Hello my lovely ones! As you may well know, I am off to Paris tomorrow for a few days of beauty and cultural adventure. The last time I was there was 2001 (pre-9/11) and if I recall correctly, I threw practically everything into a rolling duffle bag…not pretty. But back then, travel was EASY. No security, and you could take anything on the plane you wanted (even a corkscrew LOL). Although I do remember seeing heavily armed law enforcement at the airport in Paris and thinking it was strange (they were not playing).

These days, there is SO much to worry about and much to my dismay, I am (or was) a chronic over packer. I will put everything into a suitcase and end up wearing 5 things OR I will take full sized beauty stuff in a big zippered bag. So when my friend Julia (who BTW is an EXPERT traveler) saw me in NYC this past September and saw the bag I packed for 4 days….she said “ENOUGH”. She knew I didn’t wear half the things in my suitcase and that I didn’t use half the products I brought with me. So she helped me devise a plan to get organized.

travel Travel 101: How To Carry On If You are a Beauty Girl…

Make Lists She turned me on to Evernote to keep organized, I started clipping things off the web I wanted to save and making lists. I even made a packing list so I know what I’m bringing and I mapped out outfits. Since I will be doing loads of walking in Paris, I chose things that will be comfortable above all.
Carry On Especially if you are Staying 10 days or less. You save money on baggage fees AND you don’t have to stress about your luggage getting lost. I have a 20 inch Swissgear carry on approved suitcase, got it for $89 at Target. They have a nice one now that has a padded laptop pocket.
Organize your Clothes I use a SpacePak from Flight001 (my girl Felicia turned me on to that one when we went to LA a few years back. See!!! I’ve been trying to be a good packer and I just relapse LOL) the SPace Pak is brilliant because t it forces you to fit everything into that little zippered space (no overpacking) AND there is a spot on the other side for dirty clothes.

Pack an Extra Bag If you know you are going to do some shopping, pack a duffle and check THAT on the way back. I have one from LeSportSac that I was able to fold up and put in the bottom of my carry on (which by the way is an old as dirt Coach Large Hampton’s Denim tote I got AGES ago, it’s great for travel and very durable. If you are interested, I would recommend trying to find one on eBay because I don’t for the life of me know why they stopped making it).

When In Doubt Compartmentalize Julia is big on pouches and I can’t say that I blame her. I like having things all together because then I know exactly where they are. There is nothing worse than arriving at your destination and realizing you don’t have the charger for your laptop etc etc (see #1). For international travel, you have to make sure you have your passport for EVERYTHING so I got this GREAT padded pouch from Otis Batterbee that Goop recommended where I will stash my wallet, passport, phone and travel journal. Goop has a GREAT article on packing and flying tips BTW)

Makeup I have a love hate relationship with this tip because even though I pretty much wear the same makeup ALL THE TIME, I always like bring other stuff just in case I want to switch it up. Guess what, I never do. So to stop my packrat ways, I realized that the only thing I ever really change is my lipstick and MAYBE the eyeliner. SO….I have a sleek little pouch with a clean (obviously) contact lens case filled with my NARS tinted moisturizer on one side and primer/luminizer on the other, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish powder, a pinky Guerlain bronzer, my Hocus Pocus shadow, eyebrow pencil, mascara, a grey eyeliner (goes with more stuff), and 3 lip losses (nude, pink, red). I have ANOTHER smaller pouch with a roller ball fragrance, eye drops, Say Yes Cucumber wipes, hand sanitizer lip balm, NARS multiple stick (because I don’t wear makeup on the plane but I want to put something on my face to wake it up when I arrive). Both of these pouches together equal one BIG bag of makeup I used to take with me.

Liquids & Gels Security constraints dictate how much we can take on the plane. So I simplified that as well. I have three ziplock baggies and if you pack the them well, then you will always be ready to go when you travel. One has skincare (which are all sample size (3 oz or less) or blister packs and what I don’t have in sample size I put into small travel containers. The next one has body care (lotion, body oil, toothbrush, bodywash, deodorant q-tips etc). The last one has hair stuff…again – small samples of anti frizz, hairspray, elastics, Bumble styling cream, downy wrinkle release (which makes clothes smell awesome AND gets rid of wrinkles at the same time)
So even if you are a SERIOUS over-packer like me, you can be reformed TRUST ME! I’ll be posting here and there while I’m gone BUT you can always follow me on social channels…

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