Jamie Schneider is usually behind the scenes getting celebrity clients like Eva Mendes, Britney Spears, Ashley Benson and Abigail Breslin all dolled up. Lately however, we’ve caught her front-and-center on our screen as Nicole Richie’s BFF on ‘Candidly Nicole’—and we’ve gotta tell you, we like what we see! And while it’s clear that this stylish beauty works hard, it’s nice to know she’s able to enjoy a little R&R when the situation calls for it. Here, she shares a postcard from her recent trip to Greece—including the best beach spots in Mykonos, the beauty essentials she packed in her suitcase, and the hilarious ferry ride she took to Santorini.

Destination you traveled to:

Greece….we went for a 10 day vacation.

Who did you go with:

My boyfriend and another couple.

Was this your first time there?

Yes! I’ve always wanted to go, but truth be told I was very uninvolved with the planning and just went along for the ride.

How did you get there:

From LA we flew Delta Airlines to Athens, then Aegean Air to Mykonos. After a few days there we took a 3-hour ferry ride to Santorini, which was interesting to say the least.

Place where you stayed:

In Mykonos we stayed at the Santa Marina resort, and in Santorini we stayed at a place called Kirini. The Santa Marina resort in Mykonos was gorgeous. It was big, new and the beach was filled with people and fun activities. There was a cool bar where we would have drinks every night, and we loved enjoying big, long lunches during the day. There were great day-beds, tons of water sports, and boats to take you to all the other beach clubs along the water. Kirini, in Santorini, was more mellow. It was quiet and had lots of stairs. It was more of a small, boutique hotel.

Places you ate:

In Mykonos we ate at Sea Satin (by the water, really fun for a group of people, loud), Kounelas (delicious fish, sat outside, ask for the after dinner special drink), Interni (very sceney, loud, fun, good for a night out), and Katrin (expensive, delicious, authentic).

In Santorini, we ate at Asea (Japanese, sushi, outside, good drinks, fun for a group), and Nauoussa (super casual, by the water, great fish and delicious dishes to share), We also ate at the Kirini hotel a lot (especially breakfast).

Local delicacy you feasted on:

Lots of cucumbers, feta cheese, and tomatoes.

Cocktail you sipped:

Retsina, tequila, vodka, etc.

Books you read:

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn.

Games you played:

Lots of card games—especially gin.

Music you listened to:

None, come to think of it.

My daily uniform there was:

Kaftans, linen tops, swimsuits, slip dresses, and sandals.

Brand of luggage you traveled with:

I brought a T. Anthony red, monogrammed duffle, and black & white T. Anthony carry-on with wheels.

Did you over-pack or under-pack?

I was forced to pack everything in a carry-on bag, because everyone knew if that rule wasn’t made that I would have brought way too much stuff. As it turned out, I really had everything I needed. In fact, I could have brought only one sweater instead of two, as it was surprisingly hot at night.

Items you packed in your suitcase:

I brought tons of vintage dresses and cover-ups that I could roll up in my bag easily, a few vintage slip dresses (a lot of the dresses that I wore at night I would then wear to the pool the following day), a pair of Levi’s jean shorts, a Dries Van Noten floral dress, Poupette white linen tops, Matta scarves and sarongs, an Eres black one-piece swimsuit, an Eres white lace-up one-piece swimsuit, a pair of black mohair criss-cross Ancient Greek Sandals, Chanel sandals, a Reformation black silk skirt, a Dkny white linen oversized men’s shirt, a blouse from The Row, and a red & white striped sweater. I also brought a pair of black sunglasses from The Row, a pair of Garrett Leight small round tortoiseshell sunglasses, and a pair of House of Harlow black sunglasses. I packed an old Antik Batik beaded cross-body beach bag that I have had for years—all the beads have fallen off, but I still love it and used it for day and night.

Beauty essentials you packed:

I packed DCL non-drying cleaning lotion, Almond Glow Coconut Skin Lotion, Epicuren Protein Mist, Weleda Salt Toothpaste, DCL Essential Skin Protection SPF 30 (I came back paler then when I arrived!), Goe Body Oil, Arm & Hammer Ultramax Deodorant, Murray’s Hair Dressing Pomade.  Plus I brought all of my Biologique Recherche products: Masque Vivant, Masque VIP 02, Creme Amnios, Lotion P50V, Eau Micellaire Biosensible.  I also made sure to bring Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille Eau De Parfum, Future Cosmetics Beauty Drops No.3, and Lucrece Lip Plumping Revitalizer.

For makeup I brought Laura Mercier Foundation Primer and Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Nude, Clé de Peau Concealer, YSL Touche Éclat in #1.5 Radiant Silk, Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel bronzing powder in #62 Terre Epice, Tom Ford Translucent finishing powder in #02 Ivory Fawn, Clé de Peau Cream Eyeliner in #101, and Benefit BadGal Lash Mascara.

Secret only a local would know:

Try the Retsina, which is a Greek, white wine.

Favorite place to shop and find local treasures:

I only shopped in Santorini—I bought a ton of linen and bamboo scarves, as well as a few pairs of sandals (a strappy pair and a pair that laces up the leg). Everyone was pretty anti-shopping and cared more about “catching the sunset” than going to stores (and yes, this caused an argument or two). Oh, and I got really fun earrings at a beach shop in Mykonos…although I would probably never wear them in America.

In the day we:

In the day we woke up whenever we woke up, tried to work out (which rarely happened), had breakfast, laid in the sun…read…went swimming and then went out for lunch to the various different beach clubs.  In the afternoon we’d come back to hotel, swim, paddle board, take a nap…and then shower for dinner.

And at night we:

We started our night by having a drink at the hotel bar and then we went to dinner. In Mykonos dinner typically starts at 11pm. After, we would go out to a bar/dance club for a drink and normally didn’t get home until very late.

Santorini was more mellow—we ate dinner around 9pm and then had drinks at this little bar that we found called Meteor Café in Oia. I don’t think it was a hidden gem but we loved it. Or we would go back to the hotel and hang out while we played card games and drank more wine.

Best beach:

The best beaches in Mykonos were Ornos, Panormos, Kuzina, Sol y Mar, and Nammos.

Best part of the trip:

My favorite part of the trip was one day when we decided to just stay at the hotel and relax. I loved going out and exploring, but I really enjoyed the peacefulness of the hotel. Especially in Mykonos where there is a lot of energy in town and at the beach clubs. It was nice to have one day to stay at the hotel, have lunch, lay by the water, and paddle board in front of the beach by our hotel. In Santorini, my favorite day was going for lunch by the water. There is one restaurant in Santorini called Dimitris Ammoudi Taverna. We ate there and then walked right beyond the restaurant to the water and rocks where you could swim or go cliff diving. Then once we finished swimming we took a donkey ride up the hill and walked back to our hotel.

Did everything go as planned or did you encounter any travel disasters:

The ferry to Santorini was a disaster—but also the funniest experience. Hundreds of people travel daily from Mykonos to Santorini and vice-versa. Once the large ferry pulls up, there is a mad dash ‘off ‘and a mad dash ‘on.’ Needless to say we were not prepared for the lack of order and how chaotic it would be. We were hysterically laughing trying to find each other and dragging our luggage up the stairs of the ferry with people pushing and shoving.

First time visitors must:

You have to take a donkey ride!

The #1 tip you’d give a friend that’s going:

Don’t bring heels!

I loved it here because:

It was so beautiful and you were able to create any vibe you wanted. We went to Greece and had a fun, rambunctious trip while also having the most relaxing time. There was so much to do without it being overwhelming—perfect!