How to look "polished" while staying in hotels/on holiday

[askii]

How on earth do people manage to look polished when contending with bad hotel lighting/air con/hard water etc when staying in hotels or on holiday? I'm always envious of those who manage to look so effortless in these situations

Be slim

Wear loose, flowing dresses with sleeves

Hair up

Stay in shade

I know what you mean about hard water. I have just returned home from a Greek island where the water was so hard I couldn't lather up the soap at all. I never felt properly clean.

I don't think I looked scruffy though.

Good prep (hair, nails, eyes), lots of water and moisturiser, lip salve, coordinated wardrobe, good shoes, accessories and a hat & sunglasses.

Cool shower in the evening and then avoid blow drying hair as it makes me hot.

Lots of different outfits, some are one size bigger than usual so I feel really comfortable and cool.

Flat super comfortable footwear and only very comfortable underwear.

Being slim definitely helps (sadly I'm not), as does having a bit of a tan (I'm ginger and freckly). Other than these - loose, light layers are preferable to skintight. A limited colour palate - blue and white with tan accessories always looks good. Tidy nails - bare or painted but definitely not chipped or scraggly.

My hair is pretty straight and not a problem at home, but on holiday it's like straw. Is that the hard water?

I need to know this too. My hair is my main problem....it's very thick and it takes a good 45 minutes once washed to blow dry and straighten. This is non negotiable.... remember when Monica in friends went to Barbados. My hair is like that. Then on a beach holiday my hair gets wet every day so I spend every evening before dinner doing it. Only for it to get wet when I'm at the pool or beach the next day. Considering whether a Brazilian blow dry will help. I'm also determined not to get sunburn this year. Bright red looks horrendous.

I haven’t noticed the water problem, I usually take a hair mask and put it on my ends every other wash because of the swimming and sun damage.

I put a small amount of deep conditioner in my hair every time before I get into the pool. I go into the pool a lot on holiday.

Bad lighting is less of an issue in hotel rooms on summer holidays, as I’m generally getting ready (sometimes doing make up on balcony) while it’s still light. And if I’m on my hols, I will have had a recent hair cut, mani/pedi, and will be developing a tan.

In UK hotel rooms in winter, the poor light is a real headache at times, I am considering a small lit-up mirror.

Great suggestions so far, my issue is I struggle to sleep properly away from home so have really bad eye bags, dull skin and my hair is always flat or limp because of the water.

I think having smooth hair definitely helps, I don't use GHD straighteners often but I do take them on holiday, I run them through a few sections, then put velcro rollers in until it's cool, while I'm doing my make up.

Brazilian blow dry definitely works too. I buy the stuff on Amazon and do it myself.

Neural plain colours too, no fluoro!

A good beach/pool bag

Waterproof mascara and eyelash curlers

Strapless playsuits to pool and beach as they look like 50's swimsuits

Good beach shoes that you can wash at the beach, I took Crocs Crush, so comfortable.

www.asos.com/prd/206784383

Are you referring to being in the UK or abroad?

You could try a sleep eye mask and a white noise machine? I can't sleep without an eye mask now, it knocks me out

In UK hotel rooms in winter, the poor light is a real headache at times, I am considering a small lit-up mirror.

You are so right about UK hotel rooms. Why the obsession with dim lighting in them? I hate low lighting, not helped by being very short sighted.

We had plenty of lighting in our room in Greece.

Some of the posters on here have pretty high maintenance regimes compared to mine.

UK, but abroad tips helpful too!

If I remember, I take my silk pillowcase with me, even in nice hotels abroad I find the pillow material scratchy on my face and hair.

I also don't bother drying my hair and just put it in a claw clip while still a bit damp as using the hairdryer makes me melt and the humidity just frizzes me up anyway.

I really struggled on my last holiday, it was really hot (Greece in August) but I felt a mess. I do think a lot of that is down to the fact I'm more overweight now than previous holidays, my thick hair was also very long, I think shoulder length would have made things easier.

Just seen you mean in the UK, but I think the pillowcase is still relevant.

I think making sure clothes fit properly and are ironed. Colours coordinated. Understated not too loud or clashing, too tight or synthetic fibres. Immaculate hair, nails groomed, good posture. Good posture whatever you wear makes such a difference .

Nails manicured before arrival, sunglasses, lovely linen dresses and separates or cottons. As expensive a bag as you can afford

I'm on holiday this week and the things that have helped are:

Low maintenance hairstyle and brows done.
Mani / pedi so hands and feet look good.
A rose essence that moisturises face.
Body moisturiser.
Nice floaty dresses for dinner (ironed).
Simple but nice jewellery for the evenings.
Nice pair of comfortable, but cute sandals, purse and oversized sunglasses.
Light makeup with lipgloss and mascara.

Smart comfy shoes (I like leather trainers and birks), a huge minimalist hat and chic sunglasses.

For me it's a limited capsule of good quality (linen, cotton) clothes in limited colours, eg. only black and teal, or only navy and cream. Limited simple jewellery and make up. Hair braided loosely or in a nice up do. Nails natural, clean and shortish.

No huge ugly Trespass or Go Outdoors backpacks if going anywhere decent 😅😅 nice looking minimalist one will do, or a sling bag for daytime.

Sun cream, water, hat, glasses.

In truth, I'm usually juggling three pairs of specs, paying slowly with two purses and taking ages to sift through every unusual coin, I'm hot and shiny and I have some weird stain on my trousers/armpits, and I'm peering at Google translate with a furrowed brow and terrible posture because I'm tired 😅

I think straighteners need to be forgotten about unless the very odd time and then use WOW dreamcoat which is excellent to protect against humidity. In general, leave in a conditioner and scrunch hair, or plait while wet and go with waves when dry.

If you can afford it, eyelash extensions will stop having to wear runny mascara and also dye your eyebrows before hols, you can do this yourself.

Would most people really recognise whether a small leather handbag was expensive or not?

I could never ever leave my hair to dry naturally. If I do it's as wide as my shoulders