How to pick the right perfume to travel with

When you’re packing for a trip, it’s hard to cut beauty products from your luggage. But parting with your fave everyday perfume on a holiday? Torture.
RELATED: 4 reasons to use rollerball fragrances
More often than not, we’re faced with the perfume problem: do we leave the bottle or not? Obviously, if you have a perfume atomiser you can safely take your fave perfume, but for those of us who always forget about buying one until 11pm the night before, this guide's for you.
RELATED: The rise of the solid perfume
Follow the checklist below to help you pack (or decant) the right fragrance for a trip.
1. Does it suit the climate?
It's not the best idea to drench yourself in something warm and spicy while sweating it up in a hot destination. Similarly, a spritz of a subtle and breezy scent won't do you many favours in cool weather. When it comes to packing for a trip, remember to pick something light for the heat and heavy for the cold.
2. Can you cope with losing it?
Plans can go awry when travelling. Sometimes bags get swiped, or you leave them in the hotel, maybe you even have to ditch some things to keep your suitcase weight down. It all happens. It's completely up to you if you want to smell luxe on your holiday – but just remember there’s always a risk you won't return with an exxy fragrance.
3. Is it small?
Sometimes perfume bottles can be, er, extravagant. If you’re trying to squeeze a big, bulky or oddly shaped bottle into your bag, not only is it more likely to spill, but it's taking up valuable space for other beauty products. You could fit four mini perfumes (for four different fragrance vibes) in the space that a big bottle would take up.
4. Can you use it on the fly?
You never want to smell stale on a holiday. But all those hours out and about, away from your hotel can make it a possibility. The solution? A portable perfume you can reapply on-the-go. beautyheaven loves the Kiehl's Musk Essence Oil Portable and Zoella Blissful Mistful Solid Fragrance. Easy-to-apply perfumes are also super handy for mid-flight touch-ups.
How do you pick and cull beauty products when packing for a trip? Do you have any travel beauty tips?
51 Member Comments
One of my favourite things to do when travelling is to buy a new perfume and wear it the whole time on my trip to create a scent memory.
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I recently had a six week adventure in southeast Asia and took dkny be delicious in the 30ml bottle. It's a light, summery fragrance with good silage and worked out to be the perfect travel perfume in a warmer climate!
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I like Chanel perfume because it was the first perfume that was given to me by my father. When I am given samples of the new perfumes I keep them for my traveling. If I have no samples left I fill an atomiser with my perfume. I also loved the rollerballs from Avon but they are no longer available.
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In the past I used small sample bottles I used to get while buying my perfumes but nowadays they hardly there any more
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My favourite perfume comes in a travel size which is fab, but it's in a glass tube. I've smashed that bad boy in my giant back pack too many times. I know i should move on but there's something about Nude by Rhianna that just speaks to my nose.
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I always have little sample vials on me for touch ups on the go!
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I agree with everything except the “mid flight touch ups” please be thoughtful to your fellow passengers as I am surprised at just how many have allergies and sensitivity towards scents and being cooped up together and the air con recycling the air means everyone gets a good whiff of your scent and it may not be for everyone,
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Another vote for the Travalo refillable perfume atomiser, I carry it with me everywhere for a quick spritz!
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Can you cope with losing it....good one! I do carry with me pricey ones too....and well, whatever happens it happens
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A roller ball has always sounded sensible but I never seem to buy one before travelling!
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I usually take minis with me. I love perfumes and it wouldn't be me if I didn't take perfume with me when I travel.
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I have a huge collection of perfumes specifically for use on the run. I love scents that I can pop in my handbag and refresh during the day. Recently I've been loving the Lush solid perfumes as they are spill proof, small, light weight and they smell amazing!
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I have a handful of minis that are perfect for travelling, but I also like the idea of rollerballs.
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I normally pack travel sized perfumes on holidays as I don't want to weigh my bag down or take up too much space in my toiletries bag. Also gives me a chance to try some new fragrances without having to buy a full size one.
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Love that, Thepinkshoe! I'm all about lots of minis over a full size. xx
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I take 10-15ml edt or edp spray bottles with me. They are long and slim and fit easily into my handbag, toilet bag, etc. Kmart used to sell ones that you can refill too by just unscrewing the top. The fragrance "Night Bloom" smells like an expensive fragrance that you'd find in Myers or Duty Free. I think that the manufacturers realised this which is why you can't get it anymore. Instead the newer fragrances in that range aren't as nice or long lasting as the original fragrances from 3-4 years ago. Avon fragrance samples are also great to pack for travelling too :). I've got an Avon Lady who always gives me a few in each Avon Brochure.
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I have a stash of perfume sample vials that I use when I travel. They are great and you can also pack one in your carry on liquids.
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I travel with rollerballs or Travalos that have been filled with perfume from my fuller-sized bottles. That way I can pick & choose a few different scents to take with me. Generally I try & decant my usual beauty products into travel bottles/jars to reduce the weight, but I almost always end up packing waaaaaaaaaay too many toiletries anyway.
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Haha Seashells, I do the same thing! I feel like I'm doing a good job cutting down on things and then all of a sudden half my bathroom is coming away with me. xx
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There is nothing worse than sitting on a plane near someone who is drenched in perfume, usually a cheap one. As a lot of you have mentioned I also use a roller as both a deodorant and a soft perfume when I travel.
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Oh shaper, I've been there – so terrible!
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Rollerballs are handy. I like to travel light and don't take perfume with me.
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I Haagen a small travel perfume which smells like fruits during summer! So convenient and easy to travel!
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I’ve just discovered a gadget called Travalos, it’s a small empty atomiser that you can decant your perfume into. It’s so easy to decant, you just take the nozzle of your perfume spray and pump the Travalo bottle on the pin that the spray nozzle attaches to and it instantly fills the Travalo atomiser. So now I can have my own purse sized fragrance for traveling. It’s supposed to be leak proof too!
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That sounds fabulous, Claire88! I'll have to get myself one of those xx
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