Simple travel skincare

Eco Lips Sport SPF 30    |    Nuxe Reve De Miel Stick Levres Hydratant lipbalm    |    Hydraluron    |    Popcorn Lipscrub    |    'Anastasia' Steam Cream    |    Bioderma Sensibo 100ml    |    Origins Gin Zing    |    Philosophy Purity cleanser    |    Caudalie Beauty Elixir    |    Morrocan Oil 25ml

Early Tuesday morning I arrived back in the UK from a lovely, week long holiday on Lake Garda in Italy. I have a few snap-happy posts lined up so stay tuned for that; but for today, I'm talking skincare. I must admit, I have a bit of an obsession with picking up the super hyped products of the moment - as you can probably tell if you look back through my posts... This post won't be too different!

Good skincare is vital for me, being a makeup aficionado, I want a good base to work with so my skin needs to be in fairly good nick. I am, to be honest, quite lucky that 80-90% of the time, my skin is clear and mostly even but I do occasionally get the odd spot or patch of discolouration; my biggest problem is dry skin, eurgh! What's a girl to do? Buy more skincare if you're like me...

This is the skinny version of my normal routine, I always try to pack light when I go on holiday - lugging your max baggage allowance around at the airport is not fun. This small collection of products have really worked wonders for me this past week, my skin feels so soft and smooth! The only thing that I took with me that I don't use regularly at home was my travel size Purity cleanser by Philosophy - It was a gift at Christmas so I gave it a shot. It worked well and was a nice all round cleanser but not my favourite, the ingredients list shows that it is not as pure as it claims which turned me off of it a bit. Also, how cute is the tin for my Steam Cream?! I love it, it's so pretty; an honor to have on my dressing table. I'm also in love with this teenie tiny Morrocan Oil, not really skincare but I just couldn't leave it out... The rest of the products are just scaled down versions of my every day skincare routine, the only difference is I add in a few different masks and treatments a week when I'm at home.

What's in your travel skincare routine?

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Pin Picks

I am the queen of procrastination. I feel bad about it but what can you do? Getting tasks done can be difficult when there are so many interesting things on the internet that I can find to get distracted with. Some call it a bad habit, I think it's a talent - well that's what I tell myself at least. Pinterest is my ultimate vice, I could get sucked up in the world of pinning for hours; I've even passed the pin-passion onto a fair few family members, oops. What better way to excuse my addiction than to make my wasted hours actually useful? Here are a few of my more recent pin picks...


01. I love this simple, stylish outfit. It could be worn pretty much all year round with a few alterations. I tend to gravitate towards timeless, simple outfits - I find them much easier to wear. Maybe I'm just boring! It looks seriously comfortable too...

02. Beach worthy hair, I wish I could manage this with mine! I have spent god knows how much money on countless products trying to achieve this effortless, tousled style. My hair is as straight, flat and thin as it comes. Such a nightmare. 

03. Such a humbling and inspiring quote, love this. Not much more to say on this really, it's just so true.

04. This made me chuckle, Mean Girls jokes never get old.

05. Rather tasty looking stuffed peppers - yum! As I said in my '19 things before I'm 19' post, I'm trying to get super healthy and this seems like a reasonably clean recipe - perfect.

06. How cute is this snug reading nook/window seat?! When (hah!) I win the lottery and build my dream house, I will include so many of these little hideaways. 

07. Elegant office space, love the flowers and the brick! I'm such a sucker for beautifully designed and perfectly organised desk areas.

08. A makeup look - smoky liner by the talented Tiffany D. I really love eyeliner like this, it's like a sexy and slightly smouldering everyday eye. Makeup like this can very easily be adapted for nighttime - a red lip and some subtle contouring, gorgeous!

Who else is a pinaholic? Hands up! I'm thinking of holding a support group...

PS- I'm currently on holiday in Italy at the moment but I'll be back soon with some Italian themed posts (pretty much just picture after picture of ice cream probably, just a warning!).

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Blanc to Bronze

Next week, I will be boarding a plane and heading off to Italy. This means I need to do some body prep... Now, as far as I know, there are two types of 'glow'; the bronzed, healthy looking glow and the pasty, slightly ghostly glow - I am very much the latter (think Voldemort in bright sunlight, eek!). This doesn't bother me in the slightest during the winter months, in fact I love it, milky white skin and berry lips, beautiful. However, Summer is a whole different ball game and especially in Italy where gorgeous, Mediterranean skin is the norm. I don't want to visually impair everyone in a 50 mile radius with my 'glow'... It's time to crack the fake tan out!

Xen Tan Dark Lotion     |     Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning

These are my absolute favourite fake tanners, I'm on my second bottle of the Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanner (and I tan very rarely, that says it all!) - both are quite cult products but I think they've earned their place. This version of Xen Tan Dark Lotion is quite over shadowed by it's darker sister, Absolute Luxe, but I find this to be the perfect shade for me... Not orange and not too dark.

My routine is very simple and fool proof; In the shower, I exfoliate the whole of my body with a body scrub (the Soap and Glory ones are fab), then go over again with exfoliating gloves; I then use an oil free moisturiser on any dry areas, my ankles, elbows, wrists etc. I let that really soak in then head in with my Xen Tan Dark Lotion on a tanning mitt (an essential!) and just rub it in using circular motions working from my legs upwards - this saves any horrible creases later on! I apply the Clarins tanner on my face, ears and neck with a cotton pad or my fingers then just head to bed to let my tan develop while I sleep. Easy, huh? The Clarins tanner is essentially a gradual tanner so I often use it 4-5 nights in a row before I reach my desired colour.

To keep my tan fresh for a good week, I gently exfoliate with the gloves every day and use copious amounts of body moisturiser to prevent dry skin and the tan flaking off. I love the Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze as it tops up your tan gradually and really keeps your skin moisturised. Another handy product is the Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs - it gives you tanned, smooth legs in a few minutes; it's taken me some practice to get it flawless and streak free but once you've mastered it, it's super handy for when you need to bare your pasty pins unexpectedly!

Whats your go-to self tanner?

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