As you may or may not know I've recently come back from holiday (Malaysia this time), so I thought I'd share some of my updated travel essentials.

Not a lot has changed since my holiday saviours post back in 2011 (here), I've in fact updated and expanded on these since, as you'll see below.
I've decided to split this post into 2; the first is my personal carry on essentials i.e. allowed on the plane to get you through a journey. The second part includes my makeup essentials for holiday/travelling but of course I take a bit more sometimes depending on whether I'll be dolling myself up for restaurants or not.

Carry on essentials:

Bearing in mind my last flight lasted over 14 hours I found these to be absolute saviours on the plane (and off it too of course!).

1) Elemis Tea Tree S.O.S spray - this is a total all rounder natural antiseptic; from helping insect bites/cuts and grazes, to spots and refreshing and deodorising tired feet, this spray is handy to carry around everywhere let alone just on the plane! Available at department stores or at HQhair & lookfantastic.com for £19.40.

2) Avene Thermal Spring Water - this year I couldn't find a small bottle of the usual Evian spray I usually carry with me in Boots so I picked up this Thermal Spring Water can instead. Another all rounder, but this can be used on the face when it feels tight (all that AC being pumped in the plane tends to dry me out) or handy for carrying in humidity on the beach as a refresher for the face. It's many uses are endless, including toner, soothing sunburn, acne, rashes and razor burn. It also doesn't interfere with makeup and actually helps set makeup! Available from Boots for £3.15 (50ml) or £6.50 for 150ml (not allowed on the plane).

3) Body Cream - I tend to not make use of the deluxe creams I get with perfumes so chose this one on my last trip, but general body creams come in handy for travel; again the aircon tends to dry out the skin so it's always good to carry some sort of moisturiser for hands and feet at least.

4) Dental hygiene products - If you're not lucky enough to be flying business or first class chances are you'll need to carry your own dental hygiene. Rinsing the mouth out with mouthwash or brushing teeth usually helps me feel awake again especially if you're constantly eating/sleeping on the aircraft!
 
5) Concealer kit - This Wild About Beauty concealer has two different shades perfect for finding the right match for your skintone which also contains skin calming and nourishing ingredients and no nasties. Shade "Medium" suits my NC35 skintone best and the bottom also holds a HD translucent setting powder underneath, which can be used to keep shine at bay too if needed. Available at Debenhams and House of Fraser for £19.50.

6) Lip products - Vaseline Lip Therapy (£1.99) is a must as it's another all rounder; I use it around my nose to prevent myself from getting ill from the germs that circulate around the plane (I'm a real germophobe!) as well as conditioning lips/dry areas of the hands/body. I adore carrying Carmex Moisture Plus around to also condition the lips whilst adding a tint of colour. Available at Boots for £4.49.

7) Badger Balm - If you find sleeping above cloud level a chore like me, you'll be needing something to help you along your way so I recommend the Badger Balm which contains Lavender and other essential oils to help clear your mind. Available at feelunique.com for £6.99.

8) Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair - Dabbing a couple drops of this wonder serum to tight skin instantly hydrates the skin whilst also keeping it smooth. Can also be used over makeup that has been dried out by aircon. Available for £44 for 30ml at all Estée Lauder counters including Boots, Debenhams & House of Fraser, but I carry a trial size on holiday!

Makeup essentials:

These are my absolute essentials for holidays to hotter/humid climates, of course there can be more if absolutely needed but when on holiday I like to wear the absolute bare minimum if poss!

1) Waterproof mascara - whether you wear eyeliner or not, chances are you wear mascara at least to open up your eyes and give volume or length. My personal everyday favourite at the moment is the Kiko Unforgettable waterproof mascara; its curved brush gives a curl to the lashes whilst volumising too and doesn't get everywhere come rain or shine. Available for £7.20 online or in Kiko stores in both Westfields in London.

2) Waterproof eyeliners - I have a vast range and array of colours in the Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencils (approx £14 each) so I tend to take a couple of these on holiday with me, but recently I've discovered that Chantecaille have released their 24 hour waterproof liner which also is creamy and long lasting and the bronzed brown shade in Oolong gives just enough definition to the eyes to not be overpowering. Urban Decay pencils are available in Debenhams and House of Fraser stores and Chantecaille liners are available at Liberty, Fenwicks, Space NK and Harrods.

3) Tinted moisturiser - A must for those who don't fancy baring all and want even skintone but without wearing heavy coverage. I like this tinted moisturiser as it gives a decent coverage and has a high SPF of 20. It does oxidise a little so you may need to go a shade lighter than expected. Available from £12.66 at HQhair to £20 at the usual department stores.

4) Concealer kit - see above for description of this Wild About Beauty concealer kit.

5) Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray - if you do decide to wear either powder/mineral, liquid or cream foundations, this setting spray keeps makeup on for up to 16 hours.. perfect for those long days or evenings when you don't want to touch up on makeup.

