A Smart Girl's Guide to Travel Beauty

It always amazes me how many women feel the need to don a full face of make-up and blow out their hair every morning on vacation. Vacation is a time for relaxing and doing your usual morning routine can make you look and feel out of place. Here are some tips for looking your best without a lot of product or work while on vacation.

Looking well rested is the first step to looking great. No product can completely hide tired eyes and a tired body. It's important to start your vacation off on the right foot with a good night's sleep so you can enjoy the rest of your stay. You'll also want to get on the local time as fast as possible so you aren't tired when you should be awake and awake when you should be tired.

Before your plane even lands, change your watch and cell phone clock to the local time. This will help you start thinking in the right time zone. For your first night in town, you might want to take a sleep aid to help you fall asleep at the time you want to go to bed. Unfamiliar surroundings and noises are often a barrier to sleeping well on vacation. If you have room in your suitcase, bring your pillow. This can make a huge difference in your quality of sleep.

Use a sleep mask if the light in your room is a lot brighter than you are used to at home. Bring ear plugs just in case there is construction noise, traffic or other disturbances. If your room has a fan, turn it on at night for the white noise.

If you aren't the type of person who feels fine going bare-faced for your vacation, you have some options that work especially well in warm, tropical climates. Regardless of whether you want to wear make-up at all, you certainly need two products; sunscreen and moisturizer.

You will need two types of sunscreen; one for your face and one for your body. Your facial sunscreen should be SPF 30-45 and oil-free. Many drugstore and department store brands have special facial sunscreens.

The sunscreen for your body should be SPF 15 or higher and if you plan on swimming or sweating, waterproof. I prefer the spray on sunscreens so that I get even coverage and can do my back myself. Always apply your sunscreen 30 minutes before you leave your hotel room or condo.

If bare faced isn't going to cut it because of splotchy skin, acne or other problems, then consider using a tinted moisturizer during the day. These products usually have sunscreen in them and also a tint to even out skin tones. It will give you a less make-up appearance than foundation. Powder foundations or mineral powders streak and run in the heat. Leave them at home. For an excellent tinted moisturizer, try Laura Mercier.

Since you'll probably be going out to dinner and want to look a little more glamorous in the evening, bring two beauty essentials; lip gloss and mascara. Your face will have some color from the sun so blush isn't required and unless you absolutely have to have eye shadows and liner, considering skipping it and sticking to the basics. Sun kissed skin with lip gloss and black lashes is elegant and timeless.

Bring a good waterproof mascara if you want to wear it during the day and bring a good oil-based remover so you can take it off at night.

I love MAC's Lip Glass. It stays on and has beautiful color.

Finally, at the end of a day of surf and sun, be sure to use a good moisturizer on your body and face to keep from peeling or drying out.

Leave the flat iron and curling irons at home! A leave-in conditioner, headband and some hair elastics are all you need. Sport the pony tail by day to keep you cool and then use a head band for a more sleek look at night. Using a little leave-in conditioner will keep hair shiny and soft. You can run your fingers through it and use a salt spray to get the bed-head beach look as well.