Travel Planning Series Part I: Packing My Liquids Bag

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Welcome to the Travel Planning Series! Over the next few weeks, I’ll give you some insight into how I prepare for all of my trips. This first post will be about something that’s often overlooked: your liquids bag!

The timing for this post is especially good, as I just came back from a three week trip to Asia (posts coming soon!) and am heading back out on another business trip to Miami this week.

As someone who travels internationally often for work (and doesn’t check luggage if traveling domestically), I’ve perfected the art of cramming the liquids bag. For those who aren’t familiar, the standard in the U.S. is the following:

• In your carry-on/handbag, you’re allowed to bring one quart-sized ziplock-style bag, and everything in it must be less than 3.4 oz, or 100 ml.
  • Special exceptions are made for items purchased at Duty Free shops, medications, and food for babies/children.
• In your checked luggage, you can take as many liquids as you’d like, and they can be of any size.

From my experience, here’s a convenient hack: as long as your liquids fit in the quart-sized bag, TSA officers usually don’t care whether there are containers over 100 ml in it. So, if there’s anything you simply can’t live without, you should be fine taking it.

Traveling helps you think a little more critically and little more creatively about what you want to bring and how to do it. After all, you don’t want to waste all that space and weight in your luggage and haul all of your full sized products!

So, here are a few of the things I’ve learned to maximize the use of your liquids bag:

Invest in a liquids bag that will last

I’ve seen way too many people using regular ziplock bags as their liquids bag. While those will work in a pinch, they get wrinkled and beat pretty easily, and hardly last more than a trip. If you travel often, do yourself a favor and invest in a liquids bag that you know you can count on. It doesn’t have to be much of an investment—this one I use from Sephora cost just under $5 and has come around the world with me!

Leave your liquids bag pre-packed

Regardless of how often you travel, your liquids bag is something you think through once and forget about. Make a list of the products that make the most sense for you to use.

Consider products you’ll need at your destination but aso during you trip to and from home

This seems fairly obvious, but it can be hard to remember when packing. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of my traveling, it’s that increasing your comfort at the airport and on the plane is essential for a good trip. Here’s what I usually pack into my liquids bag:

• Hand sanitizer
• Moist towelettes for intimates (especially useful during very long flights)
• Hand cream (my all time favorite is the L’Occitane Rose hand cream, which smells divine!)
• Makeup primer (Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonderglow is great in all kinds of weather, so it’s the one I always take in my bag)
• Lip balm
• Makeup remover wipes
• Eye cream
• Skin mist (Algenist’s Hydrating Skin Mist is great under and over makeup)
• Rollerball perfume (my Elizabeth & James Nirvana Bourbon has gone around the world a few times and there is still a ton left)
• Some kind of skincare treatment product (recently that’s been either The Ordinary’s Lactic Acid 5% + HAor their Granactive 2% Retinoid Emulsion)

I’ll add or remove things from my liquids bag as necessary. For example, if I’m traveling only with my carryon and not checking a bag, I’ll add foundation, concealer, and mascara.

For long haul flights, use your liquids bag as an opportunity to give yourself some spa time

Do you know anyone who enjoys breathing that funky, recirculated, carrying-all-sorts-of-germs airplane air? Well, your skin doesn’t really enjoy it either. Plus, when you’ve got so much time to kill, treating yourself is a fun and easy way to pass the time. I usually wait for until after takeoff and dinner, almost as my nighttime skincare routine before going to bed. It puts me in a relaxed mood, and it makes my skin happy!

If you feel self-conscious about pulling out skincare products and using them on a flight, you can wait until after the lights have been dimmed. That way, no one can really see what you’re doing.

I’ve seen pictures of people who use sheet masks on long flights, and to be honest, I’m not there yet… but more power to them!

So how do you pack a full skincare regimen in a little quart-sized bag? There are three ways you can go about it.

Use your Sephora Beauty Insider/VIB/VIB Rouge points to stock up on minis

Put those reward points to good use! I love stocking up to buy a full set from a particular brand, or to use them on minis of products I really love. I recently scooped up a mini of my beloved Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, and it’s been so clutch. Minis, as opposed to samples, are particularly useful for products you’ll use quite a bit of daily, such as:

• Cleansing oil or balm (my favorite is the Tatcha Camelia Pure One Step Cleansing Oil)
• Cleanser (I’ve been loving the Korres Greek Yoghurt Foaming Cream Cleanser)
• Moisturizer (Drunk Elephant’s Lala Retro Cream Fouetté is my ride or die this winter/spring that never comes)

Get samples of products you only use a little at a time, or products you’d like to try out

The skincare specialists at my local Sephora see me enough to know that when I show up, I need some samples for traveling. The sample jar is small enough that I can bring several with me on a trip, and it’s great for testing out new products! Samples are also great for products you only use a little of at a time, such as:

• Face oil (the Drunk Elephant Marula Oil is delightful)
• Eye cream (Biossance’s Squalane + Peptide Eye Gel is worth checking out if you like lightweight eye creams)

Decant your favorite products into travel-friendly packaging

If minis or samples aren’t option for you, there’s still a way to take your favorite products with you! Decanting products into travel-friendly packaging will save you a ton of space and weight in your luggage or in your liquids bag. Many brands make these available, including Muji, H&M, and Sephora. Just make sure to label each tube or jar before you travel, so you’re not guessing which of the five identical jars you have is your moisturizer (I’ve been there!)

 

 

These are just a few tips to help you maximize the use of your liquids bag. What are some of yours?

Stay tuned for more posts in this series! If you have anything in particular you’d like me to write about in how I plan my trips (work and otherwise) let me know in the comments. 🙂

 

Stay curious!

Nati