6) Carmex Moisture Plus - as above, this tinted lipbalm comes in handy before lipstick or by itself for a hint of colour.

7) Urban Decay Razor Sharp Powder - aside from this powder helping skin feel smooth, it also helps keep shiny-ness out of your holiday pictures, with just a puff and buff on. I got this mini size from a Limited Edition box but you can buy the full size for £21 at Debenhams & House of Fraser as well as Lookfantastic & HQhair.

8) Wild About Beauty mattifying balm (£21) is great to use as a primer before applying makeup due to it's slippery nature; although it states it can be used after I find it works much better applying under a tinted moisturiser or foundation, and then topping up with the above Razor Sharp powder if needed. If you're shiny but don't like the drying feeling of powder then this also is the product for you! Available at the Wild About Beauty website and Debenhams and House of Fraser.

So there you have it! Obviously SPF is a major factor in holiday packing, but there are so many brands out there, the highest SPF is always best, 50+ is best if you have really sensitive skin.
These are my most essential saviours for travelling, hope this has helped you consider some products you may not have thought of using on your travels/holiday!

Do you have some holiday must have products you'd recommend? Please feel free to share them with me, I always love to use new things on holiday!

 

Holiday Saviours

Hello my lovely followers!!
As you may have noticed, I've been away and not blogging! For those of you who follow my twitter, you'll know I was away on holiday to Morocco for my sister in laws wedding.
The wedding was amazing, once the pics are sorted I'll try add the bridal look(s) I did for this traditional Moroccan wedding.

The weather was extremely hot- 35-45°C and although I managed to catch a decent tan, I did suffer with heat rash. My skin felt awful, my face felt dry and unsmooth.. it was a horrible feeling!

I did however have a few saviours, which I will share with you now.
First and foremost, something that helped my skin feel alive and un-dry despite the heat rash: 
Evian Brumisateur (brew-meez-ah-tour) aka Evian facial spray

In my last job I used to sell these and didn't really understand why people would buy this instead of just chucking a bottle of Evian over themselves, but this holiday taught me its use.
I'd acquired one through some event or other (probably the Vitality show this year) and whilst at the beach where I wasn't able to frequently access non-salty water, this spray helped my skin feel absolutely fantastic and relieved from drying out in the heat and salty air. I sprayed my face a good couple times, and the difference between chucking a bottle of evian on my face and spraying this little beaut was the sheer fact that it doesnt drip and is a fine mist as opposed to liquid on the face. It also beats cream as it doesn't interfere with any concealer/makeup I may have worn and Evian actually claim that it sets makeup.
Although a bit pricey (£3.50 for 50ml, £6.95 for 150ml) the 50ml was perfect for the plane journey and handbag to the beach and lasted throughout the 11 days of the holiday (with not so frequent use and only for the face).

My second holiday favourite was the 
Palmers Cocoa Butter with SPF 15

I actually took a bottle of this on my honeymoon last year to Dubai as I loved the smell.. and still do, so I had to buy another bottle for this holiday. It smells like the chocolate bit of Neopolitan ice cream and I love the fact you still get the creaminess of normal cocoa butter but with a bit of SPF.

Another SPF product, albeit not very high, was the 
Banana Boat Tanning Oil SPF 6

This came in particularly good use at the beach as its water resistant and went well with sand that stuck to the feet/legs/body parts too, creating an oily exfoliator which made the skin smooth. It obviously also enhances your tan a lot; my arms are actually a lovely golden colour that I've always tried to achieve in the hottest Summer days in London but failed miserably. This product also smells unbelievably gorgeous too (yes I have a slight addiction to sweet smelling products!).


Makeup wise, my summer/holiday essentials were:
UDPP in Sin; 

It gives a nice sheen to the eyes, natural and non creasing even in extremely hot weather.
UD razorsharp powder: 

This helped my face stay matte rather than dripping with unsightly sweat and was well used at the wedding especially as it makes skin look flawless and feel smooth.
UD Cannonball mascara: 

A MUST for holidays that include any kind of contact with water or moisture.. it withstood salty sea water in the eyes, pool water, showers and sweat. Needless to say this became my ultimate warrior mascara this holiday.. and the only one I used!
Sleek blush in Pan Tao: 

This blush went perfect with my tan, the coral/peach colour made my tan look tons better, so I loved it!
Sleek Pout Polishes: 

 

I took at least 3 different colours: Raspberry Souffle, Pink Cadillac and Electro Peach; Raspberry Souffle being the one most used. It actually stained my lips out in the sun, meaning that I had a lovely purple-pink stain on my lips that even the Pixi Lip Blush couldn't achieve. Also the fact that they contain SPF 15 makes it perfect for (slightly) protecting lips from burning =)

So there you have most of my highly recommended Summer essentials/ holiday saviours, for anyone that either lives in a really hot country or is planning to go on holiday and wants to know what products may be useful for such climates.

I hope this post is useful, do let me know if there are any other Summer/holiday essentials you'd recommend or can't live without, especially if they smell nice ;)

<3