There have been a great many debates over at Corporette about how appropriate it is to wear fragrance to the office. The reasons “for” range from personal preference to signature scents to I like it and no one can tell me what to do. The reasons “against” range from allergic reactions to simple dislike of popular scents to feeling like their personal space is being invaded by heavy scent users. And guys, don’t think you’re off the hook here. There are plenty of fragrances for gentlemen, including scented aftershaves.

Travel is a different beast from a day at the office, fragrance-wise. You are even closer to others than you would be at work, and you will (likely) pass by many more people than a typical day. In my opinion, it’s not a good idea to where perfume or cologne during travel. Or honestly, even a heavily scented lotion. As I mentioned recently, I am very allergic to a lot of scents, and even the briefest whiff of, for example, CK One can give me a major migraine. I never wear perfume, and only occasionally will where a scented lotion or body spray. But never to the airport—there are just too many people. (And remember, it’s never okay to spray perfume on a plane!)

Readers, I’m curious what you think.

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One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to take better care of my fingernails. So for the past several months I’ve been meticulous—shaping, clear polish, better vitamins, etc. So far, I have been rewarded with longer, stronger, very pretty nails. It probably didn’t hurt that I didn’t travel as much as normal in January and February. But as soon as I started hitting the road every week, nail after nail has broken. I don’t know if it’s the way I maneuver my suitcase, the constant opening of boxes for meetings and events, or what. But all my hard work is going down the drain.

I’ve researched online, and I can’t find advice other than the things I did to get better nails in the first place. Am I just destined to have super short nails? (By the way, when I say long nails, I’m talking about maybe 1/16-1/8 of an inch past my nail bed. So long by my standards, not long like talons.)

Readers, what have you done to keep your nails nice even with travel? Any tips for me?

You may have seen the clever ads featuring the always funny Ellen Degeneres during the Oscars. You may have seen the conversations on Twitter and Facebook. Or you may have been to a store and experienced it yourself. JC Penney has a new look, a new feel, and a new pricing structure. And I for one think it’s great. The fine folks at JCP gave me a gift card so I could go check it out for myself, and I was very impressed.

My goal was to refresh my work wardrobe for spring. In my mind, that means bright, vibrant colors, but I’ve been let down the last few seasons by boring neutrals and washed out shades. Not this time! I could not have ordered up a better mix of bold, fabulous hues to inject some life into my winter black. Plus, their new “fair” pricing structure was so easy to work with.  I’m not usually good at math, but even I was able to add up all of my purchases as I went along. Finally, all of the employees were so nice and genuinely happy to be there! It made shopping a real pleasure. I accomplished my goal of great spring work clothes, plus I found some very fun bonus items. Yay!

Here are my favorite finds:

My overall favorite, by far, is the fabulous Belted High-Waist Sateen Skirt by Worthington. The shape is fabulous, I love the pleat in the back, it’s available in several colors, and the price is definitely right. The green is my favorite, with the blue coming in a close second. I really like the way they have shown it in the photo, with black and white, but when I’m in a bright colors mood I will pair it with the yellow Belted Sweater below. (Worthington has another great pencil skirt available in several colors, but it was a tad too short for me. It’s still lovely though!)

Another find—the Belted Sweater Jacket, also from Worthington. It’s a great transition piece for moving from winter to spring, and will work with skirts, slacks, and dresses. I love it with the green pencil skirt above, but it would also be lovely with gray slacks and a teal blouse underneath.

This Bisou Bisou blouse is unfortunately sold out online, but definitely still available in stores. It would be fabulous on its own, or under a cardigan or suit. Plus it just feels so nice!

Even though it’s not a bright color, I love this navy-polka dot dress from American Living. It’s adorable, comfortable, will travel well, and will go with any number of fun accessories. It’s a little low for work, so I’m going to either pin it or wear a navy cami underneath. I plan to top it with my Kelly green cardigan for a fun preppy look, and it would also go well with yellow, red, pink, or purple.

Of course, I had to spend a good amount of time in the shoe section. There are a ton of fun spring espadrilles and wedges (like this adorable a.n.a. MaryAnn wedge), as well as bright heels (like this gorgeous slingback sandal from Studio Paulo). But my first love in shoes will always be flats, and my favorites by far are these color block ballet flats from Nine & Co. I love both versions, the blue/purple as well as the pink/orange. If you need a pair of neutral flats, a pretty gold-beige is also available.

Finally, I spent a lot of time in the jewelry/accessory section, and I will definitely be going back. It was hard to choose between the necklaces, earrings, and scarves….. but I finally narrowed down my favorite to this Mixit Multi-Color Bead necklace. The orange/hot pink/yellow combination will perk up any outfit!

