PRE HOLIDAY BEAUTY PREP

With my holiday rapidly approaching I’m starting to think about the pre-holiday beauty prep I want to do before I take off.

The words “bikini body” makes me all kinds of ragey and usually result in a lengthy rant involving ever four letter expletive I know (but seriously, can advertisers just fuck off with telling people there is only one acceptable body type that should be wearing a bikini and if women don’t fit into that they should be running themselves into the ground to achieve it) so this post definitely isn’t about trying to magically eliminate my cellulite over the next twenty days! Rather these are the things I like to do before I go away so that I look and feel my best, spend less time faffing around beautifying while I’m away and, hopefully, maximise my chances to come back with an epic tan – I’m currently so pale I’d make Caspar the Ghost look like a bronzed Adonis…

EXFOLIATE
I am crap at remembering to exfoliate on a regular basis. Plus, I’m kind of lazy so it’s one of the first things that gets dropped even when I do remember so…
Planning a holiday always forces me to be a little bit more disciplined and actually do it. My skin looks and feels so much nicer for it, especially after being under wraps for what often feels like the never ending British winter. I like to use an exfoliating scrub, currently using Sanctuary Spa Resurface & Refine Ultra Polish on my arms to get rid of those ‘chicken skin’ texture micro-bumps on the backs of my arms, and the Grounded Coconut Scent Coffee Body Scrub plus some of those exfoliating gloves, like these, to buff away any dry and dead skin cells on my legs and the rest of my body.

MOISTURISE
Every time I go on holiday I’m always amazed and how much nicer my skin looks and feels and then I realise it’s because it’s been moisturised every day. Often a few times a day. I promise myself I’ll continue moisturising daily when I get back and then it lasts a week if I’m lucky… What can I say? I’m lazy and forgetful when it comes to skincare on my body. My face I’m like a fanatic about but the rest of my skin gets sadly neglected so I’ll be slapping on the moisturiser on a daily basis until I leave in an attempt to perk up my dehydrated limbs. I’m convinced I get a deeper and longer lasting tan when my skin has been well prepped before I hit the sunshine. I’m currently using this Shea Body Butter from Marks and Spencers. These body butters are just like those from The Body Shop but half the price – with the amount I use each time I apply this is much more cost effective for me.

EXPOSURE TO SUN
I tan easily and rarely get burnt but I’m super pale at the moment because living in Britain is basically like living North of The Wall for about eight months of the year! We’ve had a few nice days over the past couple of weeks so I’ve tried to make sure I’m out and about getting some exposure to the sun, wearing SPF obvs, before I go so my pasty skin doesn’t get a complete shock. I’ll also probably go on a sun-bed about twice a week before I depart. I know sun-bed use can be controversial but it’s something I’m personally comfortable going – it’s occasional use, I don’t go OTT with the sessions and I’d rather go on a handful of times before I go on a holiday than potentially end up getting sunburnt.

BEST FOOT FORWARD
I swear by the Soap & Glory Heel Genius and the Scholl Velvet Smooth Diamond Pedi Electric Hard Skin Remover to keep my feet in tip top condition. I love the Diamond Pedi – it’s amazing at removing any hard skin and isn’t terrifying like those hand held “grater” things you can get! Easy to use, easy to clean and super quick giving you summer sandal ready feet.

SILKY SMOOTH
Thumbs up if you got the Don’t Mess With The Zohan reference there.
I like to avoid the Yeti look on holiday so either booking in a waxing session or some DIY hair removal at home is always on my pre-holiday beauty prep list.
(Disclaimer time, YES, obviously no woman should feel obliged to remove body hair because of societal pressures so, if you like yours and don’t want to remove it, then absolutely don’t – no judgement here! But personally I do want to.) For hair removal at home I like the Gillette Venus Embrace Razors that have those little strips of moisturising goodness which both helps to keep my skin smooth and makes the razor glide over my skin. To keep any pesky ingrown hairs at bay I love the Bliss Ingrown Eliminating Pads.

MANI | PEDI
I don’t want to have to spend time on holiday painting my nails so I tend to get a shellac manicure and pedicure before I go on holiday. I always chip nail varnish so at least with a shellac manicure I know it’s something that I don’t need to think about and will last the duration of my trip.

What beauty prep do you like to do before you go on holiday?