7/24/13
Whether it's a summer vacation or business travel, mini toiletries can be a woman's best friend- or a space-consuming, leaky nightmare. After many years of travel for both business and pleasure, I've learned a lot of tricks as well as some lessons the hard way. I've already revealed my quart-size Ziploc carry-on bag, which contains several items I don't need duplicates of, like rollerball perfume, eye cream, and lip balm. But what about all the other items, from the shower to styling your hair? I've had one too many mishaps with generic toiletry containers, so they're dead to me.
Stores like Sephora make a killing off of travel-size items, with little value. It's taken me years to figure out the beauty of store samples, and which stores and brands offer the types of items I like to use. Kiehl's is incredibly generous with samples, particularly if you make a purchase (even small). I live for their deluxe-size shampoo, conditioner, and body wash samples. Many higher-end beauty brands like La Mer and La Prairie are quick to offer samples, since testing pricey products can eventually lead to a purchase of full-size items. Never order higher-end brands online, or you'll miss out on all the potential samples. They'll even make samples for you if they're out of what you want, and trust me when I tell you that their containers are far better than generic drugstore ones.
(click photo to enlarge)
One commonly overlooked travel savior is the Gift With Purchase or GWP. Half the reason I love the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is for the beauty sets, often complete with deluxe size GWPs. Both facial cleansers (Chantecaille and La Prairie), the La Prairie toner, and my La Mer samples (half of them, anyway) shown in the photo above were all GWPs that came with their respective beauty sets. It's a win/win if you already use the brands. Another place to score travel-size or deluxe size toiletries is hotels, of course. Heck yeah I take my daily Kiehl's supply when I stay at the Soho Grand, for instance. High-end hotels have high-end amenities, and you're paying a premium to stay there. Even mid-range hotels are offering nicer toiletries these days like Molton Brown and L'Occitane. If you're paying, it's hardly stealing. I've often had housekeeping leave extras in my room without asking for them. A tip helps!
I always like to bring a facial mask with me to rehydrate my skin after a long flight, and NARS Aqua Gel Luminous Mask is a reasonable size with a trusty closure. For my locks, I rely on my mini bottle of Moroccanoil that I refill from my full-size bottle, and blow dry shampoo to get the most out of my blowouts. Pretty much everything else is in my carry-on Ziploc. Then there's makeup, of course...but that's an entirely different bag. ;)
My verdict? You can never have too many travel-size favorites, no matter what the brand. And never, ever trust those empty plastic bottles they sell at drugstores or pack nail polish in your suitcase. Yes, that happened.
Safe travels!
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