Holiday essentials

 

No matter if you’re off for a short city break or a long beach holiday, it’s essential to keep a beauty routine up even on the go! Recently, Stace got back from her holidays and we were chatting about the different things we take away with us. This year, I’ve travelled quite a lot and I established my ‘must have’ list of items that I take with me when travelling.

When away:

• Cleanse your skin morning and evening! It doesn’t matter if you’ve put  make-up on or not, there’s lots of pollution in the air so clean the skin to remove the dirt. It’s hard to get all the cleansers in a small bottles (flight restrictions don’t allow taking anything bigger than 100ml in the carry-on luggage) so I always hold on to small containers or buy a travel sized bottles from Boots and use for my trips.

Instant Boost Skin Tonic by Liz Earle

• Toner – if you don’t always cleanse in the morning, at least use a bit of a tonic to clean and wake up your skin! I’ve got a little 30ml bottle of Instant Boost Skin Tonic from Liz Earle that I religiously use and re-fill for every trip I take! It’s fab on the plane, to freshen up the skin, and great on the beach as an instant refresher, or in the city to revive after a long, tiring day! For additional coolness, in particularly hot weather, place tonic in the fridge overnight!

• Hydration – apart from drinking plenty of water during the day, I always use a day and night cream! It helps the skin rejuvenate and makes it more plumped and fresh looking! I don’t wear too much make up on holidays so a bit of moisturiser on the face prepares me to face the world. When it comes to storage I have a secret! For my day and night cream I use a dual container for contact lenses storage, where in one part I put my day cream, and in the other, my night cream (see photo below). This way I don’t carry two big pots but a small container with both creams in it.

Contact lense storage container that I use for day and night cream

• Clean hands – I always carry with me a little pot of sanitising gel. This time I carry the L’Occitane lavender Clean Hands Gel. It purifies and sanitises hands without water or soap! It’s perfect for any situation but particularly if you’re stopping for a bite to eat on the way! 

L'Occitane Lavender Clean Hands Gel

• Lips – I can’t leave the house knowing that I don’t have any lip product with me! Call it an addiction or purely a habit but I simply like my lips nourished at all time. Any lip product will do for me as long as it moisturises my lips for long enough not to re-apply too often.

• Soft hands are also important to me, so whenever I have a chance to purchase, or get a smaller size of hand cream (Check out November issue of Marie Claire magazine – you can purchase it with a choice of L’Occitane limited edition 30ml hand cream!) I put it aside for future trips! There is nothing more soothing than application of your favourite hand cream on a long-haul flight, long car journey or after a long day in the sun!

• Dress up the eyes! I’d lie to you if I said that all of the above are the only items I take on a trip! I do take a packet of paracetamol (just in case) and eye mask if I want to sleep on the plane, a few of ear buds for obvious reasons… however, I would not leave the hotel room without my mascara on. I’m not sure what is your view on that but if I don’t dress my eyes in mascara, I look like I haven’t woken up properly! I feel naked and blah. Once it’s on, I’m ready to conquer any continent! 

I’ve travelled a lot and learnt by mistakes when travelling heavy (too heavy, at times), which cost me lots in overweight luggage. Now I stick to my essentials and there is no problem! 

What are your beauty essentials that you can’t leave the house without? Do you struggle to pack for any journey? Let us know on twitter @beautyu. We’re looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Stay beautiful!

Mags xx

Nails ‘Out of this World’ by Leighton Denny

I love nail varnishes. Not the ones that chip by the first hour of application, but those that deliver to promise and last at least a week! I used a lot of different brands but none of them lived up to Leighton Denny’s nail varnishes! Their durability is fantastic and the variety of colours excessive for any nail fanatic!

I use different nail varnish colours for different seasons or moods and have enough to fit any occasion! Recently I’ve purchased the new ‘Out of this World’ collection from the QVC shopping channel (sold out at the moment but will update you when in stock), with a number of items and fabulous colours! Check it out below:

'Out of this World Collection' by Leighton Denny. It contains: Crystal nail file - full size, One For All top and under coat in one, four nail varnishes: Your Planet or Mine?, Saturn Seduction, Zero Gravity and Supermauva, Miracle Mist everything comes in this fab silver beauty bag.

The silver beauty bag, beautifully lined inside.

