeeze it over my shoulder if I'm not wearing a coat, and on the road to Austin, I make sure to leave all puffy coats, and traces of NYC, behind.

Sheffield Bag, $1,850, SLIGHTLY ALABAMA, slightlyalabama.com

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