I know you will find this hard to believe, but I am a travel supplies junkie…from the purchasing new outfits, new bag, new sandals…all the way to my content sigh that I make when I am in the travel size section of Target.  I have heard amongst the different makeup and travel blogs how 3floz.com is the site to shop at for all of your traveling essentials and that it has all the higher end products that us girls love, but may not covet the price, such as Blow, Supergoop (these are sunscreen wipes…le sigh of awesomeness), Philip B, etc.  This is also nice since even though you may not be traveling it gives you an opportunity to either try the product or if it is a product that you do love and use frequently, having the smaller version makes it more mobile efficient rather than lugging the actual sized one with you everywhere.  Personally I love their slogan of: for those of you who travel, those who are curious, and those who can’t commit.

Since reading the raves, I have avoided this site like the plague since I am a product junkie and know that I would be buying endless supplies of small items, just to “have them.”  Before I begin to wreak havoc on this site, I am just going to have to take a couple small breaths and remind myself of my new mantra when I am putting things in the virtual shopping basket: “do I really need this?”

Talk about being a goldfish and being distracted my shiny objects, I do not know where to look first…I am trying to control and limit myself, so literally I have a post-it note in front of me with all my restrictions…if you have a tendency to over purchase or get carried away, I suggest doing the same thing.  First I made a list of things I absolutely DID NOT need, such as; travel toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, shave lotion, shaver…the essentials that I already have and can easily buy the smaller versions of in Target…there are just something things you can scrimp on and do not need to buy the expensive versions of (unless is a lengthier trip)…I already own the Aveda color care shampoo and conditioner travel versions of so I was good there;).  By making notes of the items you don’t need, it will keep from looking unnecessarily at other sections, such as; shower items.  Secondly, I made an estimated amount that I was willing to spend in addition to writing down the list of products I had at home and love, but can easily be transferred into travel size containers (this is when I suggest also purchasing a label maker so you can easily distinguish what everything is).  There is no need to spend the same amount or more for something that you already have just because it comes in a travel size (of course this is easier said than done with me, you know  how quickly I can turn to the dark side and convince myself otherwise).

Thus with post-it notes in front of me and a firm quick mental reminder of my mantra “do I really need this”, I began to shop.   Now keep in mind I just surveyed the site and began writing this without fully participating in the shopping experience….now with a more insightful eye, I am able to give this a more thorough review and maybe my love was a little premature. First thing I noticed was the exorbitant price of many of the items and how this could easily and quickly add up…Plus I realized that in order to get free shipping, you have to spend $100 or more, which surprisingly on this site is a lot easier than you would think.  This also becomes time extensive in that you begin to search the web for online free shipping coupons.  In addition, I realized that there is so many brands out there that I thought they could benefit from that they did not have like; Bumble and Bumble (I am a sucker for this line), Aveda (I love everything from this line and even thought its expensive, I use it religiously), etc.  I also felt that the item descriptions were lacking and there was a necessity for reviews not just on opinions regarding the product, but the size and amount of product as well.  So to be honest, even though I love this site, I think it’s limited and they should add more reasonably priced things as well and not just the Yes to Carrots line (which by the way I could save the shipping on and walk right across the street to the Walgreens), but I did pick up some things that were interesting.  I love a good beach spray, so I picked up Blow’s Beach Blow Texturizing Mist, Yes to Cucumbers facial towelettes (I love facial towelettes, I never travel without them and with me almost out…I figured I would try these…I caved…what can I say?), and Supergoop’s sunscreen wipes (yes, they are pricey at 8 for $10, but I’ve never seen anything like it, so I am giving it a go).  Not Exactly the huge overhaul I was expecting, but I felt compelled to buy something’s and like I said, to be fair, this site is innovative and definitely on the right track, I just hope it keeps expanding.

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