Between wedding season and weekend getaways, anyone else feel like a professional traveler during the summer months? Us too 🙋🏽. We’ve rounded up our favorite travel essentials that make those quick trips and long vacations effortless – less packing and more enjoying, whether that be soaking up some sun 🌞 in auntie-free (and judge-free) zones or eating delicious local fare.
A Dual-Voltage, Compact Travel Hair Dryer
The most frustrating thing when you finally settle into that cute AirBnB you found online, is realizing there isn’t a hair dryer or worse a really crappy one. Its kind of like finding a big shower head with bad water pressure. We bought this one about 3 years back and use it both for everyday and travel. This great, high quality dryer is so compact that we can’t even complain about space and we love how it easily switches voltages with the turn of a knob. It’s so light and folds which is perfect for traveling, but its still powerful and dries thick Indian hair quickly. Its no wonder it has over 500+ 5-star reviews on Amazon!
Really Good Dry Shampoo – Like A Really REALLY Good One That is TSA-Approved.
Indian women want three things out of dry shampoo: First, absorb excess oil, duh. Second, do not leave behind a white residue. And third, actually give volume to our thick, heavy hair. We’ve tested a myriad of dry shampoos and finally found our favorite, especially for traveling. Between busy, back-to-back sightseeing, long flights and variable, international climates, we have found it very useful to keep dry shampoo handy. Without question this dry shampoo is the best for travelers. The formula is charcoal-based to absorb any excess oil, the smell is floral but NOT overpowering unlike some others, and the product completely absorbs without leaving behind a residue. We have tested it after sweaty HIIT work-outs, post 10 hour beach days, and long international flights and it immediately lifts our locks like an army of air pumps went to town on our scalp. The best part: the travel size is small, compact and TSA-approved for even your carry-on!
A Splitter, To Watch Movies Together
Anyone else download their favorite shows to make those 4 hour flights go by faster? Us too. We invested in a splitter a few years ago and can’t go back. Instead of trying to cue up a movie to start it at the same moment and inevitably fail, this splitter takes a headphone jack and splits it into two so two people can listen at the same time – each with their own headphones. If you tend to travel with a partner than this will become a mainstay in your travel gear. Gone are the days of leaning in awkwardly to share headphones and ending up with a stiff neck! Seriously the best $6 bucks you’ll spend.
A Simple 2-Step Skincare Routine That’ll Leave Your Skin Looking Like Glass
So many influencers promote using sheet masks during a flight, but we actually think a rich moisturizer is more effective because it allows you to determine how much product you are using and offers repeated use. Naturally, skin prefers some humidity to maintain its moisture, so when it comes to pressurized cabins where humidity levels can be at 20% or less, its no surprise that people feel dry and itchy, often times experiencing redness. Besides drinking plenty of water to nourish from within, its important to prepare (and maintain) your skin for long flights. First step, Hyaluronic Acid (HA). This magic molecule should be part of everyone’s daily skincare routine, but is especially important on flights. Think of HA as a primer. It is crucial in absorbing the most out of a moisturizer and important for keeping skin hydrated. At 75% HA in solution, this is by far the highest concentration, best, and most affordable serum on the market and helps your skin get the most out of a moisturizer.
Paired with this rich ceramide cream that diminishes moisture loss, and your skin will feel plump and look hydrated throughout the flight. SIDE NOTE: For those of you looking to bank some Beauty Insider points, both the Hyaluronic Acid serum and Ceramidin Cream can be purchased at Sephora but being Indian, we wanted to find and link the best price.
A Great Multitasking Beauty Stick
Incredible boss babe, Deepica Mutiyala took a simple idea and made a brilliant multipurpose product that’s perfect for jet-setters out there looking to save some space in their makeup bags. This huestick is a hard-working rouge that can be used as a color-corrector, blush, eyeshadow, and lipstick meaning more space for thepla and those other gujju snacks you like to stash when on the go. For those seeking a bold lip and color-corrector we recommend grabbing the color “Rise”.
A Travel-Friendly Jewelry Organizer
Lets be honest, most of our weekend getaways these days seem to be for weddings which means lots of jewelry to go with those lehengas. Since we can’t take our entire armoire, we opt for a more sensible solution – a petite jewelry organizer that keeps our necklaces from getting tangled and earrings from losing their backs. Plus this one comes in many colors!
Whether you’re going for a weekend or a week invariably our phones seem to lack charge when we need it the most. At the size of a credit card, this tiny and incredibly lightweight power bank can hold up to 3+ charges and is compatible with most cell phones. The Amazon best-seller has over 8,000+ 5-star reviews!
These are just a few of the items that we always have in our weekender travel bag. What are you’re must haves when you travel? Leave us a comment below 👇🏽. We honestly would love to know!
