Beach Bag Essentials

Hey all, I hope you're all enjoying your summer to the full whilst taking care of your skin with the right products. In this post, I wanted to share with you my essentials for a day at the beach.

First off, I would like to show you this cute transparent bag that was given to me during an event and I find the size of it to be perfect for travel purposes and days at the beach etc. as it holds all my bits and bobs in one place.

Now let's have a look at the actual contents, starting with, of course, sun block. I carry three with me, the reason being that on my face I use one with SPF50 (and the boyfriend likes to use the LRP one because of it's dry touch finish) and on my body I use another one which helps me tan faster. My current choices are Eau Thermale Avene SPF50 Cream, La Roche Posay Anthelios XL Dry Touch Cream and Lierac Sunific 2 Iridescent Milk Mist. A mirror is of course a must as well.

Sometimes, you just need to refresh your skin on the go and I always make sure to keep a bottle of thermal water handy. Right now I am using Vichy Eau Thermale which is paraben free and is suitable for sensitive skin. Of course I also like to keep my lips protected and for that I use Nivea Pure & Natural Milk & Honey lip balm to keep my lips smooth and moisturised.

To keep me smelling good all day long, I always make sure to pack this travel-sized Fa deodorant which has a floral scent that's not overpowering and won't make everyone avoid you because you're giving them a hayfever attack ;)

Since I am a little bit of a freak when it comes to hygiene, I always carry a hand sanitizer with me so currently I am using this one by Primark.

Lastly, I make sure to pack a wide-toothed comb, some bobby pins and hair ties with me so I can keep my hair in check and off my face ;)

What do you carry with you to the beach?

THE Products That Always Make It In My Travel Make-up Bag

Last weekend I was away in a hotel for a short break with my boyfriend and his family and as this is becoming somewhat of a habit, I thought I'd share the makeup that I always make sure I have with me for these weekend getaways.

Face

In order to try and make the most of the time I have on my hands, I tend to move away from a full face of makeup so even though I always carry the essentials for a flawless base with me, I skip foundation and opt for BB Cream instead. The slim packaging of the one from The Body Shop makes it the ideal one to carry around. The same can be said for their InstaBlur primer. Other staples are the Catrice Camouflage Cream and Essence Stay Natural as concealers and Catrice Prime and Fine Translucent Mattifying Powder Waterproof. As for blush, Milani Baked Blush 03 Berry Amore makes the cut every time because of its awesome pigmentation.

Eyes

For eyes, the star product is Max Factor's False Lash Effect Waterproof Mascara which carries me from day to night and doesn't budge even after hours in the pool playing with our nephews. I always make sure to pack Pupa Milano Made to Last Eyes 100 Automatic Eye Pencil because of its waterproof properties and pigmentation. As for eyeshadows, I switched from taking separates to this KIKO Cosmetics quad which sadly is limited edition. It has four neutral shades and since I only wear eyeshadow to dinner, it works just fine and the colours can be paired with any outfit.

Lips

Most of the space in my makeup bag is taken up by lip products as I like to match a lipgloss with my lipstick, My favourite picks are Pupa Milano Shiny Lip Fluid 001 Princes Nude (limited edition), Max Factor Glossfinity Lip Gloss 60 Polished Fuchsia and Marks & Spencer Limited Collection Lip Gloss Wine as lip glosses; Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipsticks 190 The Nuder The Better and 340 Berry Bradshaw, Givenchy Rouge Interdit 20 Illicit Raspberry and Max Factor Lipstick 655 Lilac Wine.

So those are my favourite travel makeup products :) What are yours?

UPDATED What's In My Bag?

It's been ages since I last did a 'What's In My Bag?' post and as I was looking for something different to have a short break from reviews, I thought of a couple of update kind of posts (I am also planning an updated skin care routine post).

 

The bag I have is this one by Coccinelle which is made of real leather and feels very luxurious. Being a neutral colour, it goes with almost anything and everything in my wardrobe and I have been using it extensively ever since I got it. It is very roomy inside and even comes with a shoulder strap but I prefer to hold it by the handles...it looks chicer that way! Of course, when I'm not using it, I always store it in its drawstring bag and the original bag it came in.

