The Gold Stars: Top Travel Essentials

In this episode of Gold Stars, Sumner (Director of Product Development) and Heather (Producer) from The Home Edit team share the top travel essentials they pack for every trip, including everything from a genius makeup bag that stores products upright for easy access to a white noise machine that is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. 

Scroll on to shop Sumner and Heather’s top travel essentials from the episode + a recap of why these items get a Gold Star seal of approval:

*These are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. The Home Edit did not receive any compensation or incentives for these product reviews.

The Home Edit Weekender Bag 

"You can only do so much when traveling with a gigantic, open tote and some pouches. At a certain point, you leave the pouches unzipped, and everything is at the bottom of the bag. So we said, "What can we do to improve that experience?" and created the Weekender Bag for our Walmart collection. It's washable and durable, with a laptop sleeve, two interior pockets to separate your stuff, a zippered exterior pocket on the exterior for easy access, and a bottom compartment for shoes or laundry. There's also a trolley sleeve so you can put it on top of a suitcase and go hands-free. Oh, and it comes in four colors and is compatible with the other luggage in our collection." -Sumner.

Lanedo Ice Chest 

“When you are road-tripping, you need a cooler. This one includes pockets all the way around for extra storage and folds down into the size of a sandwich when it’s empty. I just love a travel cooler; it delights me. My worst fear would be the car breaking down and us not having a cold beverage.” -Heather. 

Parallelle Makeup Bag

“I grabbed this bag a few months ago and am obsessed with it. I wanted something I could store my makeup in all the time, not just for travel. This one is perfect because it zips to the bottom, the sides fold out, and there are separate compartments that store products upright so I can see everything.  It's like a makeup drawer on the go.” -Sumner.

Travel Pill Organizer

“Each compartment unscrews, and you can separate pills by day of the week or type. I love innovative products that are pretty, functional, and fun, and this one checks all those boxes.” -Heather. 

white noise machine

White Noise Machine

"I'm The Princess and The Pea. I will notice anything that isn't right when I'm trying to fall asleep. I found this little white noise machine on Amazon for $17. It's the size of my hand, and you just press a button and choose from a library of calming sounds. Very easy to travel with.” -Sumner. 

bluetooth speaker

JBL FLIP 5 Bluetooth Travel Speaker 

"You've got the white noise machine, and I have this little guy. I've tested several Bluetooth speakers and feel strongly about this one. It's trusty, reliable, and full of bass and powerful sound.” -Heather.

travel scissors

Travel Scissors

"The first time I took these travel scissors on a group trip, everyone asked if they could use them. These are incredibly compact for travel and can cut through anything from cardboard to plastic." -Sumner.

iPhone Tripod Stand

“If you travel somewhere scenic and spend a lot of money to go there, you want to get the picture, right? I don't want to bother an innocent bystander to take a photo of us, so I pack a tripod that folds down nicely and fits in my suitcase. I love this one because you just attach your iPhone to it. The height is adjustable and includes a clicker that takes photos automatically. It also expands to use as a selfie stick.” -Heather.