For a lot of women, fixing their hair is the single most time-consuming grooming task of their day. Between washing, blow drying, and styling, it’s easy to spend a good 30 minutes just on hair. For some people, that’s every single day. My curly hair dries out if washed every day, so that cuts down on the time for me. But still—women’s hair often gets a lot of attention! Here are my tips for taking care of your hair while you travel.

Double duty products. There are plenty of products that will do more than one thing—a hair spray that adds shine, for example. Multitasking products save time and space, so use them wherever you can.

Bring your own. I highly, highly recommend bringing your own shampoo and conditioner (and other toiletries). This way you know how your hair will react! Simply pour your usual products into 3 oz. refillable bottles like these GoToob bottles from REI.

Contact lens cases. For products that only require a small quantity, use a clean, spare contact lens case. Best space saver ever.

Travel size tools. If you use a hair dryer, curling iron, or flat iron on a daily basis try to find miniature versions to travel with (like this Conair MiniPro curling iron). Otherwise half of your suitcase would be taken up by hair stuff! Be careful that a smaller version doesn’t require way more time spent on your hair—if that’s the case, it may not be worth it.

A style for days. If you’re one of the people who can get away with not washing your hair every day, try to get your hair in a style that will look good for a few days. My mom often gets a blowout right before a trip—that way all she has to do is brush it, and it will last her entire trip.

Wear it up. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is wear your hair up. On travel days I choose a hairstyle that’s not in the middle of the back of my head, like a low ponytail or bun. Otherwise I’m not able to rest my head comfortably against the headrest on the plane.

Readers, what are your tips for taking care of your hair during travel?

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Anyone who has flown knows that the air in airplanes is dry. It’s tolerable for an hour or two, but much beyond that and you start to feel it. Especially people like me with dry skin! For years I have traveled with lotion and lip balm to combat the parched feeling I get on long flights. I’ve tried various hydrating mists over the years, and most have worked perfectly fine. But they’ve always been designed to use as part of a skincare routine on a bare face.  I’ve never found one that is designed to be sprayed over makeup.

Until now! A few weeks ago I was perusing the aisles at Sephora (my favorite place ever) when I saw something new: Evian Mineral Water Spray To Go. It’s basically water in a can that you can mist on your face. It won’t mess with your makeup, and according to the reviews is “hydrating, refreshing, and invigorating” and “great for the plane, beach, or to wash hands with in a pinch.” As a bonus, it has no fragrance so shouldn’t aggravate your (or anyone else’s) allergies or migraine issues. Awesome! I can’t wait to try it out on my next flight. It’s available as a set of two from Sephora, or a one, two, or three pack from Amazon.

This post contains affiliate links.

Business Travel 101 is a series from a couple of years ago about making that first business trip as easy and successful as possible. I’ve re-tooled the series, and now it’s more comprehensive than ever! It covers everything a new business traveler needs to know for that initial trip, including essential tips for packing, security, safety, etiquette, and comfort.

Travel is part of the job for many of us, and heading to the office directly from the airport is often an unfortunate necessity. Even though you may feel exhausted and travel-weary, it is possible to avoid the travel-worn look that is the hallmark of many road warriors. Tricks abound for both short and long flights. Obviously, for a red-eye or other long flight the strategy is a little more intense. But don’t worry! No one has to know you got up at 4am or that you commuted six hours for your meeting.

For all flights:

• Wear comfortable, wrinkle resistant clothes. The easiest way to look good during and after travel: clothes that don’t wrinkle.  Nothing says, “I just got off a plane,” like a crumpled shirt and creased skirt.  There are plenty of wrinkle-resistant, non-iron clothes out there, like this Foxcroft fitted shirt from Nordstrom. Trust me, this is not the time to wear your new linen suit, no matter how cute and professional it is. I also highly recommend flats (like these adorable CK Jeans Women’s Tiffany Ballet Flat).
• Stay hydrated. This is important for comfort, health, and looking good. Drink at least 8 oz of water for every hour you are flying. This will keep you from getting dehydrated, which in turn keeps you feeling more alert and prevents your skin from feeling like sandpaper.
• Freshen up upon arrival. Once you land, head to the ladies’ room to repair any damage that may have occurred to hair or makeup during the flight.

For longer flights: Read more of this article »

Hard to believe it’s already been a year! Talk about time flying. This time last year I was planning a trip to Manila and getting ready for Blog World. Fun times!

One year ago:

• I shared my Top Five Travel Necessities for Airplanes, Hotels, and Grooming.
• A friend reminded people how important it is to check into flights early.
• There were multiple instances of passengers joining the mile-high club, one from friends and one made the news….oy.

Two years ago:

• We had some good discussions about women business travelers being treated differently and bringing family on the road.
• Some friends discovered that almond butter is a big threat to national security.
• I realized that printing itineraries for international trips is a very good idea.

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.