I had so much fun visiting JC Penney, but there was so much to look at that I will have to go back! My local JC Penney is getting a Sephora right inside, which is super exciting to me (more Sephora locations=happy Road Warriorette). The easy pricing structure and fabulous selection (and the clever commercials—love that Ellen!) make the new JC Penney a big winner in my book.

Dry airplane air, late nights, red-eye flights, travel stress…. All of these can wreak havoc with your skin and hair. For me, looking my best helps a ton with confidence when I’m super stressed or busy.  That’s why it’s so important to have the right supplies on hand. With that in mind, here are the things I need the most for grooming while travel.

1. Moisturizer. I use Eminence Organics Caramel Latte Tinted Moisturizer SPF 25. It works amazingly well, plus it’s organic and smells amaaaazing. My skin just drinks it up after a long flight.
2. Mascara. It was hard to pick my favorite cosmetic! I love my Makeup Forever Aqua Cream eyeshadow, but if I had to pick one thing I would pick my mascara,  Lancome Hypnose in Black. It turns my short blond lashes into long, thick, eye-framing lashes that wake me up even more than a Venti Americano.
3. Curling iron. My hair is curly. Mostly. Well, it’s kind of in the middle–there are straight pieces and curly pieces. After years of trial and error, I’ve discovered it’s much easier to curl the straight pieces than straighten the curly pieces. So now my Revlon curling iron is MVP in my suitcase. One time I left it in a rental car trunk and didn’t realize until I was on the plane. I freaked out, and my first stop once I landed was Target to replace it.
4. Shampoo and conditioner. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I can’t use 95% of hotel-provided hair products–my hair is just too sensitive! I pour small amounts of my home products into refillable bottles and bring ‘em with me. Right now I’m using Aveda Be Curly shampoo and conditioner, and I love it.
5. Hydrating mist. For any flight over two hours, I make sure I have my Juice Beauty Hydrating Mist on hand. It refreshes my face, keeps me from getting dried out, and smells nice.
6. Honorable mention: For long-haul flights, I’ve got to have my Korres Pomegranate face wipes on hand. I love being able to get my face clean without using airplane bathroom water, which just feels kind of icky.

Okay Readers, now it’s your turn! What are your top five grooming necessities?

P.S.: I am guest posting on Corporette all week!! Check out the fun clothes I picked out for the morning TPS reports.

One of my favorite charities is called Bead for Life. Except it’s not a charity, exactly. It’s a group from Colorado that sells jewelry made by Ugandan women out of colorful recycled paper. There are necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, with different lengths and sizes of beads available. The necklaces, of which I own several, are beautiful, well-priced, and (of course) travel friendly. Plus you get to help women beat poverty! What’s not to love? They also make great presents–last year I bought ten and gave them for Christmas to my female relatives (of which I have many). You would never look at my turquoise necklace and think, Those beads must be made of paper. Instead, compliments come from all directions, because it is unique and lovely. I highly, highly recommend Bead for Life.

Earlier this week I went into Sephora to get a new deal of my long-time eye shadow, Urban Decay Eye Cream. I have been using it for years and love it. But for some reason, my local Sephora store has stopped carrying it. (And now that I’m looking, the website doesn’t have it anymore either. Sad!)  I was basically out, so I needed something for my trip to Boston this week.  Always on top of things, the fabulous staff at Sephora recommended Makeup Forever Aqua Tint. It is also a shimmery eye cream, plus it’s waterproof. It can even double as a cheek or lip tint. I put it on yesterday morning at 430am, and when I washed my face last night at 11pm it looked exactly the same. Now that is some makeup I can get behind! This isn’t a two step process like what I’ve done in the past; you just use your finger or a sponge to slide it over your lid and it’s ready to go. It comes in a range of colors from neutral to bright, and at $22 a pop isn’t a bad price either. I have the color Pink Beige, and I love it. Highly recommend!

ETA: Okay I love this stuff even more now. I managed to tweak my back on Friday morning, so I stopped at a chair massage place on the way to my meetings. My face was pressed into a massage chair (with paper towel in between skin and chair) and moved around during the vigorous fifteen minute massage. I was pretty freaked out to see how much damage had been done to my makeup, but when I looked in a mirror it had not moved. Not one bit. This makeup is amazing.

There are a lot of things I love to write about. Shoes, bags, and etiquette come to mind, as well as travel beauty and being eco-friendly. The Prive Concept Vert Travel Kit combines those last two, as a fabulous travel beauty shampoo and conditioner kit that uses recyclable containers to boot. The great folks at Prive sent me a set to try out, and I have to say I’m in love.

(Note: This week, for some reason, most of my posts are about something eco-related, from re-usable water bottles to re-using hotel towels, and now green travel beauty. Didn’t do it on purpose, just happened. Interesting.)

