I recently took a road trip to Tennessee. I am not one to shy away from a drive, but 12 hours is a little aggressive. I am not sure I would do it again (famous last words). I had an absolute blast (more travel posts to come), but I knew that the drive was going to make me feel grimy and overall sort of foul. I travel quite a bit so I am pretty good at packing appropriately, especially in the grooming department. Here is what I knew: 1. I was going to be sitting in the car (probably driving) for 10+ hours. 2. I wasn’t going to easily be able to brush my teeth until arriving at my destination. 3. An abundance of cologne to cover the scents of seedy truck stops and Cheetos Puffs wasn’t appropriate since I was in the car with 4 other people. 4. I needed to scrub my face, body and soul once I arrived so I could feel refreshed and not break out.

There’s the cologne that I didn’t want to use in the car. Right now I am using Versace Dreamer. It has a slightly sweeter scent than what I usually wear, but I have had zero complaints. It is currently a travel staple and TSA approved. A plus to this bottle design is that there isn’t a lid that can be removed so I don’t worry about it spraying everything else in my dopp kit during my travels. I don’t go anywhere without Dove Men+Care body wash (Why do hotels still offer bars of soap for the shower?) and my body scrubber from Dollar Shave Club. Best travel body scrubber EVER. Like, EVER! It’s durable, it dries a lot quicker than your typical loofa and it is like a mitten so you can stick your hand in the pocket to help lather before scrubbing. I know, it is first world convenience for a first world problem. “Can’t I just use one of the small hotel towels when I shower, you may be asking?” “No”, I am responding.

I use the Anthony Wake Up Call gel for my face after I shower and in the morning. It feels good and smells minty. What more do you want?

The Anthony Facial Scrub is one of my favorites. It exfoliates all of the dirt and oil from a long trip without being abrasive and it has a nice citrus scent. I travel with a jar of StriVectin neck cream. Is that a thing?! Clearly it is for me. Between the turning of the head to say “yes” to “Do you want some gummy bears?” and “no” to “Can we stop again so I can pee?”, the neck goes through it! Then you add the sun and aging and you have the perfect answer as to why I carry around neck cream. A little bit in the morning and a little bit at night. It can’t hurt, right? And lastly, I need to be able to sleep after a trip. Every hotel smells different so it’s hard for my brain to associate another random hotel bed with sleep, rest and relaxation. Because neck cream wasn’t odd enough, I also have a small tube of lavender oil (Thanks, Westin Hotels). I rub some on my pillows and lights out.