Holiday Beauty Essentials

                         

Seeing as I've been doing a lot of posts recently reviewing products that are suitable for the holiday season, I thought it was only fair that I did a post showing the products I took on holiday with me. I am god awful at packing lightly and am renowned among friends and family for having the biggest bag packed full of what I like to call 'just-in-case' items. There was a mountain of products I wanted to take with me, but we were only taking hand luggage which limits liquids to 100ml bottles, so I had to be very selective about what I took, and just pick items I knew I would struggle without. 

Clinique Airbrush Concealer

Having looked up the weather before I went, and discovering it was going to be between 30° and 35°, just the idea of wearing foundation in that heat made me feel hot. However I wanted to take something, just to get rid of those dark patches and cover up any burnt bits, so this little concealer was perfect. Its light reflecting qualities made my skin look dewy and fresh instead of the beaten, weathered look created by lots of sun, sea and sand. 

Clinique High Impact Mascara

It's always nice to dress up of an evening on holiday when you're going out for something to eat, and even if you're not intending to wear much make-up, a decent mascara can finish off a basic evening look perfectly. I've tried many mascaras since doing this blog, and so far Clinique's High Impact is my favorite. 

MUA Gel Eyeliner

I've been testing this product for quite some time now ever since I bought a hauls worth of MUA products with the aim of doing an MUA haul and review post (which will be up shortly, promise) , so I won't go into too much detail about it just yet. Obviously the fact I took it on holiday with me is proof that I'm happy with the product. I do find liquid eyeliners can be a little bit too strong for the skin on my eyes - which is quite sensitive - and eyeliner pencils are too faint. So I'm fast becoming a fan of gel eyeliners, and since I'm a huge cat-eye addict, I couldn't go on holiday without it. 

ArtDeco Peacock Coquette Nail Varnish

I knew I wanted to take at least one nail varnish with me, and I'm sure if like me you have a massive collection, you can understand how hard it was for me to pick just one. This particular nail varnish is from Art Deco's Autumn/Winter 2013 'Asian Spirit Western Feeling' collection which I loved. The reason I chose it is because it's such a chameleon shade. Depending on the light, it can range from a gorgeous turquoise to a forest green, and in some lights it even looks navy. There were points when I was laying on the beach and noticed my toenails were the same colour as the sea. 

St Kitt's Herbery Face Cream

My skin has such a tendency to look dry, and I knew the Clinque concealer would not work to its best if my face wasn't moisturised. It's so important to keep your skin hydrated if you're going to spend hours in the sun like I did, and having just reviewed a few St Kitt's products and loving them, as well as the bottle being the appropriate size, I felt it was a perfect addition. 

Nivea Powder Touch Underarm 

This little beauty came in my Cosmopolitan Superblogger Masterclass goodie bag and is responsible for my new found love of roll-on deodorant. I had such a love/hate relationship with deodorant sprays and could never find one that suited me 100%, and it never occurred to me to try a roll-on, but seeing as this was a freebie I gave it a go. The main issue I had with sprays was that they dried out my skin, but this roll-on has nourished it back to health. 

Mary Kay Limited Edition Retro Rose Cream Lip Colour

As a last addition to my planned evening make-up look, I took this lovely Mary Kay lip colour. Finding lipsticks that suit me is something I struggle with (god I do have a hard time of it ha) and reviewing the Mary Kay Hello Sunshine collection actually introduced me to the first set of lipsticks that worked with my skin tone and my hair colour. Obviously it's creamy and moisturising texture was an added bonus, and the dark yet warm shade added a sophisticated element to my make-up as a whole. 

BVLGARI Omnia Crystaline Eau De Parfum

Due to being very picky about fragrances, I only have a handful of perfumes that I like the smell of, and at the moment this is my favourite. I received this as a free sample, and loved the fact that it was a miniature of the actual bottle and not a little phial, and that it was parfum and not eau de toillette. As it's parfum, I don't need a lot and the scent lasts for hours. I've had it months and I'm not even half-way through yet (by the way I sincerely recommend applying for perfume samples - a much cheaper way of having a large selection of fragrances, then buy the ones you really like). Due to it's size and of course how much I love it, there was no question about packing it. 

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St Kitts' Herbery Luxury Skincare Range

Previously committing to bath and body products, St Kitts’ Herbery have ventured down the road of skincare with some amazing results. This entire range focuses on two main ingredients : Neroli and Frankincense.

Having worked briefly as a Christmas temp at Lush, I am now fascinated by ingredients such as these and their properties. However, when a product or a range contains so many, it can be hard to figure out if it’s going to give you exactly what you’re looking for so I love the simplicity of the ingredients in this range.

St Kitts’ have chosen two of the most beneficial ingredients for facial skincare. Neroli stimulates cell activity and growth, helps to treat broken veins and capillaries, and works as an antiseptic and antibacterial. Frankincense on the other hand encourages the renewal of skin cells and works as a non-irritant and non-sensitising.  So this is a collection that in one way or another will suit everyone.

The entire skincare range consists of these 13 products:

Face Wash | Cleanser | Toner | Lip Balm | Eye Gel | Nourishing Oil | Face Lotion | Face Cream | Spot Treatment | Exfoliating Mask | Face Scrub |Facial Massage Oil

I tried samples of the Face Wash, Toner, Face Cream and Nourishing Oil, all of which can be bought together in the St Kitts’ SkincareBag.

Before I go onto review the individual products I’ll say one thing about the samples I tried: The scents are strong.  

With so many products at the moment smelling artificially of desserts and overpowering imitations of fruit, a collection of products made of natural herbal ingredients can be a bit of a shock to the nose at first. But for me, if it’s beneficial for my skin, I’m really not fussed what it smells like. In fact, the lack of artificiality in these products alone is enough to make me realise how good they really are.

Facial Wash

Also containing Aloe Vera, this is a very soothing and refreshing facial wash. There are so many nowadays that are bright colours or contain fluorescent beads and have fancy names that are plucked out of thin air, so it’s nice to get back to basics with an understated facial wash that that is packed full of natural ingredients . It’s easy to use and makes for a lovely start to the day.

Toner

A gentle spritz of this over your face helps firm the skin and close pores after cleansing. Along with the facial wash, you’re left with a perfect base that’s ready for moisturising. Also contains Aloe Vera.

Face Cream

I love nothing more than a dense, thick face cream, and that’s exactly what this is. I found I really didn’t need a lot, so even though the bottle isn’t that big, it will last me for quite some time. This kept my face dewy and moisturised all day, and along with my foundation, gave me a fresh, glowing look.  Also contains Borage, Aloe Vera, Chamomile, Lavender, Ginseng, Comfrey.

Nourishing Oil

Just a tiny little bit of this on top of the face cream in the morning helps lock in the moisture, so that you don’t need to worry about your skin going dry during the rest of the day. It helps to retain elasticity and fights wrinkles, so therefore it’s suitable for dry or ageing skin types. Also contains Sweet Almond, Avocado, Carrot, Lavender, Rosemary.

I’ve tried a lot of facial skincare in the time I’ve been doing product reviews, and this collection is the only one that has moisturised my skin thoroughly and lasted from morning till night. 

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