Developing a Low Maintenance Travel Beauty Routine

Travel is a time to relax and unwind, which means it's also time to let go of your standard beauty routine. Save yourself time and luggage space by leaving your hair straightener and heavy make-up bag at home and embrace a more natural look, if only temporarily.

Leaving your routine behind doesn't mean you need to resign yourself to looking like a slob however. There is a balance between smelly backpacker and spending an hour in front of the mirror each morning. Here are some tips for developing a low maintenance travel routine that will let you feel both relaxed and put together.

Skincare Essentials

Essential skin maintenance is the most important part of any beauty routine and something you never want to neglect. Taking great care of your skin is the most basic way to look good no matter what else you do in the morning.

No matter where you are going in the world you will want to pack sunscreen and face wash. Yes, you should wear sunscreen even in cold climates. Depending on your skin type and routine you may also want to bring moisturizer, acne cream, astringent or whatever else you use on a daily basis.

Trim Down on Make-Up

Everyone has their own comfort level when it comes to minimal make-up: some are fine showing off their bare face while others don't feel confident without at least a base level of coverage. Figure out what your baseline is: the least amount of make-up that you can wear and still feel confident. Concealer and mascara might be must-haves but you probably don't need a full cats eye look for sightseeing during the day. Spend some time developing a quick (aim for ten minutes or less) make-up routine that will get you through the day.

You may find once you are actually traveling you feel less dependent on your make-up. Remember that in hot tropical climates your make-up is likely to melt off anyways. Traveling without make-up can feel very liberatingand save a lot of time.

Hair Care

Vacation is a good time to let your hair revert back to its natural state. Straighteners and hair dryers are a pain to lug around (and may not work with another country’s voltage). It's best not to rely on them and instead, invest in really good products: decent shampoo and conditioner and an anti-frizz cream (depending on where you are headed).

Before you leave you may want to experiment with a handful of classic, low maintenance hair styles (think pony tails and head scarves).

A Few Dressy Looks

No matter how low maintenance you are, you will want to plan for a more dressy option as well for a fancy dinner or a night out on the town. A couple of small details can do wonders to jazz up your everyday look, think sparkly eyeshadow, dramatic eyeliner or a statement hair accessory.

Many people could stop at sunscreen and a quick hairbrush and be perfectly happy, but others will want to look more polished. What's important is to figure out the bare minimum you can do to still feel happy, confident and put together.

How do you take care of yourself while traveling?

Note: Available plans and coverages may have changed since this blog was published.