So, now onto the contents! It's all essentials basically like my Nine West wallet, Esprit makeup purse, tissues, La Roche Posay Cicaplast Mains Hand Cream, car and house keys, smart phone and diary and Platignum pen.

In the Esprit purse, I carry a few more essentials; so I have Nivea Vanilla and Macadamia Lip Butter, La Roche Posay Cicaplast Levres Lip Balm, Essence nail file, wide-toothed comb, perfume samples, Max Factor eye pencil, hair tie and clip, Pupa Shiny Lip Fluid 001 Princess Nude (or the lip colour I'm wearing on the day), bandaids, Zovirax, spec cleaning cloth, Paracetamol, multi-vitamins and of course a compact mirror.

 

Go on and share your bag contents ladies! I always enjoy these kind of posts!

Summer 2010 Favourite Products

Sadly, today is the last day of Summer *sob sob* and to cheer up, I decided to go through my make up collection and see which products I have used most during this summer. I will divide the products in categories such as face, body, etc... and here they are!

Body

This summer, I had a very nasty eczema attack all over my body and so I had to drink loads more water and I was using Glysolid, Dermofardi and Lavender Essential oil to bathe with followed by Sudocrem and Vaseline to keep my skin from getting dry and itchy. Thankfully, my skin is a lot better now and I hope it fully recovers soon!

On to some more interesting stuff... As a body scrub, I was using one I got from Corfu last year. I really love this scrub and I am a bit sad I used it all up. You can read a full review about it here. As for a body lotion, I was using this cheapy one which I really love the scent of... Vanilla Yoghurt! I'm such a sucker for everything vanilla! It feels silky smooth, smells good enough to eat, and leaves my skin feeling soft and supple (even with the bad eczema rash I had!). I switched this body lotion for my Hawaiian Tropic after sun each time I returned home from a day at the beach.

I have been really good to my footsies this summer by treating them to a mini pedi daily with some School Footcare products: Rough Skin Remover, Callus & Hard Skin Reducing Cream and also a Cracked Heel Repair Cream . As for depilation, I used Veet cold wax strips for legs which leave me hair-free for 4 whole weeks!

To keep my perspiration in check, I use Nivea Double Effect deodorant and during summer, I like to use different perfumes. My favourites for this summer were Christina Aguilera, Hugo Boss Orange, Guerlain Insolence and Kate Moss Velvet Hour.

Hair

Summer + hair is not a really good equation especially here in Malta where we have a very humid climate. I do not blow dry my hair during summer but I tend to use more styling products than usual to keep fly aways and frizz at bay. I use Angel treatment to restore moisture as well as a heat protector and UV protector together with some gel and a good highly moisturizing pair of shampoo and conditioner.

*Make-up Time :D*

Face

In summer, I tend not to wear any foundation to let my sun tan show and also let my skin breathe. I use a very rich moisturizer like Nivea Visage Stay Matte or Oil of Olay Beauty Fluid. I also treat my face to a weekly face mask by Montagne Jeunesse to deep clean and restore moisture levels. Should I have any minor break-outs, I treat them with Effaclar A.I. by La Roche Posay.

I still use my Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer in 103 Soft Honey and set it with my elf Studio Complexion Perfection. I then apply a rosy blusher (my choice is Rimmel Powder Blush in 004 Pink Rose) and contour/highlight with some elf Studio Warm Bronzer. I keep my face looking matte all day by blotting any oil with elf Professional Shine Erasers.

Eyes

Summer calls for a good primer to prevent the eyeshadow from fading or creasing, so I bought my first ever Eyelid Primer from elf cosmetics and which I am very fond of (well actually, I am fond of all my elf possessions!) My favourite eye shadows for summer were the bright ones in the Deborah stories palette and my Cover Girl trio Cafe au lait for everyday natural looks. To really elevate my eyes to a whole new level, I use black waterproof mascara from elf (Earth & Water) or Rimmel 100% Waterproof (which I ran out of). A flick of Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Black by elf cosmetisc seals the deal and their Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear mascara makes my brows look polished and pulled together.

