Travel packing: Face, body and hair

The fact that in less than a week I'll be laying on the sand of Spain is all that's getting me through these last few days of school. Since exams ended, along with any hint of motivation I previously had, I've been mentally sunning myself on the relaxation holiday with the girls that we've had planned for months now! Of course along with holidays comes the mammoth task that is packing. More to the point, the mammoth task of not over packing.

Just so that this post doesn't take longer to read than I'll actually be abroad, I thought I'd show you all what I'll be taking with me but split it over several days. Today? All things make up, skin and beauty without taking huge eye shadow palettes and 50 shades of lipstick ranging from dark purple to siren red.

One theme that you’re going to see reoccur throughout my holiday planning and packing is my laziness! In terms of hair I keep my beach holiday looks as simple as possible because 1. My hair goes insanely frizzy if I use any extra heat on it (think Monica from friends) 2. I’ll probably get it wet in the sea anyway and 3. I’m way too excited to get every day started to spend any amount of time creating intricate styles. So basically I take an array of thick and thin hair ties and these scrunchies which have saved every failing up-do I’ve had to tackle! Thanks to the heat my hair can sometimes end up dry so I also make sure to use good quality shampoo and condition, this time John Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette collection. Plus, the miniatures set came with a perfecting glosser so I couldn’t resist! Laziness also means that I take along a dry shampoo for brown hair so that I can skip a wash here and there and don’t have to spend hours brushing that white residue out!

Quick nails are a must on holiday for me so I usually take a couple of Rimmel's 60 Second Dry polishes. Although the colours I've chosen aren't exactly tropical they do go with everything and I'm not a bright nail person anyway! I chucked in a matte top coat too because as well as looking pretty damn good, it adds a bit of staying power. Just in case I have a spare evening (or decide on the plane) to apply these sparkly falsies, I thought I'd put them in my hand luggage. Then there's just the basics of a nail file/buffer and small Soap and Glory Endless Glove hand cream.

To keep my lips moisturised in the sun, I've packed a tasty tin of Crème Brulee vaseline and my SPF Carmex in strawberry. I don't plan on wearing any serious lipstick shades but for a flush of colour I've stuck with my trusty Clinique Chubby Stick in 07 Super Strawberry and my favourite nude shade - Clinique's Nude Splurge.

Whilst I would love to take my complete Stilla eye shadow palette, I can't really use up that much space purely for my eye lids! So instead I've gone for two No 7 individual colours (True Gold and Comet) as well as the Avon four colour palette which I will use for the right two shades. Tweezers for tweezing, eyebrow powder for filling and Ellen Tracy eyelash curlers with The Body Shop mascara for extending. Nice and simple.

I decided to just take a basic sponge, my mystery unbranded foundation brush and my The Body Shop blusher brush with me to keep suitcase weight down. A BB cream with SPF is absolutely essential to look after your skin on holiday and I chose the Rimmel one in medium. For contouring and highlighting I have the No.7 Concealer Trio and Helen E Skin Smoother. Hopefully the sun will do it's job but just in case I'll also bring my Rimmel blusher in Coral Rose which has a slight bronze undertone.

Most of these bits and bobs won't need explaining. Obviously I have a tooth brush, antibacterial hand gel, deodorant, razors and face wash! I also use Piz Buin sun cream because it's one of the few that doesn't irritate my skin and give me heat rash (it's not a fun experience whilst you want to be relaxing!). But I'm taking Piriteze anyway. Just in case. Of course I also packed after sun and body butter by Soap and Glory to keep my skin beautifully soft in the face of what should be scorching temperatures. Since I take baby wipes everywhere and use my body brush nightly, I couldn't leave them at home either! Finally, I'm taking my Japanese Cherry Blossom fragrance from The Body Shop and my Ralph by Ralph Lauren perfume.


Hopefully this mix of beauty and skin products will keep me looking fresh faced and healthy whilst I'm in Spain, without taking up half the day for application!
Bethany Paige X