Letting your inner beauty shine is a year-round project. As I am letting my Fall glow grow, I am contemplating how to keep that inner sparkle going while I’m on the road for work. I love my job, and one of the perks of said full-time employment is the occasional opportunity to attend a conference or workshop out of town.
The question: how to keep your inner beauty happy and shiny when you’re staying in a less than glamorous hotel that is somehow simultaneously stuffy and freezing at the same time, you only have the one suitcase, and restrictions on how many ounces of liquid you’re allowed to bring in your carry-on forced you to significantly cut back on the number of beauty products you wanted to bring.
Therapy for the nose and the senses
The first step to maintaining your inner beauty when you’re less than happy about your travel accommodations: look on the bright side. You’re only in the hotel to sleep, really. There’s so much to do outside of your work conference, especially if you’re in a fun city for the conference — I’m in Washington D.C., with a lovely view of Dupont Circle, which is more than enough to make up for the interesting smells coming out of the room’s air conditioning unit.
Make friends with the people in your workshops, grab drinks after a long day of lessons, and find out what your fellow conference attendees do for a living, for fun, or which lecturer they enjoyed the most. I’ve found that I learn as much from other attendees as I do the guest speakers. Once you’re back in your room: make that hotel space your inner beauty sanctum.
Traveling with aromatherapy products is an excellent way to make any space yours. Fragrant essential oils can help you relax and prevent interesting smells from dampening your inner beauty. Sky Organics carries several different essential oils for aromatherapy, my personal favorite being Lavender. This Organic Lavender Essential Oil is sourced from organically grown French Lavender and is meant to soothe you to sleep with its calming floral scent.
If you can’t travel with an essential diffuser — because you wanted to pack things like clothes and shoes — don’t worry! You can still enjoy essential oils without having to bring a separate suitcase just for your inner-beauty products. Just put a drop or two of your favorite essential oil in the hotel’s travel-size hand lotion, shake it up, and rub it into your skin for some essential oil goodness.
Another creative alternative, especially if you are only taking carry-on luggage and have limited liquid-related space, are Shower Steamers. Think Bath Bombs, but for the shower. Sky Organics Eucalyptus Shower Steamer includes Eucalyptus, Lavender, Sweet Orange, and Lemongrass. These organic essential oils are perfect for creating a shower spa experience in your hotel shower.
Dealing with dryness
I’m not sure what it is about travel, but my skin always feels so dry after getting off the airplane — like I’ve been wandering around a desert made up of nothing but recycled air and chairs that never offer enough legroom. To make sure that my skin is nice and hydrated while I’m traveling, I like to pack face masks which encourages skin-moisturizing and hydration.
After getting back to my hotel room, I hop in the shower for a quick rinse-off, put my fancy traveling pajamas on — they’re fancy because they match, I only wear matching pajamas on vacation, never when I’m at home — pour myself a glass of something from the mini bar, and put on a face mask. The Biox Ultra Thermal Beauty Experience Mask by Premier is perfect for brightening skin dulled by travel. The face mask actually heats up, so it’s also fun, warming, and relaxing. The mask is made from sea salt from the Dead Sea, polishing your skin so that your inner glow can shine through.
I also like to treat my lips to a mask while I’m at work conferences. I wear my favorite red matte lipstick all day, so my lips need some extra hydration when it comes time for lights out. The 24K Gold Lip Collagen Mask Set is a must-have mask for your lips. This mask infuses your lips with moisturizing doses of Elastin and Acetyl Tyrosine, giving you a smooth and plump smile. After wearing the lip mask for roughly 25 to 30 minutes, the mask will help reduce dryness and fine lines, leaving your lifts feeling softer and soothed.
Faking a good night’s sleep
Sleeping in a strange bed isn’t always conducive to a good night’s sleep. For my inner beauty to shine at its brightest, I need sleep. To be fair, everyone needs sleep to survive, but my inner beauty likes a solid 7 hours to be at her brightest. This is usually easily attainable when I’m at home, in my bed, which I’ve turned into the perfect combination of nest and cocoon with all of its fluffy pillows and blankets.
If I’m dealing with things like a time-zone change, not enough blankets, or less than fluffy pillows — the kiss of death for any hotel room, in my opinion — I definitely won’t get the desired amount of sleep to ensure my inner beauty is satiated. How do I pull off looking like I got enough sleep? Enter eye cream, every glamazon’s secret weapon.
Attitude Cosmetics is offering their Organic Eye Cream for a shockingly low $6.00. Who said that eye-care had to cost an arm and a leg? This eye cream is made with Aloe Vera, cucumber, and chamomile, soothing your under-eye are while reducing redness and puffiness.
If you want to add a bit of coffee to your eye care routine — yes, you read that correctly, coffee — Coffee Evolution’s Brighten Up, Coffee and Vitamin C Eye Serum is the perfect morning treat for your eyes. This serum is made from Vitamin C and Coffee Arabica seed oil, making it a powerful antioxidant meant for major moisturizing and minimizing fine lines and wrinkles.
If you have time for an eye mask with your cup of hotel coffee, which is honestly better than no coffee at all, Callysee Cosmetics has the Perk Up Your Eyes Caffeine Dermis Mask, a set of 12 eye masks which target puffy under-eye circles. These masks are a deep dermis mask made up of Coffea Arabica, known for its powerful skin softening and healing effects. The masks also contain Aloe Vera Leaf Extract, an ingredient meant to nourish dry and dull skin. Nothing says indulgence like an eye mask with a cup of coffee in bed.
Whether it’s for work or for fun, how do you let your inner beauty shine while you’re on the road? Share your inner beauty secrets and tips with us @bestbeautyfindsclub.