One thing that I have to be very selective of, when going on a sunny, bikini-clad holiday, is deciding which beauty items I will be taking with me. I don't know about you, but personally, 90% of my holiday just consists of bare, makeup-free skin (with SPF of course). Therefore, once you have packed what you think you will need, take out at least 1/3 of the products and you should be good to go. I tried to stay very basic, and actually didn't use all of these items at all. Obviously we all have different types of holiday, some people like to really glam up in the evenings, and if that's the case, by all means, go a bit more overboard, but personally, I think the minimal the better.
In terms of skincare, I stayed very basic, and took a RMK Balm Cleanser* (not pictured as placed "neatly" by the sink in the bathroom), Hydraluron, Murad Hydro-dynamic Eye Cream* and a Laneige water sleeping mask (which I like to use in the daytime as a normal moisturiser as it's so lovely and hydrating). I also have a teeny nivea deodorant which perfectly lasted the whole 7 days. Beats taking the full size and wasting potential extra clothing weight. I also used P20 SPF 20 for the majority of the time I was there. As I'd been in the sun a lot more this year, I wasn't planning on burning myself to a crisp, so I started off the holiday with a higher SPF and then used this for the rest of the time, giving me a lovely natural tan. I also used a Vichy 50 SPF Face Sun Protectant*.
I took a fair selection of lip products (First fail). When selecting colours to wear on holiday with the potential of getting a tan, don't take pale colours or you will look very scary and a little ill. This meant I didn't get any use out of the Bourjois Colour Boost "Peach On The Beach". Instead, I mostly reached for my bright orange Topshop Lipstick in "Infrared" which I found complimented my skin tone perfectly. I wish I'd taken a red or a bright pink, as I think they would have looked good also. I took a Maybelline Baby Lips in "Hydrate", although it's important to remember that it's only good for when you aren't in the sun, as a lip balm with SPF is essential. I had a Piz Buin SPF30 which worked wonders, and I used Baby Lips at night.
Other items of makeup that I used for the evenings were a dash of Collection Lasting Perfection concealer blended out with a brush, a smidgen of Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation (when it was still suitable for my skin colour - which was only the first few days), Guerlain Bronzer in Terracota* (I used this to death - some nights I only used this with a touch of mascara), Estee Lauder Tease for a touch of blush/highlight, the new blush by Benefit in "Rockateur"* (a nice mix of bronzer and blush), Urban Decay Naked Basics palette (I thought i'd use this for eyeshadow, but I only applied basic eyeshadow once, the only colour I did use daily was the matte brown in Faint for my eyebrows), Bourjois Liquid Liner Feutre* (Used this every night) and Benefit's "They're Real" Mascara* in travel sized form (too adorable). I didn't use powder as I didn't feel as though my face needed powdering as the sun made it a little dehydrated. I also didn't use my Benefit Erase Paste as it was too light in colour and creamy for the humidity.
Other things on my beauty shelf are
Oribe Dry Texturising Spray which I did use a lot as it doubles up as a dry shampoo. A teeny bottle of
Tresemme Hairspray (which I didn't use very much), Some
Zoeva brushes* which I wanted to give a try, as they had been sent to me a while back (I was thoroughly impressed and will review them soon) and my
Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Butter Cream (STAPLE).
Do you often find you overpack for sunny holidays? What are your beauty essentials when going away?
♥