First, let’s talk about the products themselves. Prive is extremely high quality to start with, and the Concept Vert line is no exception. Because my hair is so dry, I will typically only wash it two to three times a week. As I’ve recently added swimming into my fitness routine, I need to wash it more often, and have been concerned about what effect that will have. Not to worry! My hair has never been this soft, and the conditioner is incredibly moisturizing and gentle on my color-treated hair. Also, the shampoo and conditioner come out like shaving cream , so you need only a very small amount which then expands. It’s also really fun!

The packaging is also really cool. The kit comes with full size bottles and complimentary travel sized bottles. Using the included “link”, you can easily fill and refill the travel bottles. Both the large and small bottles are recyclable, so when you’re done using them they won’t go in the landfill. The travel bottles are 3fl oz exactly, so they will go through airport security with ease.

In addition to their environmentally-conscious packaging, Concept Vert products themselves are eco-friendly.  They are not made with commonly used artificial ingredients such as sulfates, gluten, phthalates, DEA, TEA, mineral oil, paraffin, PABA, paraben, or artificial coloring.

I have used Phyto products exclusively for years, but am likely to  switch permanently. The products work incredibly well, and with no harsh chemicals and recyclable containers, you have yourself a winner. I highly recommend!

Available at salons and spas for $58 (a $68 value).

One of the questions I get all the time is, “Does concealer count as a liquid?” Or, “Can I take foundation onto a plane?” The answer to both of these, of course, is yes. Yes, concealer counts as a liquid, and yes you can take it and foundation onto a plane. However, if you don’t want to worry about it either way, give mineral makeup a try.

Mineral makeup is powder makeup made from earth minerals. Typically, it doesn’t have preservatives or parabens, and it’s pretty high quality stuff. You can use the loose powder as a concealer or foundation by adding a little water and using a specific brush, then fluff  powder over the top with a kabuki brush and you are good to go! So not only do you not have to worry about it being a liquid, but it is basically three makeup items in one. And as you know, multitasking products are an important part of efficient packing. You can also get mineral blushes and eye shadows.

You can pretty much get mineral makeup anywhere now, from department stores to Sephora to drugstores, at almost any price point. If you want to learn how to use it, go to a department store or Sephora for a tutorial, or look on Youtube. Honestly, this stuff is really cool. If you haven’t jumped on the mineral bandwagon, check it out!

I get a lot of questions about makeup. Can I take it on the plane? Does it have to be in the liquids bag? What about concealer, or blush, or mascara? Regular liquid concealer is supposed to be in the liquids bag. But here is a very clever pencil concealer that doesn’t have to be! This Concealer from The Body Shop is a wax based pencil. It comes in 8 shades, is only $11, and won’t take up more than a tiny bit of valuable suitcase space. And best of all, it can go anywhere, in any of your bags! The best kind of makeup to have is the non-liquid kind, since it doesn’t have be taken out for security. Watch for a post coming soon about another great travel secret: mineral makeup.

Ah, New Years. That time of year when we evaluate how the past year went, and how we would like for the coming year to go.  One of my goals is to continue to make my beauty routine even more eco-friendly. As a result, I have been perusing The Body Shop for some products, as they are very eco-focused. And as a result, I have found yet another fantastic way to minimize the liquids.

I have long been an advocate of facial cleansing wipes. They are handy to have around, especially on super long flights where you need a bit of freshening up. But recently I have begun bringing them in place of face wash on trips where I know I will be getting to the hotel late. It keeps me on my skincare routine, when all I really want to do is pass out in bed without removing my makeup. If I am traveling alone, I will actually use it while driving to the hotel to minimize the time between me and my bed. They don’t take up a lot of space, will clean my face more than adequately, and free up room in my liquids bag. What’s not to love?? The Tea Tree Cleansing Wipes from The Body Shop are ideal for normal to oily skin, and come infused with Community Trade essential oils. They work really well and smell fantastic. Highly recommend!

The clever folks over at Delight have done it again. I swear, they find the most interesting, most fun things to sell. Their travel toys have made my Christmas list for several years, including the travel toiletry containers, travel jewelry case, and luggage tags.  But this makeup palette? I have got to try this. It could possibly revolutionize the way I travel with makeup. Okay, maybe I’m getting overexcited, but seriously, how freaking cool is this thing? The UNII Makeup Palette is basically a magnetized makeup holder. You take all of your makeup out of their current containers and keep it all here. This could save so much space, especially if you use a lot of bulky single eyeshadows. The video below gives you a good idea about how it works. I have ordered one and will have a review soon. Today it is 20% off, and you can get an additional 30% off with the code HAPPYNEWYEAR (case sensitive). That makes it $16.52 plus shipping, which is a steal. Can’t wait to get it!!