Lips

Lips don't have sweat glands so I keep mine moisturized with The Body Shop Born Lippy passion Berry lipbalm. When heading out during the day, I like to use elf's Super Glossy Lip Shines with SPF15 for a just-seen sheen and protection against the sun's rays. I like neutral colours on my lips and my favourite lipsticks are Maybelline Water Shine in 02 Cocoa Shake and Deborah Rosetto 24 Ore in 13 Creamy. I like to layer some L'Oreal Glam Shine Crystals lipgloss in 301 Coral Strass over my Maybelline lipstick. I am actually on the look out for a due of the Maybelline lipstick as I think they have renamed the shade or maybe they don't do it anymore (if so it is such a pity!). Another favourite lipgloss is my Napoleon Perdis Protege Lipgloss. I love its coral colour and minty taste!

Nails

In summer, I like to wear bright colours on my both my toe-nails and finger-nails. Here's my choice of colours:

Medium Red, Lilac and Mint Cream by elf cosmetics

Shocker, Pompous and Silver Bullet by Rimmel 60 Seconds

Into the Sunset by Maybelline Wet Shine Diamonds

To prevent my nails from becoming stained with polish, I always use a clear base coat (elf clear nail polish), then I finish with some Elegant Touch glossy top coat and nourish my nails with some Revlon Cuticle Moisture Oil.

To instantly upgrade my polish with some nail art, I use Nailene's Bedazzle Earth Angel or Superstar nail stickers... great for when I don't have time to do a free-hand design.

To file my nails, I use these fierce-looking nail files from Peacocks. They are not fierce at all on my nails as they have a very gentle grit.

 

So, these were all my Summer 2010 Favourite Products! I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to seeing yours! Should you want me to review any of the items, don't hesitate to let me know! I linked the reviews of products which I have already reviewed. So, there's nothing left for me to say, except bye bye Summer, hello Autumn and we'll wait and see which new trends the new season will bring with it!

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Beach-bag essentials

Today I will share my beach beauty essentials with you ladies :)

This cutesy pink train case was a gift I got some Christmases ago from one of my aunts. It is from the Body Shop and its fairly roomy... enough to carry all my things...

~ Comb

~ Sun Protection Spray SPF15

~ Deodorant

~ Hair Protection Spray

~ Moisturizer

~ Compact mirror

~ Nail file

~ Protecting lipgloss

~ Perfume sample

What do you take with you to the beach ladies?

Lara xoxo

My Summer Essentials

Hello my beauties :)

Today I'm going to share my summer essentials with you. They cover every area of the body so rest assured you won't miss anything :P. Although, it is not included in the picture below, sunblock is the most obvious product that one looks for the most in summer so be sure to have a good one at hand, not some left overs from last year or the year before that or before that... you get the drift.

From left to right, clockwise:

Hair: - Angel Professional Water Element Nourishing Cream (take a look at the review here)

- Senscience brilliant defense protective spray with UV filter

Body: - Olive Oil Organic body scrub

- Impulse Temptation deodorant

- Veet cold waxing strips for face/bikini line (pink box) and legs (blue box)

- Scholl Rough Skin Remover

- School Cracked Heel Repair Cream

Face: - e.l.f. Professional Shine Erasers

- e.l.f. Super Glossy Lip Shines SPF 15 in Goddess, Malt Shake and Iced Latte

- Rimmel Lasting Finish Loose Powder Foundation in Ivory 001 (I only use this when I really really need it)

- e.l.f. studio Warm Bronzer

- e.l.f. Earth & Water Mascara duos in Black and Brown

- e.l.f. Waterproof eyeliner pens in Black and Coffee

Nails: - Nail polishes for French Manicure

- An array (vast hehe) of brightly coloured nail polishes

I hope you enjoyed my summer faves. Until the next post,

Stay beautiful :)

Lara xoxo