I like little things. Those teeny-tiny versions of items that usually come in a larger form. Tapas, piccolos of Champagne, baby glass bottles of Coca-Cola, or the darling little sample-sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner you steal from hotel rooms—I can’t get enough. (Not those silly little teacup dogs that ride in purses, though. That’s an infantile desire for something little just for the sake of being little. The poor little Chihuahuas and Malti-Poos must have bones as fragile as twigs—and they’re meant to be romping, galumping dogs, for crying out loud. But, I digress.)
As it turns out, the airport security people are just like me, and like little things. When flying, you can now only take liquids in your carry-on if they are in bottles each weighing 3.4 ounces (96g) or less (and they must all fit in a 1 quart-sized plastic bag—that’s 946.3 millilitres, for you metric types.)
Fortunately, the American drugstore is built to support this rule and most have an entire aisle devoted to travel-sized toiletries. Shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, tiny packets of aspirin and cotton buds—perfect! They’re so damn cute—and convenient!—that I don’t even factor in that it would be cheaper to buy the jumbo size.
Best of all, though, the airport-security rules justify my habit of lifting hotel-room goodies. Since I almost never check luggage anymore, I can’t pack large bottles of moisturizer and shampoo, so I opt to use what the hotel provides. (The trick is to stay two nights—use one set, and pack the replacements left by housekeeping the next day.) Even when I’ve paid a week’s rent on one night’s accommodation, however, I find myself feeling guilty about swiping each and every item. I might leave half a bottle of bath gel behind—you know, to show the hardworking cleaners that I’m not a total klepto. When I get home, I line up my lovely little treats in my bathroom and enjoy their cuteness until the next time I travel, when I pack a bottle or two in case the hotel I’m headed for is more Bates Motel than Beverly Wilshire.
Being a bit of a shower-goods junkie, using a new brand at a posh hotel is one of my favorite things about traveling. It may even prompt a return visit to a hotel. (Yes, I could just go and buy some of the product, but honestly? It’s not the same.) This is why I can recommend New York’s Greenwich Hotel, for the delicious Red Flower products (not so mini, actually—but still pretty, and they last longer at home) and the Bowery Hotel (pictured above), for the C.O. Bigelow bath amenities. My recent visit to the Betsy Hotel in Miami got me hooked on Malin + Goetz soaps, and I’m already excited about sampling (and stealing) the Forest Essentials goodies at the Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara this weekend.
Apparently my ‘little’ thievery is actually quite normal. Reading the most recent issue of Travel + Leisure magazine, I was happy to find this article, titled, “Stealing Hotel Amenities: Right or Wrong?” If the general manager of the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris says that the shampoo, shower gel, and slippers are up for grabs, then that’s good enough for me. It’s not like I’m stealing the silver tea strainers, satin sheets, or shower fixtures, after all. Who are these people?
No, I’ll stick to my little bottle fixation, thanks, just enough samples for a rainy day. Speaking of which, one of those guest parasols from the Plaza Athénée or the Beverly Hills Hotel would be ideal. I wonder if they’d fit in my carry-on?