I’ve traveled a lot. And with that traveling, comes the experience of forgetting anything from my toothbrush to a bikini. However, over the last few years I’ve constructed what I believe to be the quintessential toiletry travel kit that will never fail me. It contains anything I’ll need whether it’s a trip to a big city or a third world country.
My toiletry kit itself was one I picked up on my last trip down to San Francisco. It’s big enough to hold just about everything, including my makeup, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, floss, toothbrush, etcetera, etcetera. In the kit itself are two removable compartments that I use to split up my items as well as one large general pocket. Currently I have it so that my “primping” items are contained in one of the small pouches, and my “general skin” items are in the other.
Some primping items I like to take with me that are really simple but can make such a difference include:
Some primping items I like to take with me that are really simple but can make such a difference include:
- Two shades of nail polish; one red-coral shade and one more muted neutral shade. Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri line is great for traveling since it's pretty much dry in about 5 minutes.
- Nail polish remover. Currently I’m loving the individual acetone wipes that come in their own little packs (kind of like alcohol swabs)
- Tweezers, because nobody likes to be caught with stray eyebrow hairs, or worse, a unibrow
- A razor
In the larger pocket I keep my travel bottles of body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and face wash. I’ve learned over the years that having the familiar scent of my own shampoo, conditioner, and body wash makes me feel that much more comfortable while I’m traveling to a place where everything else can seem so foreign.
Another thing I like to keep with me is a small tube of sunscreen. My latest favorite I picked up at Whole Foods. It’s a kids’ sunscreen made by Badger that has a fun vanilla tangerine scent, reminiscent of having creamsicles in the summer as a child. When traveling to a place that requires me to use sunscreen, typically that means my roots are going to end up a bit greasy as well. To stay fresh when I’m not able to wash my hair as often as I’d like, I keep a dry shampoo on hand. The original scent by batiste is my favorite. It’s cheap and it works really well!
Another thing I like to keep with me is a small tube of sunscreen. My latest favorite I picked up at Whole Foods. It’s a kids’ sunscreen made by Badger that has a fun vanilla tangerine scent, reminiscent of having creamsicles in the summer as a child. When traveling to a place that requires me to use sunscreen, typically that means my roots are going to end up a bit greasy as well. To stay fresh when I’m not able to wash my hair as often as I’d like, I keep a dry shampoo on hand. The original scent by batiste is my favorite. It’s cheap and it works really well!
Lastly, another do-it-all item that has made its way into my kit is Dr. Bromner’s “18-in-one” soap. It’s called an “18-in-one” soap because, you guessed it, it has 18 uses. It can be used as a body wash, toothpaste, laundry soap, dish soap, so on and so on. It’s versatility is great to have when traveling because there may be a time where you find yourself washing your underwear in the bathtub! Trust me, I’ve done it.
*Other items that I haven’t listed in detail but are in my kit include:
*Other items that I haven’t listed in detail but are in my kit include:
- Contact lens solution & case
- Aquaphor
- Evian face mist
- Bobby pins and hair ties
- Tampons
- Pepto bismol, Tylenol, & Midol
- Sewing kit
- Floss
- Toothbrush & toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Nail clippers
- Compact mirror
- Q-tips
- Hair spray
- Comb