Don't you just hate it when you go on a trip and forget some truly critical beauty goods? I tend to forget the same things every time, for various reasons, which I'll explain below. Check out my five most forgotten items, and my favorites in each category:

Lip Balm. Oh, I always pack plenty of glosses, and sometimes some lipsticks, but good old lip balm? I always forget it. Let's face it - even the most moisturizing of lip glosses isn't going to cut it for overnight wear, when dry hotel air wreaks havoc on the delicate skin of your lips. (And who wants to go to bed sporting a sparkly fuchsia lip, anyhow?) My current favorite in the lip balm category is Philosophy Kiss Me Tonight Intense Lip Therapy, a richer version of the original Kiss Me. It's pale pink in the jar, colorless on lips, smells slightly minty, and keeps lips soft and moisturized all night, even if you sleep straight on til noon.

Face Wash. Here's what happens: I wash my face the morning of the trip, then remind myself to dry the bottle, twist it closed, and pack it in a ziploc bag. That never happens. (You know what they say about the best-laid plans.) So I'm stuck using - gasp! - hotel bar soap to wash my face. Ick. My favorite solution? Mini-size Shu Uemura Skin Purifier Cleansing Beauty Oil. It's small, so you can take it with you even if you're not checking a bag. I've now gotten in in the habit of storing it with all my other travel items, so it's much harder to forget.

Hair product...of any kind. Similar to the face wash situation, I always plan to pack hair products, but they rarely make it into the bag. See, I spend too much time fretting about what I'll do with my hair for the majority of the trip. Curly? Straight? Up? Down? They all call for different products - and then by the time I decide, it's too late to grab anything and I'm out the door. This is especially bothersome for weekends or business trips, when a smaller bag prevents you from bringing your entire stockpile of styling products. My solution is to choose one that's versatile - preferably a smoothing/shine serum or cream that's light enough to work on wet or dry hair. My current fave is Victoria's Secret So Sexy Smoothing Shine Serum, which comes in a very portable 1.7 oz size.

Body lotion. Yeah, yeah, I know - the hotel will have some for you. But what if it's garbage? And it's the dead of winter and your skin is flaking off? And you have to resort to using your entire jar of expensive face cream to moisturize your scaly legs? It's happened to me, and I always regret not taking my own lotion, whether out of space-saving considerations or forgetfulness. Do yourself a favor and pack your own - I like Korres Body Butter to Go in Yoghurt, which smells lovely, but not strong enough to interfere with your fragrance.

Toothbrush. Being the germophobe that I am, I have a HUGE problem sealing a wet toothbrush inside a plastic bag for several hours, or popping on one of those little caps that don't really seem to keep anything out. So I tell myself I'll just buy a fresh toothbrush for the trip. Not only is this incredibly wasteful, I tend to forget to buy it, and then I end up with a crappy toothbrush from the airport or the hotel. I've solved this problem with the Violight Travel Toothbrush Sanitizer, a nifty little toothbrush case that kills up to 99.9% of bacteria in minutes, using a germicidal UV light. Love!