Seatmates: Megan Graham
On reinventing the travel toiletry, a beauty routine built for movement, and swapping homes around the world
This interview is part of Seatmates, a Window Seat series where tastemakers, travelers, and creatives share how they move through the world—what they pack, where they stay, and the travel rituals that shape their lives.
We all owe Megan Graham quite the debt of gratitude. She’s the one who finally fixed one of travel’s most overlooked (and most frustrating) problems: the ugly, wasteful plastic toiletry bottle. But for Megan—a multiracial woman who spent years cobbling together her own beauty routine on the road—it was never just about aesthetics. It was about access. As the founder and CEO of Ries, she’s reimagined how we pack beauty on the go, designing a refillable system that’s equal parts functional and elegant.
Read on for her take on beauty, dignity, and access for travelers who’ve never seen themselves reflected in hotel amenities, how she manages her fear of flying, and how a borrowed guesthouse and a Cannes-winning filmmaker made her birthday unforgettable.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m the Founder and CEO of Ries, a travel toiletry brand reimagining how we pack (and think) about personal care on the go. Before launching Ries, I lived many creative lives: I worked as a trend forecaster, led brand strategy at advertising agencies, and spent time on the beauty team at Vogue. Like many founders, I started with a problem I couldn’t ignore and bootstrapped my way toward a solution I believed in.
Travel has always been a throughline in my life. I was born in Detroit, raised between Atlanta and Tallahassee, and have called New York home longer than anywhere else. These days, I live in Brooklyn with my husband and our dog, Coco. And I’m currently pregnant with our first kid, due this August!
My earliest memories of travel weren’t from glamorous vacations, but from quietly stealing the New York Times Travel section out of my dad’s Sunday paper. Even though most of our family trips were road trips up and down the East Coast, I never doubted that the big, wide world was mine to discover.
You’ve made something elegant out of what most travelers overlook: the travel-size bottle. Has any destination helped you see beauty routines—or sustainability—in a new way?
Wow, thank you! That’s such a huge compliment, and truly what I set out to achieve with Ries.
Early in my career, I landed a job as a trend forecaster that had me on a plane at least twice a month, every month, for years. I saw the inside of countless airports, hotels, and taxis. But what really stood out was how disconnected my on-the-go beauty routine felt from the one I’d so carefully built at home.
For me, beauty has always been rooted in haircare and skincare, but the products I relied on (especially for my curly hair) were never going to be found in a hotel bathroom or a last-minute stop at Hudson News. As a multiracial woman, I was used to bringing my own essentials, but the process was frustrating: decanting rich conditioners and creams into flimsy, one-ounce plastic bottles that were unsightly, wasteful, and rarely reused.
Traveling so frequently and seeing how much single-use plastic I was personally throwing away sparked something deeper. I had two nagging desires: to maintain care and dignity for my hair wherever I traveled, and to eliminate the environmental guilt tied to all that disposable packaging.
At its core, Ries is an extension of my own hair journey. I’ve done it all—relaxers, braids, the big chop—and stopped chemically straightening my hair when I was 15. Embracing my natural texture was a fight: for myself, for representation, and for a kind of beauty that wasn’t always seen as standard. It might feel strange now, but 20 years ago an acceptance of textured curls was very much not the case. I refused to let travel, the thing I loved most, be the reason I had to compromise on that progress.
So while Ries may seem like a product story, it’s really about access. About making room for every kind of beauty on the road, and giving travelers the tools to show up fully, sustainably, and unapologetically.
As a founder who’s constantly moving, what rituals anchor you on the road?
The rituals that anchor me on the road are the same ones that keep me grounded at home. I always travel with a book or two and I try to never sleep with my phone in the same room. (Currently reading Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill)
But the real non-negotiable? My haircare. No matter where I’m headed, having my full routine with me is what makes me feel most like myself. It’s about care, continuity, and feeling rooted, even in a new place.
My Ries is always packed with the essentials: Hair Story New Wash cleanser, Honest conditioner, Aunt Jackie’s leave-in and a mousse or gel by Bread Beauty for a little extra hold. It’s a small ritual, but it brings a sense of home wherever I go.
If you were designing the welcome ritual for your own boutique hotel, what would the check-in experience look like?
I love that first moment of stepping into a hotel. There’s such a feeling of possibility and a simultaneous arriving and letting the travel just slough off, isn’t there? For me the best check-in experience does all the thinking for you while also giving you complete freedom.
In my dream hotel, we’d start with a comfortable seated interaction (counters are too cold and formal!) You’re offered a refreshing drink (herbal tea, sparkling water, or something bubbly) while your luggage is quietly whisked to your room. The logistics—room details, amenities, any extras—are confirmed with ease and handed over in a beautifully designed, compact printout. No QR codes in sight.
