TOP 10: BEACH ESSENTIALS

As I'm going on holiday to Marbella in a few days I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to blog about my top beach essentials. I've bought a HUGE beach bag this year (link!) as I like to overpack and be prepared for every occasion. However I have managed to narrow down my top 10 favourite items that I would recommend to anyone going on a beach holiday! Here they are...

1. Beauty Bay Lighted Mirror (link)

A portable mirror is a must for me. Even if I'm going to look like a sweaty hot mess I want to know to know about it. This is a great buy at £5 and has a magnified side as well as a normal side. Okay, so the lights aren't essential for the beach, but as a portable makeup mirror, this is a great option. You can just throw it in your clutch on a night out and reapply your lipgloss where ever, even in the back seat of a taxi! 

2. The Body Shop Hand Sanitiser (link)

This is a great option from The Body Shop! It comes in lots of gorgeous scents, such as this one (my personal favourite) the coconut variety. 

3. Garnier Ambre Solaire SPF 30 Dry Mist Sun Screen (link)

I always apply my SPF 30 Piz Buin Once-A-Day suncream in the mornings on holiday, but whatever the manufacturer's claims, you should reapply sunscreen throughout the day. I like the Garnie Ambre Solaire SPF 30 Dry Mist. Its so easy to apply and especially useful for the beach as you don't have to wait around for it to dry or worry about sand getting stuck to you!

4. Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer (link)

A concealer is one of the only items of makeup I wear on a day-to-day basis on holiday- especially when I'm sunbathing. I don't mind going bare-faced but I like to cover my pesky eye bags (although sunglasses are also helpful for this!). 

5. Nars Mutiple in South Beach (link)

A gorgeous bronze coloured cream stick product. This Multiple is perfect to swipe on your cheeks, nose and forehead (anywhere that the sun would catch naturally!) for a gorgeous, healthy glow. You can also use it on your lips and eyes too, a clear winner for me.

6. Clarins Aftersun Moisturiser Self Tanning (link)

Okay so I not it's not technically a beach product but I love it for holidays! This aftersun is so soothing and creaming- and makes your skin feel so soft! It also contains a tiny amount of fake tan which really enhances your natural glow and speeds things up a bit. A must have.

7. La Roche-Posay ANTHELIOS STICK SPF50+ 9g (link)

I love the La Roche-Posay SPF50 stick for reapplying to areas I'm more likely to burn. The high SPF is great to use it on my nose, hair-parting and on my feet! 

8. La Roche-Posay ANTHELIOS FACE COMFORT CREAM SPF50+ 50ml (link)

A high SPF is essential for you face. So you might want a tanned visage but you'll be left with pigmentation marks and wrinkles when you're older. I use this every day on holiday and use a face self tan in the evenings to ensure my face matches with my body.

9. Mini Deodorant (link)

This is my favourite deodorant but in miniature form. Beaches get HOT, need I say more?

10. No7 Anti-Ageing Shimmering Lip & Eye Screen SPF 30 (link)

This is a gorgeous product from No7. Its an SPF lip balm with a subtle shimmer, thus eliminating the need for lipgloss or lipstick on the beach (no more hair-lipgloss moments!). It's SPF 30 so will protect your lips whilst nourishing them. 

I hope you enjoyed reading what I'm going to be taking to the beach this year! What are your beach essentials?

Product Rave: Nars Tinted Moisturiser

Tinted moisturiser is something I've wanted to get into using for a while now. I'm quite lucky that I have clear, blemish-free skin (most of the time!) and started to find that foundation was getting to heavy feeling on my face. Don't get me wrong, I still adore my Laura Mercier Silk Creme but I wanted something for Summer to see if I could get away with a lighter coverage. This is where the Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser steps in. I've heard about it before and notice bloggers were using it but before now was sure that any tinted moisturiser would be too shiny and wear badly on my skin- how wrong I was. When I found out that Suzie from Hello October (YouTube & Blog) uses this I knew I had to buy it. Her skin always looks flawless and perfect and I wanted mine to look the same so I headed into a Space N.K and purchased the shade St Moritz. 

This stuff is incredible! The finish is unlike any tinted moisturiser I have tried- satin but glow-y all at once. Plus, I find this to be as long wearing as a foundation- so no awkward patches on your face with it rubbing off. My skin looks radiant (as the name suggests!) and I feel like it can breathe- it also smells pretty good too. At £29, this tinted moisturiser is quite pricey but it's definitely worth it. It's SPF 30 and has a PA+++ broad spectrum of protection so it's great to take on holiday! You get 50ml of product in the tube which is more than with my regular foundations. If you think your current foundation is too heavy but you are scared of tinted moisturisers, go out and buy this- it's so gorgeous on the skin. I thought I would only really be using this on holiday but I can tell that I'm going to be wearing foundation a lot less because of this- and I love it! 

Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser (£29)- Space N.K (link)

Back to School Makeup

A quick post for the 'Back-to-School' season. I thought I would share my everyday makeup with you all as it's so simple and would make the perfect 'Back-to-School' look. 

Base

For my base I used my Clinique Super City Block in SPF 40. I like to wear an SPF on my face everyday, even in the Winter as it really is going to help prevent wrinkles forming and this is my favourite one. It's also available in a lower SPF which I might buy for the colder months. To give my skin a healthy, glowy complexion I used a tiny amount of the Laura Mercier Radiance Primer on my cheeks. Although I think this is a good primer, something like Strobe Cream from Mac would work just as well- it's all about giving your skin that glow under your makeup. I used Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer under my eyes and the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation lightly on the face, working it in well with a Real Techniques Face Brush for a natural finish. They have light reflecting particles for added illumination and last well. 

Eyes

I use a tiny bit of Mac 'Omega' Eyeshadow on an angled brush through my brows for a tiny bit of definition- nothing too 'Scouse Brow'! I washed a small amount of the shimmery shades from my Nars Alhambra Eyeshadow Palette over my eyelids and added a small amount of Bobbi Brown Bronzer into the crease of my eye for added definition with a fluffy brush. I line my eyes with the Maybelline Gel Eye Liner in Brown which is a great dupe for Bobbi Brown's Gel Eyeliner in Chocolate Shimmer Ink at a fraction of the price (and you get a handy brush with the Maybelline one too!). I used Make Up Forever Smoky Lash Mascara on my top lashes only for a more feline effect. I love this mascara, it's honestly the best I've tried- it adds so much volume and length!

Lips

On my lips I've kept it simple as this could be a school or everyday look so I don't think a lipstick is necessary. Instead I opted for a Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector which combines all the benefits of a fabulous vanilla scented lip balm with the pale, milky pinkness of a lip gloss. These are perfect to throw in your handbag or school bag and have a nifty squeeze applicator so you don't ever need a mirror to apply it!

Final Touches...

Finally I bronzed the hollows of my cheeks, my temples and my jawline with the Bobbi Brown Bronzer (I have the lightest shade!) and added a tiny amount of Mac Dainty Blush to the apples of my cheeks, for a pretty yet natural pink flush. If you want to highlight your face, you could dust a small amount of the light Nars Eyeshadows on your cheekbones, bridge of your nose and cupids bow for a pretty finish.  I don't powder until the very end, and I only powder my T-zone to stop my face looking oily- for this I use Maybelline Stay Matte in Translucent. It's amazing and super cheap too! 

So that's my everyday/ natural/ back-to-school makeup look for you all! If you like it I might photograph my usual smoky eye look and explain how I achieve that :)

xxx