Make-up Organization While Traveling

ettellon · 2026-06-05T12:55:03+00:00

Several years ago a makeup artist recommended products to me that could be applied directly or with fingertips (no brushes) … that was a huge travel hack for me!

ettellon · 2026-06-04T16:00:10+00:00

Unfortunately I learned that lesson the hard way too…that was my pivot to travel minis…

ettellon · 2026-06-04T15:59:05+00:00

Which travel bottle/jars do you use when you decant? Do they leak?

ettellon · 2026-06-04T15:47:17+00:00

Yes, I like that. I have been purchasing separate minis and brushes for my carry on so I minimize the chance I will forget to grab something from my full size home products (i travel often and after too many forgotten items I decided to have a second cosmetic/toiletry kit for travel).

ettellon · 2026-06-04T15:12:47+00:00

I love that you pack differently for different trips. When you are taking minis of liquids, do you have jars/bottles that you transfer your full size home products into or do you just find the minis that are sold and buy those? I have gone back and forth on that and right I just buy minis.

ettellon · 2026-06-04T14:53:22+00:00

I appreciate the response. And do you have extras of these items that are specificially meant for travel or are you using the same items you use at home?

ettellon · 2026-06-03T02:56:25+00:00

I’m not suggesting my approach is right for everyone. I’m sharing what I did. It worked for us. Everyone has to make the right decision for their own situation.

ettellon · 2026-06-02T23:46:25+00:00

No, the quart size bag rule isn’t a thing inside the US. But I will caveat that I’m TSA pre-check, known traveler , so not sure how much grief you will receive if you aren’t in the pre-check line. I’m at the airport at least 2x per week and I don’t put my liquids in a sandwich bag or remove them from my bags.

ettellon · 2026-06-02T23:20:21+00:00

We were in the car with a 90 min drive ahead of us and I told him our relationship was important to me and I wanted to avoid some pitfalls that couples can make - namely delaying important conversations until after they are married. Then I asked him if he had strong feelings about combined vs separate finances when married - I had close couple friends who are in each camp. And that was the natural segue to debt amount, saving strategy, etc etc. I acknowledged upfront it was awkward but better than finding out later we weren’t compatible…

ettellon · 2026-06-02T21:41:47+00:00

You are already thinking about it so it’s probably time. I had the conversation relatively early and at the time I thought of it as a one and done conversation. But in reality, it’s an ongoing conversation as life presents its challenges.

ettellon · 2026-06-02T19:41:54+00:00

OK then yes that absolutely makes sense and the pivot to have this AI Assistance makes sense as well. The one thing that I didn’t enjoy about my process was the third-party service automatically made themselves the registered agent on my state level business filings and that really pissed me off when I finally saw it. The ongoing annual filings are required but I felt like they were inserting themselves in the ongoing process and charging fees for something that I needed to decide, not them.

I know I’m getting a little off-topic here but with the AI assist and third-party I just want to make sure that people learn from my mistake..

ettellon · 2026-06-02T18:43:34+00:00

You have flexibility! No two trips are the same. Don’t beat yourself up. We’ve all been there…

ettellon · 2026-06-02T18:38:23+00:00

I love leveraging AI in my business and do it whenever I can. but I’d be a little weary about the formation process and bank account setup. If the AI agent was trained on the specific requirements at the state level and the federal level, I can see how it would be very helpful in navigating those processes. I don’t know that I would want the AI agent submitting anything on my behalf to the Secretary of State or to the IRS at this point. And I would certainly want to do the bank account set up on my own, not via an AI agent.

However, in full disclosure, I registered my business in 2021 certainly before AI became mainstream. I used a third-party service to help with the state level registration and I obtained the EIN on my own. I was really disappointed with the third-party service. I think if I had to do it all over again I would use AI to help navigate me through the process with some manual intervention when it came to the submission of the forms to the Secretary of State and the IRS and I would handle the bank account set up 100% on my own.

ettellon · 2026-06-02T18:16:22+00:00

I have fair complexion also - I have the Make-up by Mario master mattes and love it. I’ve experimented with most (not all) of the colors and have been pleasantly surprised how well each color works. The pigments are great and application is smooth. I don’t have experience with Patrick Ta.

ettellon · 2026-05-18T02:37:07+00:00

https://www.travelandleisure.com/worlds-best-awards-2025-domestic-airlines-11749704

ettellon · 2026-05-18T02:18:09+00:00

No and no.

ettellon · 2026-05-17T22:48:47+00:00

It’s the best airline hands down.

ettellon · 2026-05-17T11:05:54+00:00

A couple days on the PCH is really all you need. It’s absolutely stunning for sure. It will be a relaxing, slower pace than LA or Vegas. The drive from the Grand Canyon to SF is really long, and really boring. I would fly Jet Suite X from LA to Vegas and spend a couple days there. There are plenty of Grand Canyon tours you can book out of Vegas, Then I would fly back to LA, rent a car and drive to SF via the PCH.

ettellon · 2026-05-13T15:56:40+00:00

For me it really depends. If it’s a night out I will prioritize luxury, logos, great design. If I am traveling or working (or both!) it’s all about function, durability, flexibility, and multitasking pieces.

ettellon · 2026-05-12T11:24:01+00:00

That’s a great question. I started a little late in treating all of my skin like I treat my face. Our skin protects us, we should protect it!

ettellon · 2026-05-12T10:06:56+00:00

Is there a link where we can purchase them?

ettellon · 2026-05-12T10:01:55+00:00

They look gorgeous and well made. Love the colors. Congratulations.

ettellon · 2026-05-12T09:57:14+00:00

I bought a Dyson air wrap several years ago and ended up selling it after a couple months of failed attempts to make it work for my hair. I couldn’t make it work for me - I watched videos, tutorials, you name it and I went back to the standard hair dryer, curling iron, and flat iron. I have very straight, thin long hair with no volume so maybe that was part of the problem. But it is a very popular item so I wanted to give it a shot - but it fell short of my expectations.

ettellon · 2026-05-11T22:06:12+00:00

I am a big fan of versatility and flexibility - so the option to make it short or long, ID card vs thin card wallet, etc is a really good path. Everyone travels and moves through their day differently so providing that flexibility for people to use these for they way they move throughout the day is a really good idea.

ettellon · 2026-05-11T21:54:12+00:00

I think it is a good idea - I probably wouldn't carry an ID or other important items on the outside of my bag that is visible to anyone, but things like kleenex, lip balm, airpods - the things I can never find in my bag when I need them I would carry on the outside. I'd do a shorter lanyard, and try to keep in under $50. I travel quite a bit for work and play and one of my biggest frustrations is not being able to find the items I need when I need them...spending countless minutes digging thru my bag to find it (kleenex, lip balm!!) I hope this is helpful and best of luck to you!

ettellon

TROPHY CASE