There is something about getting away from the daily grind that improves the appearance more than 1,000 facials. It’s not just the local rosé or the 22-year-old sun lounger attendant; it’s the fact that for the first time in ages the muscles of your face are not screwed up into balls of worry. Under-eye shadows start to fade, and the skin loses that flat, grey tone of everyday existence.

Because when I pack, I’m packing for the haggard daily me – the one that requires half a tube of light-reflecting foundation just to make it out the door – I always take along a mountain of stuff that never gets used. In go endless concealers, serums, oils (which invariably leak) and an assortment of hair styling products. The fact that the carefree holiday me will barely slick on some lip gloss, let alone blow-dry her hair, does not cross my mind as I haul my excess baggage into the hallway.

Crucially, it is worth remembering that even if you do leave behind some vital item, your destination may hold any number of undiscovered local delights. It’s almost the best thing about a foreign holiday: beauty souvenirs.

In France, for example, the thing to stock up on is Biafine (www.biafine.orthoneutrogena.com). This is a sweet-smelling cream, light and yet satisfyingly emollient, that is prescribed primarily for damaged skins. The buzz around it is that in summer it works an absolute treat on sun-reddened skin, cooling and soothing and helping the skin repair itself. Its cult following includes Sylvie Tellier, a former Miss France, who apparently uses it as a face mask.

Less medical but no less effective is Lucas’ Papaw Ointment (from £3.70, below), all the way from Australia. This is suitable for a variety of holiday ailments, including sunburn, cuts, insect bites, splinters and, mysteriously, “gravel rash”. It was invented by an expat British botanist 80 years ago. It’s an excellent all-round balm to have in your bag, and you can now buy it in the UK from www.pawpawshop.co.uk.

More exotically, from Egypt comes what I am informed is the secret to Egyptian women’s beautiful skin (in defiance of the fact that many seem to smoke like chimneys): hibiscus tea. The best is made from flowers harvested around Aswan and Luxor. You steep the petals in water, add a shovel-load of sugar (to taste, but I like it sweet), and get an amazingly refreshing and delicious shocking pink cordial which is adored by the Egyptians for a) cleansing your system good and proper; b) adding sparkle to your skin; c) lowering your blood pressure (as shown by a recent US study). In Britain, it’s hard to find pure, but Neal’s Yard (www.nealsyardremedies.com) sells a very delicious Beautiful Skin tea blend (£6.50) which contains hibiscus, as well as goji, rosehip and bilberry.

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