Packing (2 - 5 weeks)

I have had my fair share of travel excursions within my continent as well as abroad. Each time brings packing and trying to decide what I should bring vs. what I want to bring vs. what I need to bring, and still determine which of those things make the cut. In this NEW travel series, I am going to share the things I've learned in my travel experience on how to pack for a medium length vacation with one checked bag and one carry-on.

Packing is sometimes difficult to even begin. But to make things easier, decide what you absolutely will use every single day and go from there.

• Underwear (bras, undies, socks, cami tank tops)
• Sleepwear (YOU DO NOT need a different sleeping outfit every night, you only need 3 shirts MAX per week and 2 bottoms if you wear bottoms.)
• Phone, phone charger, computer, computer charger
• Adapter (for abroad travels)
• Any medications
• DOCUMENTS (plane/train ticket, passport, license, student ID, insurance card, any other important papers)
• Toothbrush, Toothpaste
• Tweezers
• Shampoo, Conditioner (small bottles; or you can choose to purchase this once you arrive; use the hotel body soap if you are staying in a hotel, otherwise you can pick up a cheap bar of soap at a local drug store)
• one after shower hair product. If you MUST have an item to style your hair, choose one. (You can achieve a straight hair look with a blow dryer or a hair straightener; you can get curly style with a straightener, curling iron, or blow dryer with round brush; volume can be achieved by all three. CHOOSE ONE if you MUST take one, if not... forget it and go natural)
• hair ties/hair clips/bobby pins (these are light weight and take up minimal space)
• body/hand lotion (SMALL BOTTLE )
• razor (you can use soap or conditioner to shave)
• deoderant
• face wash, toner, ONE SERUM, one moisturizer, one eye cream, essence
• makeup wipes or cleansing oil/balm and ONLY essential makeup

Makeup is our first task in making choices on what is truly necessary. If you are someone who avidly does a makeup glam look every single day than pack away; but if you do not look like James Charles or Jaclyn Hill every day when you leave your house, you do not need to bring as many cosmetics for a full face of makeup as you might think.

• To start, decide on ONE mascara. I promise using two different ones every time does not make that much of a difference when you have a good mascara with a proper wand. If you are using two different mascara's right now try bold from MAC. There is a smaller built in wand for bottom lashes and the inner corner lashes that are hard to reach.
• Next decide on ONE foundation. Stick is better than liquid for travel, but if you must take a liquid, a tube is less weight than something glass or hard plastic. If you are someone that uses a tinted moisturizer or BB cream, substitute your one foundation for ONE tinted facial cream. If you are going somewhere where you are going to be getting a tan, keep this in mind an maybe go for your tan shade and take it down your neck before you become a golden goddess
• Concealer. just ONE, you can use this to double as an eye primer. (You can also use your moisturizer as a primer for your face. But if you insist on bringing a face primer, bring one small tube)
• ONE EYESHADOW PALETTE. This is tricky thing in itself to decide on. Pick a palette that has a built in transition color, matte browns or grey's for natural eye looks but can deepen for a smokey look; also look for one that has at least two shimmers so you can change up your eye look day to day. If your palette has built in bronzer, blush, or highlighter (or colors that can be used as so) that is even better. (If you opt for a Morphe palette try to pick one with shimmers you can use as highlights and browns you can use as contour or bronze)
• Contour/Bronzer. Pick one or the other, you can use bronzer as contour and you can use contour as bronzer. Preferably pick one that comes either in an eyeshadow palette or palette with blush and highlighter to reduce items. 
• The BH cosmetics Carli Byble palette is fantastic because the darkest highlight shade coupled with the matte browns could be used as a bronzer/contour for fair to medium skinned people and there are built in highlights.
• one liquid liner and one pencil liner
• ONE brow product, you can fill your brows with a gel, palmade, or pencil you do not need all three. Better yet, if you have a brow eyeshadow color, use this on an eyeshadow brush with a little water or setting spray
• Brushes:
• one pencil brush/detail brush (use on brows too)
• one blending brush (use it for highlight)
• one packing brush 
• one blush/ contour/ powder brush (clean it on your hand)
• NO MORE THAN 5 LIP PRODUCTS (all need to be wearable, and pinker/coral shades can double as blush, you do not need to bring a separate blush if you do not have one in your palette).
• Highlight is my favorite part of makeup, but you can use shimmers from your eyeshadow palette or the built in highlights. On top of this bring no more than one extra highlight product.
• Setting powder or setting spray. Trust me, I know both are important, but if you absolutely need the powder you will survive without the spray and if you prefer to have a setting spray you can use a light or neutral color from your eyeshadow pallet to set your under eye and the rest will be fine.

Now that you've put together everything we ABSOLUTELY need, you can start to make some decisions clothing wise. My favorite and least favorite part of packing.

 This can be a very tricky if you are not used to packing or have difficulty choosing what to wear. I am definitely guilty of being indecisive about clothing. Lets go over some tips before we get into what specifically you should bring.

• Dress for the climate
• If you are going some place tropical (like I did in the picture above), remember that it will be HOT and most likely will always be hot. If you are going to Russia in winter, It will be cold. If you go to London... it will be rainy. Check into the climate of your destination at the time you are going and keep that in mind as you pack
• Pack layers to dress in
• Although a chilly location may be constantly cold, the heat in a restaurant may be turned up super hot! Nights may be cool in tropical locations and a sweater may be a nice thing to pack as well. Layers are always important to pack and dress in when traveling.
• The 5 time rule
• This is a rule I came up with that many people may have different versions of, but i highly suggest you follow it to make your suitcase lighter when packing.
• If you put something in your suit case, it must be able to be worn on 5 occasions. For example, if you have a green top you love so much and want to bring... justify it five times. For someone traveling for more than a week this is very important. For summer study abroad programs, you will be in classes all day; so bringing a pair of sandals you can justify for 'class' meets the '5 time' rule, because you will have class at least 5 times. If you have a dress for a date or dinner party, you need to make 4 other justifications to put that in your bag, because chances are... just-in-case scenarios are not likely to come about. If you can wear that dress to a nice lunch, theatre or concert venue, and night out on the town (you can use this as two excuses); then put the dress in the bag.
• This goes for shoes too
• Pack items in outfits that can mix and match
• YOU CAN WASH CLOTHES. Even if you are staying somewhere you are unsure will have a washing machine, there are laundromats and sinks... (hand-washing isn't so bad if worst comes to worst)

Now lets get into it:

• Sweatshirt/pullover/jumper (wear this on your travel)
• Denim. (One or two pairs of jeans or jean shorts. These can be paired easily with almost anything)
• One sweater that can be dressed up but also used on a semi-casual day
• 3 pairs MAX of workout wear if you are an active individual (workout pants can double as leggings or leggings can double as workout pants. Pack three pairs of pants that function in this way)
• A 5 day grouping of tops and dresses that can be mixed and matched with your jeans and leggings.
• these should be some basics that can be dressed up or dressed down as well as some of your favorites
• 2 skirt and top or dress pairings that can work for days you want to put effort into or nice evening events
• One bathing suit if you know you will use it
• Shoes
• Workout shoes that can double as comfy walking shoes
• Comfortable booties or sandals that work for your destination's climate that work for semi-casual and semi-formal situations
• ... do you really need those high-heels? do you? will you wear them for more than 5 hours?... if yes... give in and pack em' if no, skip it and stick with your sandals/booties
• flip-flops for hostel showers or beaches
• STOP THERE you need nothing else

Once you've got your clothes in order is when you can move onto the extras. This is another part of packing that can get tricky. Even if you pack the perfect amount of clothing, you can still over do it with the extras. This one is more about you and what you will be doing on your vacation, but is ultimately a much smaller list than you believe.

• Hand bags (pick one and make it your personal item when you travel)
• If you are going for a brief study program bring one notebook and one folder that you can put in your handbag or substitute your purse for a backpack and bring a wristlet or money belt for money and phone
• Books? if you finish a new book every week then you can bring a book, otherwise you are traveling and will most likely be too busy and too tired to read at night. Opt for downloading ebooks onto your computer or phone for plane rides or if you think you will want to read. If you are an avid reader, only bring one! you can buy books there that can also serve as souvenirs.
• Medicine. just bring Tylenol or ibuprofen, pepto bismol (I learned this the hard way), and day-quil.. all else you can get there if needed. 
• Hats. If it is a cold climate you only need to bring one hat and one scarf. Otherwise, if you insist on bringing a hat, make it ONE and wear it on your travel journey.
• Jewelry. A couple of nice pieces that can dress up some of your semi-casual/semi-formal items; but no more than 3 necklaces and 3 pairs of earrings and 3 bracelets. (This uses the 5 time rule too)
• Sleeping eye mask and ear plugs (for hostels and potential noisy, up-late roommates)
• HEADPHONES + ipod (i am ancient and use an ipod, but if you use your smartphone for music that is even better)
• that one thing "for the plane ride" you think you need... you don't need it. Most long flights have options for movies and TV shows and a couple of in flight games as well. Remember the 5 time rule! This goes for EVERYTHING
• Umbrella, especially for rainy climates. But check the chances of rain for when you will be there and make a judgement call on if you should bring one or if you should risk it and buy one there if needed.
• wine opener (Europe has 2 euro bottles of wine)
• YOU'RE DONE

Before you put anything in your suitcase, make your own detailed packing list of the specific things you are going to pack without looking at the items in your room or in your closet. If you don't think of something off the top of your head... chances are you don't need it.

Use my tips and list as a guideline and keep your heaviest items in your carry-on! Happy packing and safe travels. Keep a lookout for my semester abroad packing list.

- XOXO Boobala Rose