This bag contains:

The advantage of using cristal file is the ability to file the nails back and forth without damaging your nails as when using standard emery board. RRP £15 from www.leightondenny.com

This One For All product has many functions - it can be a base coat, top coat, create this finished glossy effect or be worn on its own (as shown on the photo). RRP £11 from www.leightondenny.com

This dark, mysteriously deep, teal-green colour called Your Planet or Mine? reminds me of the colours when oil spills in the water. Depending how the light hits the nail colour it changes from dark green to deep teal, even to black. It shimmers beautifully! Ideal for Christmas Parties! RRP £11 from www.leightondenny.com

This seductive shade of red/burgundy, coincidently called Saturn Seduction is a perfect fit for autumn! Goes with browns, oranges and dusky yellows!

Grey autumn/winter days don't need to be associated with dark colours, hence this Zero Gravity lighter shade of grey will brighten up any gloomy day!

Last but no means least is my favourite colour in this collection - Supermauva. This violet colour shimmers with pink undertones and is very wearable both to work and for going out!

This collection completes the Miracle Mist a new product already known to Leighton fans as Miracle drops, this time though it's in the spray edition! It helps speed up the process of drying the nails polish. RRP £11 from www.leightondenny.com

I’ve applied each of the colours twice, for best coverage, and used the One For All as a base and top coat for the glossy finish. At the end I sprayed the nails with the Miracle Mist to extend the longevity of the nail colour.

This week my nails are cocooned in the Supermauva! What colour are you wearing on your nails now? Are you also a Leighton Denny fan? Let us know on twitter @beautyu!

Stay beautiful!

Mags xx

Heavenly hands from L’Occitane

I’ve been using the Dry Skin Hand Cream with 20% Shea Butter from L’Occitane for over a year now. I love the texture, richness and thick consistency of this product. The smell is fresh and subtle. The product sinks in very quickly, not leaving any residue on the skin and it keeps my hands moisturised for a long time. It’s perfect for this time of year (even though we experience this beautiful weather, which will soon change into fab autumn - my favourite time of the year!). So as you can see, I am a happy bunny when it comes to my hand care!

Dry Skin Hand Cream with 20% Shea Butter

However, recently, I’ve come across this little Heavenly Hands set from L’Occitane and decided to give it a try, as never had a chance to use all the different hand creams before! The set comes with five different creams, all 15mls in size – perfect handbag size or stocking fillers (as it’s 12 weeks to Xmas!). 

Heavenly Hands, £20.69 for 2sets from QVC

Consistency of each cream. From left: Lavender, Rose 4 Reines, Cherry Blossom, Verbena and Shea Butter.

The content:

Lavender hand cream, 15ml

This Lavender cream has a lighter but creamy consistency. Smells absolutely amazing - like taking a walk through lavender fields in Provence! There is nothing artificial in the smell! It's very soothing and help me to relax! It moisturises my hands perfectly, sinks in quickly and doesn't leave any residue on my skin. I really fell in love with it and it's my contender to Shea Butter cream!

Rose 4 Reines, 15ml

This Rose cream has a lighter consistency and as its name indicates it has a lovely, rosy smell - very subtle and very real. It moisturises my hands well, sinks in quickly without leaving oily residue. 

Cherry Blossom, 15ml

Cherry Blossom cream has a lighter consistency just like the Rose cream. The smell is nice, but too sweet for me. It moisturises hands well, sinks in quickly without any residue. Perfect companion for spring and summer months!

Cooling Hand Cream Gel with Verbena, 15ml

This Verbena hand product has a light, gel consistency, which creates a cooling sensation on application. The lemony smell is too overpowering for me. It moisturises hands, however, I think it sinks in too quickly and disappears after a few moments. I have to admit, this is not my favourite hand cream. It may be a good product for men as the smell is unisex and because of it's cooling properties it may be good for hot summer!

and Dry Skin 20% Shea Butter, 15ml which I've reviewed at the top of this blog!

So as you can see I’m not a fun of a gel-like hand creams, so Verbena is not one I’d use! However, I absolutely love the Shea Butter and the Lavender one, especially when I want to unwind after long, tiring day or relax before falling asleep! 

What is your favourite hand cream? Do you have one you stick to or you swap between brands? Share your thoughts with us on twitter @beautyu we can’t wait to hear your story!

Stay beautiful!

Mags x