Purchasing travel sizes of your favorite products and keeping them packed in your toiletry bag permanently will save you time and money – you will be pleasantly surprised by the variety of travel products.
I’m always stalking the bins at the ULTA checkout line and searching Amazon for trial sizes. Some of my samples come from an IPSY subscription and many any of the large brand makeup companies offer trial size too. Your local convenience store and supermarket will have a wide variety of the staples you need for the trip.
If you have a favorite perfume, ask for several samples at the counter on your next purchase visit so you don’t have to pack away that large bottle. However, I do not mess with my makeup, especially foundation, so the full bottle comes with me. I keep all my makeup in my carry on bag. Hell or high water my face will be fresh with lashes when I land even if my luggage does not.
The whole objective is to make packing your toiletries effortless and to be always ready for the next trip – the majority of my items never leave my toiletries bag. You will want to keep an inventory each trip on what you will need to restock upon your return.
The stress of spending a beautiful Sunday morning in Rome, in a taxi, searching for a supermarket to get CHAPSTICK aka Balsamo is not worth it. It became a much larger mission when I was trying to act out chapstick in English and that everything was closed on Sundays! It seemed like I spent the whole day searching for a store that was open – that Balsamo probably cost me 50 Euros after everything was said and done! More importantly, it was unnecessary and interrupted my morning cappuccino enjoying the view from my balcony.
Not having your go-to products can really put you in a funk. No funks allowed on my trips.
The actual toiletries bag needs to be specific. I enjoy my very large Joy Magano bag and while there are many sizes, what works for me is the XL version. Mine is huge however it does have interior bags that separate and can be thrown in my carry on bag. What’s great about these interior bags is they are connected with velcro and clear (hello TSA) which makes everything so much easier and efficient. I put the section that I need in my carry on bag, while the rest goes into my checked luggage I will provide a link for you to have a look.
I always look for an opportunity through the year to gift travel size items to my family members with the intention of making our next trip that much easier. They are great stocking stuffers or Easter basket fillers.
You can find all my favorite travel size items in my Amazon store. What’s in your toiletries bag? What items are a must for you? Better yet, what lengths have you gone to get those forgotten products?