Maybe a poolside cabana has already been reserved for you. Maybe the staff has anticipated small preferences you never even had to voice. A vegetarian menu waiting on your bedside table or a hiking map of the nearby trails? You feel considered, not processed.
A hotel stay should be like any good restaurant experience. They’ve already done their research the moment you made your reservation and know the small ways to personalize your stay. It’s all in the details.
What’s been your most memorable stay?
As much as I love a well-designed hotel, some of our most memorable travel experiences have come from house swaps. We’ve been using HomeExchange for years, and it’s allowed us to see the world in a more local, lived-in way.
Our most memorable was during my birthday trip to Mexico City. We found an incredible house just outside of CDMX in Tepoztlán. We often like to do two different types of stays in one area—a little city time with a more rural break after.
After a few days exploring the city, we headed to the house. While we knew the house would be beautiful based on pictures, we were greeted with so much more. It was a guesthouse on a larger property and ended up being the home of a Cannes-winning film director and his wife. We ended up joining them for meals, touring their post-production facilities and bonding with their dogs. It also offered us a chance to connect with their larger community and helped us ease into friendships with other local artists, some of whom we still keep in touch with.
House swapping isn’t for everyone, but it’s always given us the opportunity to live a lot more local during our travels. For me, that’s a large part of wanting to travel to any new place. To immerse myself, meet people, get a little uncomfortable.
For hotels, we recently stayed at the Ulysses Hotel in Baltimore and I was so impressed with the decor and restaurants. Excited to stay at more Ash Hotels in the future.
Is there a destination or property at the top of your wishlist?
So many! China, Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia. My husband and I went to the Philippines in 2016 and Palawan continues to be one of our favorite places. I’d love to spend more time on a motorbike going around Asia.
What are your must-haves when it comes to luggage and items you travel with?
I have different luggage for different types of trips, but I really love my Away Bigger Carry On in Jet Black. If I’m traveling for a really long time or need a lot of outfits, I’ll go with my Medium in the same color. My Ries travel toiletry bag is always packed and ready to go for all my trips. I never travel without my haircare, Augustinus Bader Rich Cream and Caudalie Face Wash.
I’ve carried my Dagne Dover Medium Landon as my go-to carry-on bag for years. It’s truly magic and can hold an insane amount without becoming roughed up. I always bring some essentials to keep me hydrated: a lightweight reusable water bottle, LMNT electrolytes in watermelon salt, hand lotion in a Ries bottle and lip balm. I also always have a book, plane headphones, some hand sanitizer and my Contax T3 (which I always make sure to hand check at every TSA to preserve the film!)
While I’ve been traveling pregnant, I’ve added compression socks, a Jisulife handheld mini-fan and extra LMNT to my packing list.
What is your go-to airport outfit?
It can depend on where I’m landing, but I always wear some iteration of the same outfit. I like to anchor my look with my Tibi Nylon Winslow Pant. They are my dream pant. Comfortable but with a slightly more interesting shape. I’ve fallen in love with Leset and always feel comfortable in my Laura Slim Fit Tee. I usually end up hiking on whatever trip I take, so I wear my Arc’teryx Hiking Shoes. They’re low-profile and comfortable, but the chunkiest thing I’d be putting in my suitcase, so I prefer to wear them in-flight.
I’m pretty much always cold on a flight and tend to fall asleep on anything over 2 hours, so an oversized hoodie is always in my arsenal.
Do you have any rules or rituals when it comes to air travel?
Before I even leave the house, I down some electrolytes. Flying can be so dehydrating, and I try to stay ahead of it. I also have a bit of a fear of flying (the irony, I know), so I’ve built in rituals to help calm my nerves. (Ed. note: it’s more common than you think, and I have an entire article dedicated to my own strategies!)
Once I’m on the plane, I dive straight into my book for a welcome distraction. But right before takeoff, I cue up a guided meditation (or three) on the Unplug app. It helps me center myself, breathe deeply, and ease into the flight.
No matter where I land or what time, always try to take a short walk outside. A few minutes of fresh air helps me reorient and ground myself in the new place. And no matter how tired I am, I always shower after a flight. It’s like washing off the journey and starting fresh.
Last question: aisle or window seat?
Pre-pregnancy: Window. With the window shade open! I want to take in the changing landscape and enjoy the journey.
During pregnancy: Aisle, without question. The need to stretch (and pee) every two hours is very, very real.
For more from Megan, follow her on Instagram and treat yourself to one of Ries’ products—they’ll seriously upgrade your travel kit. Interested in being featured in Seatmates or know someone who should be? Drop me a line here.
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Tori Simokov is a Travel Writer and Graphic Designer/Strategist based in New York. To get in touch, email tori@v1projects.com. Want more? Check out Instagram, TikTok, or shop her curated favorites.
Big Reis guy over here... Thank you Megan!