At the Hampton Inn Airport, toiletry-deprived guests are snapping up "rescue kits" like never before.

The hotel distributed 400 of the plastic bags filled with toothpaste, deodorant and other toiletries in the past six days, about eight times the normal amount, because of new airline bans on liquids in carry-on luggage.

"We have people who have had some items taken from them," said Duane Rankin, general manager of the 127-room hotel six miles from the airport. "When they come in, they ask, 'Do you have a convenience store? Where is a Wal-Mart?' We give them a complimentary rescue kit instead."

The Omni William Penn in Pittsburgh and other Omni hotels stocked up on basic toiletries, as well as securing some Clinique samples of mascara, face toner and makeup remover, handed out upon request.

"The biggest mover right now is contact lens solution," said Eric DeStefano, general manager of the hotel. "Hair gel is a big mover too."

Mr. DeStefano saw a blip in the demand for complimentary toiletries when new travel restrictions were imposed Thursday after a terrorist plot was foiled in England. Suspects are accused of plotting to blow up U.S.-bound planes with liquid explosives, possibly disguised as drinks.

But then air travelers adjusted to the new guidelines.

"People packed it on checked luggage," Mr. DeStefano said. "People have been very quick to respond to it. We haven't seen any real bumps in the road."

Most hotels, including the Westin and Sheraton chains, have stocked up on extra toiletries, too.

Not all of them are seeing a big demand for it.

"Once guests become aware of the new restrictions, I don't think it will be a major problem," said Clive Williams, director of rooms for the Sheraton Station Square. Not many guests are asking for extra toiletries.

Embassy Suites Hotel Pittsburgh International Airport has not only stocked up on toiletries at both its front desk and gift store, it has mailed home expensive cosmetics for some of its guests.

"One person had some cologne that was pricey and she didn't want it confiscated at the airport," said Bill Engle, director of sales at the hotel. "We are shipping it back in a padded envelope."

The staff also is trying to be more sensitive to the hassles that travelers face in the wake of terrorist threats.

"It has been kind of rough on people, figuring everything out," he said.

It's one thing to chuck $2 toothpaste, and it's quite another to throw out $25 shampoo or $75 perfume. To get around the new restrictions on carrying on cosmetics, a new online beauty site, Carefair.com, advises beauty-conscious customers to use dry powder-based shampoo (i.e. Hair Fix or Bumble and Bumble Hair Powder) and perfume powders (i.e. Victoria's Secret Heavenly Silkening Body Powder or Jessica Simpson's Powdered Sugar Deliciously Kissable Body Shimmer).

While some travelers find the new regulations a small price to pay for airport security, others find the new rules confounding.

Mary Beth Johnson, a confirmed carry-on traveler from Mt. Lebanon, thought she was following the new policy when she checked a bag with hair spray, mascara and creams on her flight home from Arizona to Pittsburgh yesterday.

But she got stopped at the security gate with lip gloss in her carry-on bag -- $29, hardly used Tickle Pink Chanel lip gloss, at that. Not something she wanted to toss into the trash. So she checked her carry-on bag.

"Is lip gloss a weapon of mass destruction?" she exclaimed. "It's a sad world we live in."