Holiday Favourites

I don't feel like I use enough new products each month to do a monthly favourites every month, so I thought I'd put a bit of a twist on it and do a holiday favourites instead because I feel that the products I use on holiday are slightly different to what I would use at home. 

So, I brought together all my favourite holiday go-tos and put them in a post for you so I hope you enjoy it!

2 things I found myself constantly reaching for while I was away were my 2 NAKED Palettes. I have the original and number 3 and I absolutely love them both to death. They each have 12 different shades mixing matte, shimmer and glitter all into one palette. They are super versatile and they fit into your luggage really easily. I'm thinking of doing a couple of posts with a bunch of different looks you can make from these palettes so let me know in the comments if that is something you would like to see.

Staying on with eyes I was also loving my Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo in 'Metallic Pomegranate'. I found that this was really easy to put all over my lid when I was in a bit more of a hurry and it still looked really lovely. That's what I like most about this product, it is so easy to use so it's perfect for when you're in a rush. I think I'm going to invest in getting some more colours of these because they are so quick and easy.

You may have seen in one of my recent Pink Parcel Box Opening posts that I received the L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Excess mascara. I have honestly fallen head over heels in love with this product. I am a sucker for mascaras, I think I have more mascaras than any other makeup product in my collection. This mascara goes onto the lashes so easily and it creates a really full looking eye. It also isn't a very wet mascara. That sounds extremely weird but I know some of you will definitely know what I'm talking about. However, it is definitely NOT waterproof as I have discovered. Still, I have loved using this so far and I will continue to love it until I use it all up!

My one and only MAC lipstick, Candy Yum-Yum. I absolutely love this colour, however I have found it really hard to wear. I decided that I was going to take it on holiday with me because if you can't be bold and bright on holiday where can you? In the end I ended up loving the colour, however I wasn't applying it straight from the tip as I found the colour was too strong that way and so I used the brush that I am going to talk about below to give a more subtle coating. Other than the brightness, I love the consistency of the lipstick and the staying power is pretty good, not amazing for food and drink but it is good enough. I also love the smell of it. That's one thing I really like about MAC is that their products always seem to smell really nice.

And the brush that I have been enjoying using to apply my MAC lipstick is the Real Techniques Retractable Lip Brush. I hadn't really used this much until I decided to try it with my MAC lipstick because up until then I just applied the product straight from the tip with other lipsticks. Since trying this I have been loving using a brush to apply lipstick in general. It gives really accurate application of the product meaning there is a little less need for lip liner and it also applies the product evenly across the lips really well. The bristles on the brush are also really soft but very compact and dense to create the perfect application.

The final lip product I was really loving was my Revlon Colour Burst in 'Juicy Papaya'. I have loved this lip butter for a really long time now. The consistency is more like a gloss than a lipstick which I think is really nice because it has a nice glossy finish rather than a matte one. It's also a really lovely colour and isn't as bright as it appears. I find it is buildable to an extent but it can't be made completely opaque, or at least I haven't been able to do that with it. Still, a really lovely product and it's a perfect colour for holiday tans! 

I'm sure this foundation appears in every single favourites post I do... Sorry if you're bored of hearing about it but it has been my favourite foundation for a really long time now and other than my Bare Minerals Original SPF 15 foundation (which is too light now I have a tan) I haven't really found anything that matches up to it. I don't know if its the fruit extracts in it or what but this foundation doesn't break me out, it doesn't irritate my skin, it doesn't feel heavy on the skin and it gives pretty decent coverage if you layer it right. Overall I think it's one of the best drugstore foundations out there and if you haven't tried it I really suggest you do. Oh, and it's by Bourjois if you couldn't see the top.

Another product I received in one of my Pink Parcel boxes is this Bella Pierre pot of something. I'm not entirely sure what it's meant to be as it doesn't specify, however from the colour my first guess was a loose eyeshadow. However, I had it sat next to my Benefit High Beam and they are pretty much the same colour, just one is a powder and one is a liquid. So, as a result of this discovery I decided to try this as a highlighter and God forbid it works brilliantly! Whatever it is is in the shade 'Bubble Gum' and is a very glittery light pink powder. You don't need much of this at all to create a shimmery highlight. Too much will make you look like Edward Cullen in the sun.

Onto my fashion favourites of the holiday I was absolutely loving my TopShop cat-eye sunglasses. I bought these specifically for going away and I have been absolutely loving wearing them. I haven't had cat-eye sunglasses before but I really like they way they look and I feel they suit my face quite well. Brilliant for keeping those harmful rays out of your eyes whilst looking fabulous all at the same time!

