We’re heading to NYC next week for two weeks to visit family, work, shop, eat, and of course take photos of the city’s fashionable patrons. We’ve done a lot of traveling and have become somewhat of experts at carry-on-only packing. One of the biggest roadblocks for carry on luggage is the liquid limitations, especially for the ladies. Thus, we broke down our toiletry essentials that can fit in a 1-quart sized plastic bag, making sure the only item you’ll have to purchase at your destination is a razor.

Items Considered Liquids

- Toner
- Tide to Go
- Mini lotion
- Mini Vaseline
- Mini face wash
- Mini moisturizer
- Mini toothpaste & mouthwash
- Mini shampoo/conditioner (double conditioner as shaving cream)
- Contact solution/extra contacts (not applicable if you’re one of the lucky few)
- Deodorant (if your scent doesn’t come in travel size, don’t compromise. Trust us.)

Insider’s Tip: Remember, sample sizes are your best friend. So when you go the dentist, don’t throw away that mini toothpaste sample. Similarly, when you receive a swag bag or free beauty product samples, save them! If you travel frequently, consider signing up for a subscription to receive monthly beauty samples from organizations like Birchbox or Julep.

Liquid-Free Beauty Essentials
There are some other beauty essentials that are not considered liquids, but are as equally important for a fashionable trip. We usually pack these into a travel-sized makeup bag.

Makeup Remover Sticks: Okay, okay. These are technically a liquid because they have some remover in the shaft of the cotton swab stick. However, we’ve never had a problem throwing them into our makeup bag so, shhh, you didn’t hear it from us.

Makeup Essentials: Adria wrote a post about makeup essentials for women. While her usual routine is minimal, she pairs it down to the bare necessities: compact blush brush, bronzer, blush, under-eye concealer, eye shadow palette, eyelash curler, brow brush (doubles as mascara de-clumper), and mascara (which she’s never, ever had to pack in her liquids bag). The only item she needs to put into the liquids bag is her under eye concealer. If you wear foundation, consider getting a pressed powder.

Yes to Cucumbers Facial Wipes: Perfect for taking off makeup and leaving your face feeling clean and fresh. What’s more is these are available in travel-sized pouches.

Toothbrush: For extended trips, take the toothbrush you always use. For example, we use electric toothbrushes, so now whenever we go back to a normal tooth brush our teeth never feel clean again. Trust us, avoid a minor annoyance that can eat at you during the whole trip.

Floss: Even if you never floss (and if this is the truth, why?), make sure you have a small travel size on hand for those pesky food particles that you can’t seem to rid on your own.

Medications: Aside from any prescribed medications you may take, don’t forget to bring a few of the following in a chic pill box: Ibuprofen, Tums, and Immodium. Oh, and a few spare band aids are never a bad idea.

Cotton Balls & Q-Tips: Q-Tips for ear cleaning after bathing. Cotton balls to apply toner.

Contact Case: Don’t forget the contact case if you wear contacts!

Brush: Adria brings her whole paddle brush. Yes, it’s big and cumbersome. But 1) she has thick hair and travel ones usually come apart while brushing and 2) since she’s minimal on her hair routine, she needs to be able to use it to blow dry her hair straight for a night out on the town.

Hair Ties: Adria’s no-fuss hair routine makes black elastic scrunchies essential. She usually keeps about 3 on her wrist while travel, which takes up no room at all.