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

How about package holiday people who book a villa as part of their package, do they get their eyelashes done?

I do most of this stuff year round, I just time it for my holiday:

bikini wax
fake tan
eyebrows threaded
haircut (every 8 weeks. I don’t colour my hair)

I think a mistake a lot of people make is wearing clothes that don’t fit properly- a holiday wardrobe that is pulled out once a year but doesn’t fit. Better to wear stuff that fits you! I’m wearing a ‘holiday’ top today but have a chunky cardigan on top as it’s not hot here.

Decent travel hairdryer and mini straighteners to sort out my fringe.

I go pretty minimal on make up- jones road balm for cheeks, Eborian bb cream
as a foundation, maybelline long stay lipstick in a bright colour and waterproof mascara. No faffing with contouring and eyeshadows on holiday for me!

I don’t get ‘dressed up’ on holiday- mainly a cotton maxi dress and flip flops but I like to look nice and feel comfortable.

Take good quality hair products I.e. conditioner, mask, hair serum/oil, hair sprays. I feel this tends to combat the hard water issue a bit.

also good skincare…

wearing loose simple and classy clothing.

For poor lighting (also excellent for eyebrow plucking) FUNTOUCH Rechargeable Travel Makeup Vanity Mirror with 72 Led Lights, Portable Lighted Makeup Beauty Mirror, 3 Color Lighting, Dimmable Touch Screen, Tabletop LED Folding Cosmetic Mirror with Lights : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

For hard water, take a smallish travel bottle with vinegar in it (or buy some when you're there). It neutralises the calcium carbonate that makes water hard. After a shower put a little vinegar in the basin, add water then wipe down with a flannel dipped in the water. Don't rinse off or you're back to square one. For hair, add some to a beaker/glass of water and use for the final rinse. Any smell is gone in minutes, no worries about acid on your skin because it's been used up in the water doing its neutralising thing. Or take an acid toner for your face.

For air con, a good moisturiser and a good lip balm. Lips dry so quickly.

Makeup keep it light and only take a few pieces you know you use regularly. Don't stuff a bag with a million things that you 'might' want to use. Otherwise you succumb one night to something you use rarely and at 11.00pm you remember why.

In hot or cold weather a leave-in conditioner tends to be more effective than a rinse out.

SPF of course.

A few good accessories and clothes that suit you, not because they're fashionable. They don't have to be new just because you're on holiday.

Agree with all that @honeylulu has said, I have a similar hat and mostly wear black, with occasional coloured accessories/sandals.

curly girl here living in dominican republic. Hard water ..humidity..yes hair ties are my go to most days. BUT sometimes on the weekend we either have people over for a bbq and drinks... or we go out for a nice meal. Involves me making an effort lol. Every Thurs night I go to bed in a shower cap and totally lather my dry hair in coconut oil. Friday morning needs a much longer shower but that keeps my hair soft and nice looking for about 2 days max.. so gets me thru the weekend then back to ponytails and hair buns. lol