This is something that I wear an awful lot at home as well as when I'm away but I wore this pretty much every night while I was away, give or take a few. It's so simple yet the sparkle adds something more to the outfit. It's by far my favourite necklace so well done Matt, you have good jewellery sense!

One thing we all wear on holiday is flip flops! I picked up 2 pairs really cheap from Primark for just £1 each which of course is a complete bargain. I wasn't expecting too much from them due to the price but they have been the comfiest things ever for the past 2 weeks! The toe post doesn't rub at all and they take the shape of your feet really well making them extremely comfy. Flip flops in general are so easy to slip on making them perfect for holidays. Another thing they helped with was the hot floor, no one wants burnt feet!

Final fashion favorite is this playsuit from H&M. My mum picked this up for me in the sale a few days before we went away and I absolutely love it. I think I wore it 2 or 3 times through the whole holiday because it was super easy to put on and it looked like I'd put in a lot more effort than I actually had. My only issue with playsuits is the toilet issue and I'm sure we can all agree on that one!

My final favourite of my holiday in Mallorca is books. I read 4 books in the 2 weeks I was away (I'm a really quick reader) and I just really got into every single one of them and enjoyed being able to live in someone else's life for a little while. That's one thing I've enjoyed about being off school because I don't have time to read what I want to read during term time so it's nice to be able to read some good books and not have to think about school until September! 

And that's everything I was loving on holiday! I really hope you enjoyed this post and I will see you again very soon!

Have you been away on holiday? What are your holiday favourites?

Love, Becca

-xoxo

Summer Holiday Toiletries and Makeup Essentials

So following on from my general summer holiday essentials post, I decided to do toiletries and makeup essentials too because this blog is full of beauty stuff so it would make sense to do this too. 

Some of the stuff I have put in this may not be things I choose for every trip as the things I take always depend on where I'm going. I have however, based this post on a hot climate so bear that in mind when you're reading through this post. 

So these are the 2 bags that I like to use when I need to carry quite a lot of stuff because they're big. I believe the pink spotty wash bag is from Argos and the one with the guinea pig on is from Zoella Beauty, but I probably didn't need to tell you that.

This is the bag where I keep more of the toiletry things rather than makeup because it's bigger.

The first 2 things I think are super important for going on holiday because who wants to smell of BO? Not me. I really like the Dove Cucumber and Green Tea deodorant because it's a really fresh scent and it works really well. You can buy this from just about anywhere, supermarkets, drugstores etc. For perfume I chose One Direction's One Moment which I believe is the original one, I think they have 2 or 3 scents now if I'm thinking right. I really like the smell of this and it has sentimental value to me so it's perfect for going away.

2 hair products that I will be taking away with me other than shampoo and conditioner is heat protectant and a gravitiser cream. The heat protectant is by Clynol and the Gravitiser Sleekening Cream is by Richard Ward. Heat protectant is obviously for when I straighten my hair which I do a lot when I'm away, more so on the evenings and then the cream is just to help with the humidity because I don't fancy looking like I've been electrocuted the whole holiday.

Moving onto a couple of body products now. I would also have body wash but I didn't feel the need to include that. I chose these 2 Sanctuary Spa products because they are miniature travel sized products which makes them super handy for travel. They also smell really fresh and body butters and scrubs are essential in the summer because the sun will dry your skin out so to keep that tan you've got to keep your skincare up!

A couple of face products I wanted to include here because they are also travel sized/sample sized products so they are again perfect for travelling. The SASS Intimate Purifying Cleanser and the L'Occitane Essential Water are 2 lovely products to keep the skin clean and fresh. A moisturiser would also go with these but I didn't include that either, although it is super important in the summer.

I mostly wear eye makeup when I'm on holiday because I tend not to bother with skin makeup too much unless I really need it due to the heat so, these Quickies eye makeup remover pads are perfect for a holiday. They are also really small and compact so they don't take up much space and it leaves you with more liquid space if you were to put this in your hand luggage!

Sun protection - the most important thing when you go somewhere hot! Here I have included the Green People SPF 30 sun lotion and a SPF 20 lip balm I received for free at a music festival a couple of summers ago. I always forget that you can burn your lips and when it happens, it hurts so just protect them from the start and then you won't have that problem! 

And now onto the makeup which I keep in my Zoella bag! 

In case on any of the evenings I feel a little fancy and decide that I want a little bit of colour on my eyes, this is the smallest eye shadow palette that I own and it is super handy and super pretty so it is perfect to take away. This is the Undressed palette so it has some really nice neutral colours in which I think are perfect for a summer holiday.

