What I Packed: The Carry-On Toiletry Bag

We just got back from Paris, Venice, Croatia, and Montenegro, and if you know our family, you know one thing: we never check a bag. Ever.

Partly because we’ve become pretty good at packing. Mostly because I have absolutely zero patience. I wonder where my children get it...

At this point, we’ve become experts in carry-on travel. (Thank you, packing cubes.) The challenge isn’t fitting everything in. It’s deciding what actually deserves the space.

So many of you have asked me, “How?”

Honestly? I’m ruthless. If I don’t use it, it doesn’t come.

When it comes to skincare, everything had to fit inside the tiny clear liquids bag they hand you at European airports. You know the one. The bag that, no matter how hard you try, absolutely refuses to close.

Here’s what earned its spot:

Colorescience SPF 50: Hands down my favorite beauty discovery of 2026. I genuinely don’t think there’s a better tinted SPF on the market. It came everywhere with me. Walking around Paris andVenice. Long days on the water in Croatia and Montenegro. I wore it every single day and reapplied constantly (Are you reading this, Hallie?). If we were spending the whole day at the beach, though, it was ERLY Start SPF that earned the spot because it works for the whole family.

ERLY Daily Splash: If I could bathe in this, I would. Seriously. This is the only product I refused to downsize. The full-size bottle was making the trip whether it liked it or not. Between airplane air, sun, salty water, and the Europe heat wave, my skin drinks this stuff up.

ILIA The Base Face Milk: I’ve used this forever. It’s one of those products I use every morning, no matter what, and the mini is extra cute!

U Beauty The Return Eye Concentrate: It’s surprisingly hard to find an eye cream I really love. This one hits.

Elemis Superfood Glow Priming Moisturiser: I am fairly certain I am Elemis' number one customer of this product. I've gone through more bottles of this than I can count. I will never quit it.

ERLY Mini Face Foam: This one was non-negotiable. I used to break out almost every time I traveled because I’d throw some random travel-size face wash in my bag the night before a trip. It never failed. Now that we finally have a mini Face Foam, that’s no longer a problem. It was one of the best additions to my toiletry bag.

K18 Hair Mask: Worth every ounce of space. It also gave me permission to happily use whatever shampoo the hotel had. I know... some of you are judging me.

A313: My secret weapon. If you know, you know. If you don’t... you’ve got some Googling to do.

Batiste Dry Shampoo: Forever and ever.

Biologique Recherche L’Eauxygénante Mist: I sprayed this on repeat during every flight. Did it make me feel a little more human after eight hours on a plane? Yup.

NOYZ Solid Fragrance: One of my favorite travel finds. No leaks. No TSA drama.

ERLY Night Moisturizer: Every single night. No exceptions. After being outside all day, this is exactly what my skin wanted before bed.

The biggest surprise? What didn’t make the cut.

Y’all, I really do practice what I preach. Less is more. And I promise... you don’t need nearly as much stuff as you think you do.

Which brings me to the question I’ve gotten the most since getting home...

“How on earth did you pack for 15 days in Europe with only a carry-on?”

Fair question. I’ll share my entire Carry-On Edit and all of tips. You can do it! :)