I’ve got all these holiday toiletries but still somehow have nothing!

what the hell do you even do with half this stuff and how long does it take you to get ready every day?!?

Which half of the stuff?
Are we talking about getting ready for day of sightseeing, beach day or a dinner out?

Ok- I recently did 10 days across France - city break and beach holiday.

I took the following cosmetics:

Bar of soap
Flannel
Mitchum stick deodorant
Make up removing cloth (one of those that work without product)
Shampoo and conditioner decanted in to little squeezy bottles
Tooth brush, mini toothpaste, floss.
Mini face wash
Day cream, night cream, serum and eye cream all decanted in to those little tiny pots.
Hair styling cream decanted in to a little tiny pot, hairband and slide, mini brush
Tweezers, emeryboard and nail scissors
Perfume in a mini atomiser
Suncream

Make up wise i just took tinted sunscreen, a small eyeshadow palette, mascara, eye pencil and a sheer lipstick. I only wear make up at night on holiday and then very minimal.

That all fitted in to two smallish sponge bags (I separate out wet and dry stuff)

In terms of medication I just took my prescribed meds (Pill and HRT).

In my handbag i took a mini pot of Vaseline, a small role of micropore tape, a small decanted spray bottle of Korres body spray, mint chewing gum and a pack of tissues.

Don’t recommend buying sun cream abroad, some countries literally don’t sell it or if they do, it’s like 20 euro for a tiny bottle and it’s only factor 30. I don’t think it’s used in southern Italy for example, the pharmacists looked at me like I was crazy for buying it.

Definitely in the hardly take anything category. For a 2 week holiday knocking about in Europe, I'd take brush, comb, anti perspirant, toothbrush, small tube of toothpaste, hotel size bar of soap and hotel size bottle of shampoo in case any hotel doesn't provide them, nivea, some cotton wool, nail scissors, file and tweezers, glasses cleaner. Maybe some ibuprofen. I think the car first aid kit has plasters.

We do drink a lot of water but buy it on holiday. Wouldn't occur to us to use electrolytes! I think a beer before dinner does the job....

I was the same in Napoli. 30k steps in 36 degree heat but we were fine without plasters or electrolytes. Drank lots of water and had a fan. Just wear comfy shoes!

Its just what normal people do.
No medal needed.

That 100ml of shower gel won't last me long with at least a couple of showers a day and washing my laundry in the sink too 🤣
What if I'm using the laundry clips for actual laundry? Do I peg my half eaten bag of truffle crisps to my washed pair of pants because according to you I can't possibly need both products at once? 🤣

Don’t know if you are like me OP but I have a drawer full of half used travel sized toiletries where I took a small size with me, didn’t use it all and bought a new one for the next holiday as half a tube wouldn’t be enough. I take medication with me too. My family mock me but I’m the one they come to when they’ve got a headache. I take ORS hydration tablets with me, the strawberry ones are nice.

I think that what you pack depends on where you are staying - hostel, hotel, rental, as everywhere I’ve stayed in recent years (AirB&B or hotel) has provided some kind of shower gel, shampoo, soap etc so I tend now to just take conditioner and a mini soap plus very mini shampoo as a just in case for one/two nights and would buy more in a supermarket if needed. I still take my lotions and medication though.

Then take the makeup you'll wear but keep it to essentials, one bag only, otherwise that'll drive you nuts too 😂

But feelings aren’t facts. Plasters , painkillers, bite stuff plus stuff for upset stomach and then any real medication or stuff for your families particular ailments . That’s it surely.

The last European holiday I had was quite a while ago and was only for 5 nights / 4 full days .
I took
shampoo
conditioner
shower gel
body lotion
foot balm
hand cream
sunscreen
deodorant
toothpaste + toothbrush
mini sizes of my skincare
makeup bag with minimal / small size items
my prescription meds and inhalers
in a tiny purse / pouch I was gifted I put nail clippers , emery board , cotton buds , plasters and antiseptic wipes and a strip of paracetamol.
Everything was in a very small or trial size .
I save the free gifts with purchase and / or buy the travel sized ones .
when I went to Japan I packed a few things in regular sizes because I was there a month .
other things were provided by the accommodation or I bought them easily.
I got sick in Japan and it was easy enough to get some meds

No you just don’t need a peg for a bikini to be hung up. You can also just fold the bag over. And UK airports don’t require 100ml bottles anymore. You can also just take a bar of soap to cut out that issue entirely.

I mean taking Imodium with me would have saved me the embarrassment of going to a small town pharmacy in France and asking for medicine because I was "ill of the behind" (forgot the French word for diarrhea - yes yes I know it is pretty much the same word!) but it was the first time I have ever got an upset stomach abroad and if I hadn't had to get a train toa new location that day I would have just sat it out with with plain crackers and rehydration drinks.

Both Leeds and Manchester at least still have the 100 ml per container liquid limit.

From earlier this year so might be out of date, but only Heathrow, Gatwick, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh and 2 x Belfast airports allow larger containers. The rest still have the 100 ml limit.

Airport liquid rules in 2026, from 100ml containers to clear plastic bags - Which?

And I've yet to see a European airport that doesn't still have the rule, based on a selection across Germany, Spain and Poland. Some might but people need to check with the individual airport website before taking larger containers through and risking losing things they need for their holiday and the money it costs to replace these items.

You don't.

You are trying to simplify every single situation rather than admitting that the items I pack could be useful. If I can fit everything into my suitcase, carry it myself comfortably and genuinely use these items every time I travel (several times a year), who are you to ridicule me.

She may if she’s not particularly fit and/or heavy. Bigger body surface and that

OP, you posted a thread frettingly anxiously about packing and feeling overwhelmed with all the stuff. People are just trying to reassure you that you really don't need to fret, especially on a sightseeing trip across Europe (as opposed to a hike through the Namibian desert).

If you're already set on taking 50,000 products with you and are not prepared to accept any suggestions other than 'Add another 10,000 products to that', what's the point of the thread?

I am on holiday now.
I bought shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser, taming cream, tangle cream and shower gel.
For my children they have shower gel, shampoo and conditioner.
Generically: 3 packs of factor 50 suncream, 1 small pack of colourful plasters, a small tub of laufwunder, some antifungal cream, paracetamol and ibuprofen.
My husband also takes a separate medical bag due to his scoliosis and requiring a lot of medicine, a tens machine and epi pens.

I'm French,so go to France for our main holiday as we need to visit my elderly mother. I take supermarket bought painkillers which cost 40p in Aldi but are only available at the chemist in France (supermarkets are not allowed to sell medicines),antihistamines (again not sold cheaply) and cold/flu powders which seem to not be sold,even at the chemists.

travel sized: shampoo, conditioner, after sun, deodorant, suncream, toothpaste, face cream
a strip of paracetamol and antihistamines

I don't travel much, haven't been abroad in about 15 years and yet today this is the second thread about people not knowing that you can buy sunscreen etc in other countries. Even I know this