HOW TO PACK: THE BARE NECESSITIES

The challenge has been set: pack a weekender bag with just 10 essential items. If its the bare necessities you want, it’s the bare necessities (no more, no less) you’ll get. Of course you might wanna throw in a pair of undies and a change of clothes… but for everything else, you can do with just 10 items. Here’s why:

What you’ll need and why:

To tag your luggage – Whether you invest in a luxury leather embossed tag or simple use the paper tags provided at the airport, tagging your luggage is essential to ensuring a smooth ride when you’re on the road. If you’re taking a big trip, be sure to tag both your check-in luggage and carry-on, because leaving your luggage in storage at the hotel can also lead to trouble identifying yourself and getting back what is yours (speaking from experience) !!

A killer pair of shades – Its just a bonus that these Ray-Ban round glasses are as stylish as they are detrimental to sun protection – especially handy if you reside in the Southern Hemisphere and see a lotta sun year-round!

An (instant) film camera – You can’t go anywhere without creating memories. But what is better than creating memories? Capturing them. One of my favourite newbies to my must have travel accessories is a Mini Fuji Film camera. In an instant I have captured a moment, it’s in my hands, and I have it forever.

A passport cover – There’s a reason my passport looks so rundown – well, actually there are two. Firstly, I never took good care of it. I’m surprised it is still reminiscent of a small book with stamps, let alone in existence! The second, is that it is almost full and has itself visited more than 50 countries. For the next passport I receive, I’ll be taking care of it inside my Gigi NY passport cover (complete with embossing – jsut. so. fun.).

Shoes that look good, feel good – So you’re wondering what shoes to wear on your travels. You want something comfy, but you don’t wanna sacrifice style. Take it back to the original – and the best – and get yourself in a pair of converse. For around $50, you can’t go wrong.

A good (great) digi camera – While I love my instant film camera, I would be lost without my Olympus PEN camera – which is my #1 tool in capturing all my travel photos AND videos. Its a life saver!

Some noise blockers – There are two reasons why I wear my headphones with no music actually playing: one) so creepers don’t talk to me as it immediately says ‘i’m busy’ and two) to cancel out the plane noise when sleeping, resulting in a deeper sleep.

A quality handbag – I don’t know many (if any) girls who don’t like to change their handbags with the seasons – currently I’m running a winter bag, which means I couldn’t stray from black as it goes with EVERYTHING. I love this little investment piece – especially for travelling. In fact, I can fit all these items into this bag with space! It also fits my apple macbook air, which makes it the perfect plane handbag.

Face cleanser – Late last year I was introduced to ‘the ultimate’ face cleanser. Prior to trying this product (which was recommended to me by a blogger friend), I had convinced myself that expensive beauty products did the same thing, just with better packaging + marketing. How wrong I was. The Eve Lom cleanser was the saviour my skin needed. I won’t go a day without it!

A hat (because I said so) – okay, so, you don’t really need to pack a hat. It isn’t really a bare necessity… but it sure is an easy way to cover your bed head without spending precious exploring time in the bathroom. Hats also dress up any outfit and make you feel reminiscent of an Audrey Hepburn film…what more reason could you want!?

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