A range of brushes to apply the products that I plan to take with me! This ranges from Bare Minerals to Real Techniques to e.l.f. and I love them all. I tend to only pack the brushes that I need to apply the products I am taking so I don't end up taking brushes I don't need.

I would also pack my Estee Lauder All-Over Face Compact because it has 3 blushes and a bronzer and it is really compact making it perfect for travel. It also means I have a choice of blushes without cluttering up my makeup bag. 

Powder is a holiday makeup must for me because I have really quite oily skin to begin with but in the heat and humidity, makeup is even harder to keep on so a little slick of powder over the top of whatever I fancy putting on solves the problem.

 I prefer to take BB cream away and I prefer to wear BB cream in the summer months over foundation because it is much lighter and therefore tends to stay on better. This is by Witch and it has witch hazel extracts as well as an SPF 12 so that just makes things even better for summer really doesn't it!

Concealer is also a must for me because even if I don't want to put BB cream all over my face, there might be a few pesky spots or blemishes that I want to cover up so concealer is the perfect thing to use without having to have a full face of makeup.

Mascara just has to come. I can't live without mascara. I think if I had to live with only 1 makeup product for the rest of my life I would pick mascara because it just opens up my eyes so much more and I feel much more comfortable with mascara on. Most days on holidays I only wear mascara, because there's no point in putting anything else on down to the heat. A waterproof mascara would be best especially if you're planning on going for a swim but I tend not to wear makeup if I know I'm going swimming because I personally don't see the point, even if it is waterproof. But that's just me.

I may or may not use eyeliner, but I'm one of those people who likes to have the option available in case I do want it because you can guarantee that if I didn't take it I would want it. I'm weird I know but it's just something I have to do, it's like a comfort thing. 

Now onto lippies, now you may think I have way too many here but lipstick is what I will probably wear most of on a holiday because I don't wear face makeup, just eyes and lips most of the time unless I want a little more coverage. But, as a result of that I like to have a choice so there's a few. The first one is my Burberry Kisses sample that I received a while ago in the colour Nude Pink. This is a really pretty and very subtle colour and I think it will look pretty good with a tan.

Next up is my only MAC lipstick and I've never worn it out because it's so bright. However, I feel that a holiday is the perfect oportunity to wear it out because no one cares on holiday lets be honest. This is in the colour Candy Yum Yum and it is one of the matte shades. I love the formula I just find the colour really difficult to wear. 

The MUA Power Pouts are my favourite at the moment, I have them in Rendezvous and Justify and they are both really nice colours Justify looks super duper almost radioactive orange, but it doesn't go on the lips anywhere near that colour.Rendezvous goes on a nice pinky nude colour.

This is the Revlon Colour Burst Lip Butter in 'Juicy Papaya'. This is a gorgeous coral colour and it has a wonderful consistency, it's not really a lipstick obviously being a lip butter, but I find it feels more like a gloss on the lips. It looks a lot brighter here in the image but once it's on the lips, it doesn't really change the colour of your lips too much, it's just enough to know you have something on. Gorgeous colour for summer.

I feel like a red lipstick is just a must for going anywhere, who's with me? This is Seventeen's Stay Pout in 'infared' and it's quite a dull red rather than a bright red, and I think that's why I like it so much. I'm not really the girl to be extremely adventurous with lips although I am trying, so a dull red is much more suited to me. It is matte but it lasts quite a long time as I find it stains the lips a little bit which I think is good because it makes it last longer. A black dress with a tan on a night time would be a perfect moment for this one.

And of course, nail varnish and a nail file. This is my favourite summer nail colour, it's one of the Barry M Gelly polishes and it is in the colour 'Greenberry'. It's such a lovely colour for summer and it looks fantastic with a tan, can I just say. I love Barry M polishes though I find they chip quite easily, the choice of colours is fab. However, the Gelly ones are much better quality I find as they do stay on a good bit longer than the normal Barry M range. 

And that's everything in my makeup bag for holly jollys! I hope you enjoyed this post and I will see you all again in a couple of days! 

What are your summer holiday essentials?

Love, Becca

-xoxo

This post is part of a little blogger series I'm taking part in called the "Secret Blogger Project 2015" run by teen bloggers Emily, Rebekka and Charlotte. About 30 of us will be writing twice a week on selected little lifestyle topics and you can also go onto the Twitter and Instagram hashtag "#secretbp2015" to have a little chat and view everyone's posts. If you would like to join or know more (we'd love to have you!) Instagram DM @theperks0fbeingemily or if you don't have Instagram, send a quick email to rebekkarosebeautyxo@gmail.com.