GUIDE: Desert Glam Survival kit for vegas brides

Close your eyes and point to a spot on the map. Chances are high that it isn’t nearly as hot or as dry as Vegas. And yet, you need to look amazing for an entire day in it, in a dress and heels with big feelings. 

The desert doesn't care about your cut crease. It doesn't care that your shoes match your bag or that your lashes are perfect. But you do, and getting asked about how the hair and makeup will hold up to triple digits and tears is one of our most often asked questions. 

For the most part, at least as far as your hair and makeup is concerned, we have you covered. Our artists are highly experienced both professionally and in this climate. But this is a group effort, and your participation matters. Here’s our top list of heavy hitters that will help you make it through your Vegas wedding day (or any day) with your glam intact. 

1. Your lips go first

Dry heat goes after your lips, before anything else. You'll feel it by lunch, and you'll see it in photos by dinner. The best product to keep your pout kissable is Aquaphor Healing Ointment. It doesn’t advertise as a lip balm, but it will outperform any other product that is designed for lips. Starting before your lips dry and flake is key. Although Aquaphor will repair fast, it still takes a couple of days. Use it before you even get on the plane, multiple times a day. 

2. The blotting paper nobody tells you about

This is the one that gets the biggest reaction, so I'll just say it: toilet seat covers make excellent blotting papers. Fresh from the dispenser, obviously.

The paper is thin, smooth, and almost lint-free. Press it gently against your forehead, nose, and chin, and it lifts sweat and oil without dragging your foundation around or leaving little white fuzzies behind the way a tissue does. One cover tears into enough pieces to get you through cocktail hour, and nearly any restroom you walk into will have a dispenser. Stay in the stall to hide what you’re doing if you must, but that tissue will do more for you than any tiny little blotting paper could hope for.

3. Your feet will take the heat.

You will get hot. Your feet will sweat. That sweat will make you slip and slide around in those beautiful wedding shoes and you will spend most of your ceremony photos hoping your Botox is doing the Lord’s work and keeping your face still so the camera can’t tell you’re in pain. You will get blisters, rub burns, and your feet may slip so far forward towards the toe of your shoes that they stick out or get smashed. 

Don’t let your feet be the reason you are miserable on your wedding day. Two cheap little drugstore products are all that stands between you and misery. 

Arm & Hammer Foot Deodorant is very effective at controlling the amount of moisture your feet will produce while trying to keep your body temperature down. You’ll want to put it on the bottom of your feet and let it dry completely before putting on your shoes. 

Because you are a smart girl, you’ll back this up with fabric-covered shoe inserts. Any brand you like will do, as long as you make sure that what you buy includes a cushion for the ball of your foot and is fabric, not silicone. 

The combination of sweat reduction + minimizing slipping will go a long way toward thwarting the painful blisters and rubs that come with hot, sweaty friction. 

As for the pain of simply romping through your day on heels, we highly recommend a little travel-size can of Biofreeze. It does have a cooling effect, but more importantly, it’s medicated to numb the ache that can sneak in no matter how dry your feet stay.

4. Hydrate like you’re fancy

Plain water is fine. It's also boring, so trying to remember to drink it becomes another thing on your to-do list. 

Make it easy on yourself and pick up a tub of Ultima Electrolytes. This sugar-free powder comes in amazing flavors like Cherry Pomegranate and Grape, and when mixed in a giant tumbler with sparkling water, your new favorite drink, no timer required.

Try the Cherry with lime sparkling water. Three cans fit into a 32-ounce tumbler, and you’ll be sippin’ pretty all day. 

5. Body wipes and a mini deodorant: the two-minute reset

By mid-afternoon in the desert, nobody is at their freshest, no matter how good they looked at ten in the morning. Even if your perfume is still holding strong, going from outdoor desert heat to indoor resort air conditioning will make your sweat dry to a film so sticky you’ll start thinking of calling it early just to take a shower.

Dude Wipes to the rescue. A few wipes in a baggie or one of their handy travel packs will freshen you right up under your arms, and yes, between your cleavage and legs, too. If those wipes can handle what men do on their 20-minute YouTube trips to the toilet, they most certainly can handle you on your hottest day. Top off with a travel-size of your favorite deodorant, and you will feel fresh as a daisy. 

6. Crotchless shapewear: support where you want it, air where you need it

Some garments are designed to be worn with support. Bodycon dresses, fitted gowns, anything with structure. In those, shapewear is part of the outfit. However, full-coverage shapewear in desert heat is a recipe for very sweaty girly bits, and nobody deserves that.

Crotchless shapewear gives you all the smoothing where you want it and airflow where you need it most. Wear your own breathable cotton underwear underneath, and you'll stay cooler, fresher, and far more comfortable all night. No lines, no regrets. Somebody had to say it.

What's in our bag

If you're packing for a desert wedding, a Vegas weekend, or a regular Tuesday in July, this is your hot girl starter kit. Aquaphor for your lips. A few toilet seat covers folded flat in your clutch. Foot deodorant on your feet and fabric cushions in your heels. A couple of Ultima packets, a pack of body wipes, and a mini deodorant. Crotchless shapewear if your dress calls for it. 

The heat may be hot, but you are hotter.