Our luggage got lost for two days when we made our 25th Wedding Anniversary Caribbean Resort Tour somewhere between St. Thomas and St. John.

Unfortunately for Carol, all of her facial products were in containers larger than 3 fl. oz. and packed away in our checked luggage.  That meant that she didn’t have her special cleansers to wash her face at night, and didn’t have the goods to add that special little touch to her already angelic face in the morning.

Let’s just say that mama was unhappy for two days!  🙁

Furthermore, on another trip, we had witnessed some poor gal having to throw away all of her personal products because they were all larger than 3 fl. oz. and stowed in her carry-on luggage.

TSA rules for carry-on liquids.

But alas, here comes the company 3floz.com to the rescue.  Every single product that they carry is designed to be the best in the market and 3 fl. oz.

How cool is that?

Here is a recent interview that I did with the owners, Kate and Alexi:

Find a need and fill it!  Who, and specifically when/where, came up with this idea?  Middle of the night inspiration?

Alexi: My now business partner, Kate, and I used to work together at Archipelago Botanicals where I was Brand Manager and she was Sales Manager. We’d travel all across the country together for trade shows, meetings etc. and it was comical how I would show up to the airport 45 minutes before the flight with my small duffel to carry on and Kate would get there 2 hours before with (no joke) 2 suitcases to check. I wasn’t willing to risk lost luggage or deal with the hassle of checking a bag and thus I succumbed to using my non-preferred products while travelling, while Kate was not willing to give up her beauty routine even if it meant having to check a bag and get to the airport earlier. We came up with the idea in early 2009 and wrote a business plan by summer. In November the two of us moved from LA to New York to get working and the site officially went live in February 2010.

Most will have an idea, but never act.  Why did you?

Kate: The reason I insisted on checking my suitcases was that I feel my best when I’m using my products. As much as I adore traveling, there are so many things about it that “throw you off your game”. There’s time differences, there’s different water (both pressure and minerals etc.), different beds…why deal with dry skin, brittle hair or anything else because you couldn’t bring your own products with you because of TSA regulations? The plane ride alone can parch your skin, so it’s important to rehydrate in the air as well.

Alexi: Once we started looking into what products our favorite brands sold in 3 fluid ounces or less sizes, it was just obvious that these products needed to be aggregated somewhere so we could do the work for everyone else out there. Our brands won’t be found in the bins at drugstores, and for so long that had been the go-to for people who insisted on carrying on their bag.

How’s it going?

Alexi: There was definitely a void in the market because the response since we’ve launched has been amazing. We just added baby products to our offering so the mom and family travel crowd is loving us. We are very popular with business travelers too (we were actually voted “Best Store for TSA-Friendly Toiletries” by Inc. Magazine in their Business Travel 50!) and I think this is because, to Kate’s point above, you feel more like yourself and more confident when you’re using your own products and that’s really important when you’re traveling for business to attend meetings, meet clients, close deals…whatever it is!

Kate: We’re also really happy with the array of brands that we have and how we’ve grown since our launch in February. While we are consistently adding brands, we’re being sure to stay niche and to offer people’s favorites, but also introduce our customers to brands that we love while we’re travelling or at home.

Kate and Alexi sent us a few of their products to sample which arrived just in time to throw them in our carry-on luggage and zip away on another trip.

We received:

• The Art of Shaving Kit for men.  Awesome products and now my very favorite shaving products.  The first time I used them, I went rushing out to Carol, “Touch my face, it feels as soft as a baby’s bottom”.
  
• Supergoop! Sunscreen.  Three fluid ounces of course.
  
• Yes to Carrots products.  Who knew that a carrot would make a good lip balm.  The only complaint I have is that suddenly bunny rabbits seemed to be following me around. 🙂

Hop on over to 3floz.com and try out their extensive line of products, all three ounces or less!