I’ve been traveling over 13 years now, and the only times I checked a bag was my first trip and when I needed an extra bag for a beauty haul from Japan. Traveling with only a carryon is amazingly freeing. You don’t have to worry about whether your bag arrives on time. And you get to your final destination much quicker since you don’t have to wait on the carousel!
Recently, I went to London with a carry-on and a backpack as my personal item. I managed to pack six pairs of shoes, seven complete outfits, two purses, accessories, all my makeup and toiletries and the essentials like camera, laptop, and chargers. The bag is a standard size for an overhead bin, and my backpack is about the size of a school bag. Here are my top secrets to packing efficiently and taking everything you may need and want on your trip.
Plan Your Outfits
If you’re a Keeping Up With The Kardashians binge-watcher like I am, you know Kim plans out her outfits in advance and takes polaroids of them, so she knows what to wear when she travels. Well, I took a cue from Kim and decided to start doing that for my trips. Instead of packing random items I like and mixing-matching at the destination, I match up items and plan outfits ahead of time, down to the shoes and accessories. This allows me to cut out all unnecessary items. If I have space, I’ll throw in an extra shirt or two.
Get Beauty Dupes
If you have beauty favorites, it’s time to grab travel-friendly versions of them. Better yet, grab any samples and trial sized products you acquired over time. Instead of bringing bulky palettes with you, take a smaller 9-pan piece like Huda Beauty Obsessions. I use this opportunity to pack up all the sample sized products I receive in beauty boxes like Sephora Play!
It’s also time to invest in some travel-friendly styling tools. Many companies released mini versions of their popular heat styling tools like flat irons and hair dryers.
Check out this post on some top-rated travel-sized hair tools.
Roll!
The best way to pack, by far, is to roll the clothes tightly. You can put 2-3 layers of clothes on top of each other, laying them flat, and then fold the end in toward the center. Then, starting from the top, tightly roll them up. Added benefit? Less wrinkling!
Check out the video before for a demonstration on how to roll clothes:
