How’s it hanging ladies!!!

Below are a few tips for you, but don’t worry – a few can apply to the men too! I’ve learned the hard way on how to pack and/or how to prepare for a mini-vacation or a long one, so here are a couple of tips that can help you out:

10. Bring a mobile phone charger. Make sure this is fully charged each day too! Vacations are normally jam-packed with your own itinerary so you may be out of the hotel or away from an accessible plug for basically the day. Bring a mobile charger for your phone to not only keep up with your social life, but it is important to keep it charged for emergencies or for your safety and well-being.

9. You. Need. Socks. (Like a lot). Unless you like your socks damped and wet (which I trulyyyyyy hope that is not the case), bring your most comfortable socks and pack four more pairs of it. Wherever you travel, I suggest bring an extra pair with you in your bag/purse along with an extra Ziploc bag. In a case where you drop something on your shoes, you can change it up and place the soaked pair in the Ziploc bag – then you’re good for the rest of the day! The last thing you would like is to feel like your walking around in a puddle and risk getting sick.

8. Bringing Makeup? DO NOT place in your check-in bag. Now you know makeup can be sooOOooo expensive, especially if you like to buy the $40 contour kit by Anastasia or the Laura Mercier Translucent Powder. Imagine if you had a bag full of your brushes and products AND YOUR BAG GETS LOST OR STOLEN AT BAGGAGE CLAIM.  Trying to restock all these items can be heartbreaking and is NOT the fun business (and I’m still restocking on my kit and still soon sad). So I do suggest to place your makeup in a carry-on! As long as your liquid products fall below 3.4 oz (100ml), place them in a bag and keep them close to you and you would never have to experience what I did 😉 #ThankMeLater

7. Bring your own shampoo/conditioner/body wash (AND RAZOR!) and tape down all fluid items. I usually never listen to this rule, and I regret this EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Make sure you bring your OWN necessities. No offense to the hotels, but the items that they do give are not going to make us feel entirely clean neither would they make you feel that your hygiene requirements have been met. In some cases, you never knew if your skin is going to react to any of the hospitable items! I recommend to bring your own travel-sized shampoo, conditioner, and body wash and be sure to tape around the opening of all bottles. Do also place it in a Ziploc bag to prevent spills (the same goes for makeup above just in case!). Our body needs the good stuff that we’re used to.

6. Never plan anything on Day 1. Shit is most likely to happen on Day 1. Delays happen more often, hotels may double book, and lines for car rentals may be severe, annoyingly long. Vacations are meant to be relaxing and the last thing you would want to do is stress so much on the first day that you get there just because you’ve made reservations at a restaurant that you couldn’t even make. Do a little walk around sight-seeing on the first day (close to your hotel and does not need any bookings) and get used to the environment on your first day.

5. Prep yourself with at least 1 day of comfortable clothing. I know that we like to dress cute and fancy while on vacation, but don’t get me wrong – it is a lot of work keeping it up. I like to prepare for 1 day in which I can have total relaxation and dress comfortable. I usually prefer either jogger pants/sweats and a huge shirt, or maybe a hoodie (depending on my vacation). I usually do this because those skinny jeans or denim shorts can work me out! There is absolutely nothing wrong with relaxing on vacation and taking some time off from sightseeing. Your vacation needs to be stress-free anyway so make sure you leave some time for yourself.

4. Bring any meds possible. There was an instance when I traveled to Cabo San Juan and my arm and face just totally blew up. There was also another instance when I traveled to LA, and my face started FLAMING. Our bodies are different, however, since we are traveling to an environment that we’re not used to, we can react to the smallest of things. Definitely bring some meds! I usually bring Tylenol, Benadryl/Zyrtec, Dramamine, Flonase, Emergen-C and Band-Aids. Bring whatever else that would help you out on vacation because it can be a hassle to find any specific item you need.

3. Bring a separate bag for “Laundry”. Hotels or some vacation-hosting homes do not have a place for your dirty clothes. And since we like to keep our dirty and clean clothes separate, bring an extra plastic bag to place your used clothes in. It also helps that your clothes won’t be just hanging around the room and the last day of packing will be such a breeze.  Plus, you wouldn’t want to stink up your luggage either!

2. Always bring twice as much underwear per how many days you will be staying.  Meaning: If you are staying for 5 days – Bring 10 pairs of underwear. If you are staying for 7, bring 14 pairs. YOU NEVER KNOW what will happen while you’re out there. As women, we are going to need to feel clean and comfortable, especially if you’re away from home.

1. Stay home the day after you fly back before you head back to work. A vacation is relaxing, however, the flight back is TIRING. Remember to plan a stay-cation at home the day after your flight to rejuvenate your mind and body so you can be mentally ready to prepare for work the next day. This may be the toughest to do, but I swear, I regret this every time I force myself to go to work the next day.

If you have any other suggestions – feel free to comment below! I’m always looking for tips while on vacation instead of learning the hard way.