[Alumiyum]

I feel your pain on trying to make your hair look perfect in the heat, but I suggest just doing the best you can with the hairstyle that looks best on you. One solution I came up with during my first year on the other side was to wear my hair in a polished ponytail on the more casual nights and hair spray it. I straighten it (not terribly well, but enough so that my ponytail looks brushed and doesn't get bushy), brush it into place, then take a strand of hair from the bottom and wrap it around the ponytail holder and hold it in place with a bobby pin, then spray it. By making it look like you spent some time on it, you get away with the casual hair style. On more formal nights or when I knew my outfit wouldn't work with a pony I washed it the night before and then before the parties I'd spray some wave booster into it (which is much easier if you have natural wave than trying to straighten it if heat and humidity are involved), fluffed it a little, and occasionally added a cute clip or bobby pin to hold it out of my face. For me, that little bit of loose wave looks nice and doesn't end up looking like a mess with all the humidity-relaxed waves leave a lot of leeway. If you want to straighten it, wait until right before the party, straighten it, and put a LITTLE bit of light and flexible hair spray in it, then keep a small comb with fine teeth in your purse to smooth it out between parties. Also keep a rubber band in your bag in case it does need to go up and two or three bobby pins to help keep the layers in place. Here's my recruitment counselor list of PNM emergency items:
-1 small comb
-1 ponytail holder
-a few bobby pins
-Listerine strips (or mints, but NO GUM...it's no good to walk into a party smacking gum and it's easy to forget you're chewing it when you're focused on other things)
-Oil blotting sheets
-One small powder compact with a mirror if they wear face make up
-A small mirror if they don't need a powder compact
-A tube of sheer lip gloss or hydrating chapstick (Three things make you look polished: blush, mascara, and lip gloss, and since you can't carry all of that without a large bag and lip junk comes off the fastest it's good to have a little back up).
-Flip flops if you need to walk long distances so you can switch out of your heels between parties
-Tissues...personally I sweat a lot and since I can't carry a stick of deodorant around I have tissues both for my nose and just in case I feel under arm spots coming on. Gross, but helpful. (Only this should be taken care of in a bathroom, not on campus on the way to the next party...I've had PNM's do that.)

It's all easier if you go to one central location between parties and can leave your clutch or small purse there, but if that's not the case your recruitment counselor should hold it for you while you're in the party. All of the items I listed can fit into a small clutch or wristlet, except the flip flops of course. I suggested to the recruitment team that the counselors carry a lot of these items themselves, as well as hairspray and a light body spray, and a lot of them did carry those items in case the PNM's forgot them...it's likely yours will do the same. Things to leave at home/in the car: your cell phone (you probably won't be allowed to use it between parties anyway and if it goes off during a party, that's bad news bears...unless you have a long walk across campus need it for other safety reasons, leave it...if you do need it, make sure you turn it off for the duration of the night and keep it hidden), wallet (so you'll feel comfortable leaving your clutch behind when you need to...keep your license and leave your credit cards and cash in your dorm room or other safe place.), cigarettes (I've had PNM's smoke between parties and of course they come breezing in reeking of smoke. I smoke so I can sympathize, but for god's sake buy some nicorette gum if you can't last a few hours without it), anxiety.

It also helps to paint your nails a clear or neutral color. It's one small way to make a big difference towards looked polished, and if it chips it won't be noticeable enough to matter. Chipped nail polish looks bad, and if you're wearing teal blue polish and chip it (Murphy's Law: you will) you'll look less put together. Don't wear a ton of perfume. Some people are allergic and most people aren't up for living with a cloud of heavy scent for an hour. If you bring a perfume or body spray to combat the heat use it SPARINGLY. I brought a spray bottle of Love Spell one year for the PNM's that were afraid of even a hint of sweat and didn't realize they'd end up passing it around and spraying the heck out of it. My group walked into the parties that night reeking of the same scent. After that I reminded everyone to take only one squirt. Use waterproof make up if you wear it to combat sweat.

And if you know any pageant girls, I discovered they are an amazing source for tips and tricks on keeping your hair and make up perfect regardless of weather and activity, and they can get their look together very quickly.

But remember everyone else is going to be struggling with the heat and humidity, too. If it ends up not looking perfect by the last party, it's ok because that'll be the case for all of the other PNM's as well. As long as you appear to have payed attention to your look for the night, you'll be ok.