I’m not one of those girls who doesn’t wear makeup on holiday. I don’t wear a full face but I always wear something, usually concealer. On my recent holiday to Croatia, I wore quite a bit because I was with my friends and we had lots of photos. I found myself reaching for things I wouldn’t have thought were essentials back home. I reached for these at least once a day and they literally saved my skin and made it look amazing.
Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder – £24
When I’m away, I’m all about the glow. I’m sure my friends will testify with how long I would spend putting highlight on every day. I brought my Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder in the shade Luminous, with me. My sister bought me this for Christmas and whilst the packaging is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, I didn’t think it would get much use. BOY was I wrong. I chucked it into my case last minute to see if I’d use it and I’m so glad I did.
I drenched my shoulders and collar bones with this every day, sometimes twice, and I even put it on top of my Iconic London highlighter drops to add a bit of glitter. You could also use it as eyeshadow. I didn’t really wear eyeshadow on holiday as I have eyelash extensions but I’m sure it would work. This product is gorgeous and such a luxury to use.
I took photos both with and without flash so you can see how nice the packaging is. The glitter does make it really hard to photograph with or without flash, so I’m sorry they’re all a bit rubbish but you get the gist.
Instaglow CC Cream – £15
Following on with the glowy theme, I used the Body Shop Instaglow CC Cream in Peachy Glow every day. It’s a little orange for me on it’s own so I mix it with concealer and I am OBSESSED. It’s also got SPF 20 in it so it is perfect for holidays. It genuinely gives my whole face a subtle warm glow and I am using it still now I’m back. I really didn’t think this would be a staple for me but I so underestimated this little tube. It states that it gives you a “healthy glow” on the front and it does not lie. I also found that it minimised the appearance of my massive pores, something I always welcome!
I was a little apprehensive at first because my skin is a bit oily, and the temperatures in Croatia wouldn’t help. However, I can honestly say that it prevented my skin getting oily and I didn’t have to wear much powder. It really reduces shine, but keeps the glow and is very moisturising. My shade is the middle one, there is a really bright white one and a really dark one as well. You can see the slight glow/shimmer it adds to my hand.
Mint Mattifying Face Mist – £6
I think you’ll notice a bit of a theme in this post, I LOVE The Body Shop. I used their new Mint Mattifying face mist for a couple of weeks before my holiday to test it out. Tragically, mine went missing a couple of days before but Manchester Airport had a Body Shop so I seized the opportunity and repurchased. I LOVE using this, and it didn’t let me down in the heat. It’s only £6 which is a great price, it’s a perfect travelling size and it smells amazing. It’s also such a light mist that it’s really enjoyable to use as well. I used it after powder on holiday and I swear my makeup didn’t budge all day. It also didn’t take away any shine from my highlight so a total winning product in my opinion.
This mist is part of The Body Shop’s 5 new mists for all skin types. There’s a Calming Coconut one, an Energising Mandarin one, Strawberry Soothing and Rose Dewy Glow.
Body Yoghurt – £8.50
Another TBS product I used every day which is also a recent release is the British Rose Body Yoghurt. I bought this in the airport without trying it, but I figured that since I had seen almost every beauty influencer/blogger/youtuber I follow on Instagram plugging these, they must be pretty good. All the PR packages sent the Strawberry and Almond ones to the influencers, so I figured to really test them I’d get a different one. Obviously I picked the pink one. My skin felt really tight in the heat and I also got a bit burnt towards the end of my holiday, but this really helped.
I forgot to apply it for a couple of days when I got back home, and unfortunately that’s when the peeling started. I’d managed to avoid it for nearly a week using this! I think this must really inject a lot of moisture back into your skin. It looks and smells good enough to eat, it’s a bit jelly-like not just like a normal moisturiser. Literally like a yoghurt, in fact! (no sh*t).
I have used it most days since I bought it on the 7th June and I took these photos on the 17th and I’m nearly out already. I probably use a bit much because this product claims to dry in 15 seconds and I didn’t really find that. It dried pretty quick, quicker than standard moisturisers. I think that because of their claim I got pretty impatient as soon as the 15 seconds was up.
Skin Defence Multi-Protection Essence – £21
My FINAL TBS product I used on holiday (that’s a lie, but my final essential) is the Skin Defence Multi-Protection Essence. I love wearing this under my makeup, especially on holiday because it has SPF 50 in it. It applies so nicely, it isn’t sticky at all and absorbs in about 3 seconds. Once it’s on, it feels just like water because it’s so thin.
It is also full of vitamins to benefit your skin in other ways than just protecting you from UV rays. The PA +++ factor prevents from the UVA rays that reach really deep into your skin and accelerate aging. I may have burnt one side of my body, but I don’t risk it when it comes to my face. It also gives you quite a luminous complexion which I really like.
MUA Luxe Bronze and Sculpt Contour Kit – £5
I’ve been wearing makeup for probably 10 years now, and I only feel like I have cracked my every day makeup in the last couple of months. A major part of this was the MUA Luxe Bronze and Sculpt Contour Kit. It has 2 sections and a mirror, one dark contour section and a bronzey/shimmery section for bronzing. I have had this for well over a year and only recently tried the bronzey side and it’s a game-changer. It’s cruelty free as well! I used to use the tiniest bit of contour shade because it is so dark but adding the lighter shade first makes my makeup blend and look so much better. I wear this mainly on my forehead and cheeks and I love the way it looks.
The bronze side was ignored for so long because I thought I wouldn’t want shimmer on anywhere other than the top of my cheekbones. However, the shimmer is more pigmented in the palette than on the skin. I can’t rave about this product enough, I love applying it and there is zero fallout. I’m so mad at myself that I didn’t use this sooner! Mine is in the shade Medium/Dark. The contour shade is dark and orangey but a tiny bit over the top of the bronze shade looks insane. I also use the mirror daily to apply all my makeup because I only have a tiny mirror on the wall in my room. I can’t get really close up to it but the mirror in this compact is perfect.
This is so worth the money and as you can see, I’ve hardly made a dent and I have used it every day for ages. It’s literally my second top essential in my makeup bag after concealer.
Essential?
There are more products I love but these are all recent discoveries and absolute ride-or-die’s for me now. I think they all make you look amazing both on holiday and at home. They made my holiday skin look amazing when usually I am a sweaty mess. They kept me looking fresh and natural, not cakey, as well as protected my skin. I hope you try some of these products out, I really love them! I have also used them for a while before recommending, so hopefully you can trust my opinion. To me, all of these are now essential.
Check out my other Cruelty Free beauty posts HERE!