Parallelle Traveler Review: Unparalleled Attention to Detail

If a Transformers toy existed for grown women, it would be Parallelle’s Traveller series of toiletry bags.

Ribbed on the outside like Optimus Prime’s boots, the Traveller looks like a typical (albeit stylish) makeup bag on the outside, but peer inside and you’ll see a warren of different-sized pockets and loops and adjustable dividers. Unzip the bag all the way around, fold the sides down, and voila—there are all your travel toiletries, standing upright and fully in order, in a makeup organizer just like you’d have at home. When you’re done, flip the sides up, pull the zippers back to the top, and it’s back to being a travel bag, sturdy and secure enough to toss in a suitcase sideways or even upside down.

Keep It Contained

The Traveller is the brainchild of Annie Fan, a career designer of private-label bags for other brands. She liked to take a SoulCycle spin class before work, but found herself either forgetting her makeup and toiletries, being unable to find them in her bag, or having to lay out all her items on the communal counter. In 2022, she set out to design her own bag: the ultimate travel cosmetics bag.

“When I started designing the Traveller, structure was key,” Fan says. “It needed to function like a portable vanity—keeping everything visible, secure, and exactly where you need it, without the need to unpack.”

As for the design procedure, it was a matter of constant fine-tuning. She ultimately went through 60 prototypes to ensure she got the design precisely the way she wanted it. “Every detail had to be carefully considered, from the flexibility of the layout to how everything stays organized and accessible,” Fan says.

Today, there are now four sizes of Traveller, all with the same sturdy, vegan leather and water-resistant cotton exterior. There’s the Small, with nine pockets, two divided compartments, two mesh pouches, and five loops for brushes or other items; Medium, with 16 pockets, three divided compartments, and four mesh pouches; and Large, with 20 pockets, three divided compartments, and six new pouches. There’s also a new “Brush” version, which stands 9.6 inches tall and has 13 wall pockets for brushes and other toiletries, a zippered pouch, and a spacious “floor” for full-size products.

Photograph: Kat Merck

Road Tested

I tested the Medium and Brush Travellers on a recent five-day family trip to both a hotel and Airbnb in Louisiana, and I can confirm both serve as a veritable clown car of skin-care products and makeup. Once I arrived at my destination, I placed a Traveller on the bathroom counter, unzipped and peeled the sides down like a banana, and there were all my products—fully visible, no worse for wear from being tossed around in my suitcase, and easy to grab and replace. Even though I have tested more than 20 toiletry bags in the past year, I was still impressed.

Photograph: Kat Merck