The Summer Edit: Holiday Toiletries

If you are a regular reader and/or follow me on Twitter then you will know that I jetted off to Croatia a few weeks ago and just before, I began my Summer Edit posts. I've decided to run through all things Summer and holiday related to show the sorts of things I pack. I started the series with bikinis, which you can see here and this one is all about the holiday toiletries.

On top of my usual beauty products, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, cleansers and toner etc I always make a trip to Boots before a holiday for those extra Holiday Toiletries. Here's what I plumped for this summer and what I thought!

Sun cream
I purchased two sun creams because you can never have enough and they were also on a deal. First up, I got the Piz Buin Tan Intensifier in Factor 30. I always take a high factor and stick to it when I'm only going away for a week because there's nothing worse than burning to a crisp on day one of your hols! This was a handy spray, smelt good and I didn't burn once, so I would highly recommend it. Also, it didn't weigh a lot, which sounds strange, but some bottles do drag you down on day trips!

The second sun cream I purchased was the Garnier Ambre Solaire Golden Protect in Factor 20. I'm a big fan of Garnier's creams as they always smell fresh and are super moisturizing. I also find their products to be less sticky as opposed to others. This one has a glitter effect in it, so if you're not into literally looking golden, steer clear of this one.

Thirdly, I got the Garnier BB Cream, as I hate putting standard sun creams on my face. I've been using a few different BB creams (future post) recently, so I thought this sounded perfect. However, I don't know if anyone else has tried it, but it's sticky and quite thick? I really didn't like this product, the colour seems to get stuck on parts of your face and not others and it was just not what I expected. Have no fear though! If this happens to you and you need a high factor, but don't want to show your ghost face, simply mix some sun cream with a bit of foundation - works much better!!

After Sun
This HUGE bottle from Garnier was like £3 or something, which I thought was amazing. It's still going strong, goes on well, dries fast and smells fresh - big thumbs up!

Perfume
Due to my bad habits in Boots I had about £50 worth of points to spend and was in desperate need of a perfume. I love love love Chanel Chance, Ralph Lauren Romance, Lady Million and lots the Diptyque ones, but they're all so expensive and you get about 30ml for £40+, which upsets me. If you feel the same way I recommend scouting out the counter with your top perfumes in mind and mentally noting the price vs quantity you get. Hugo Boss's Femme was the best buy this time round and it's such a pretty girlie fragrance, so if you like Ralph Lauren Romance and such I would say check this out.

Hair Products 
I took some Batiste dry shampoo for when my hair needed an extra boost, John Freida's Frizz Ease serum to lock in some moisture and keep my hair from becoming fluffy and some Mark Hill's Holiday Hair products.

I would definitely recommend John Freida's hair serum (read here for review) and the Cover Up by Mark Hill did seem to keep my scalp from getting burnt and my hair from drying out. I don't feel like it's the best out there though, so any recommendations are welcome! I only used the salt spray a few times because I was around a pool and not at the beach, it seemed to work but I don't know, I'm not a huge fan,

Hope you all enjoyed that, head over here if you haven't to see my Croatia snaps. Leave your links and the products you love when you head on your holidays too, as I need to build my Boots points back up! ;)

Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | WIWT 

Pimms o' clock

Suffering from serious buyers regret as i type this...just spent around £200 online at ASOS and Boots - oops! It's funny how we all get buyers regret when we splurge, yet most of us (including me) are spending our own money that we have earned. I still justify every-single-piece of clothing to my mum and I'm 23 with a full time job, old habits?

Anywayyyy, off topic! This is a random post, but as the sun is shining and the drinks are flowing etc etc I just felt like a montage of Pimms was appropriate. I LOVE Pimms!

All photos weheartit accept hard rock shot, which is my own skills

In case you've never let this sublime drink touch your taste buds or even heard of Pimms o Clock you will need: 

Pimms or Austins (which is the Aldi cheap version and da bomb)

Ice

Cucumber

Apple

Orange

Strawberries

Lemon
I add Lime too (live life on the edge)

Basically, pop some ice at the bottom of the glass or pitcher (you crazy kid), fill with an appropriate amount of Pimms, slice and plonk the fruit in (don't just stand there juggling it), fill up the rest of the glass or pitcher with lemonade and add some torn mint, then garnish with fancy straws, umbrellas etc and enjoy! 

If you're not into strong alcoholic flavors (it is strong though, which I didn't realise!) and are after something that defines summer, this is your drink. On that note, enjoy the sunshine and let me know your fav drinks for summer below (alcoholic and non). 

Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | WIWT 

The Summer Edit: Bikini's

As I will be heading off on holiday at the end of the week I thought it was the perfect time to run through the summer essentials and well non-essentials I have been purchasing in preparation. I'm going to split it into sections so it doesn't become one long post, starting with bikinis!

I have three new bikinis for my holidays this year...

ASOS Contrast Mini Knot Front Bandeau Bikini - £28 total

This bikini is pretty simple and doesn't really look like much flung on my decking, but it is so flattering! If you are quite small and bottom heavy (junk in da trunk) like me, I would really recommend this bikini. The small bow detailing makes you look smaller on the bottom and bigger on the top and I think navy is a classic colour for a summer bikini. I've had a few ASOS bikinis in the past and I think they are great quality and there is so much choice, took me forever to decide.

H&M Bikini Top - £10 ish (Can't remember)
H&M Bikini Bottoms - £7.99

The H&M website is terrible for locating stuff, so sorry guys can't link the top! Again, my decking is doing this bikini no justice with it flung on there, cuz that bikini top is gorgeous. It genuinely looks designer with the rose gold zip and paneling and I'm pretty sure it was £10ish. It does come with matching bottoms, but I didn't like them as they had a gigantic piece of elastic as the waistband - wtf - so I opted for these standard black ones. 

Neon Coral Bikini £7.99 bottoms, £9.99 top (no link again)

This was a last minute purchase from H&M and is deffo a post tan bikini as it is so bright! It was magically sunny in the UK this afternoon, so the sun makes it look lighter than it is in this picture (think neon coral!). It has cute little gold details to make it look a bit more expensive and again it's a good shape. I am a bit gutted though, as I found out my best mate who has the body of a model also has the same one. I might end up saving this for my trip to Spain later on in the year when she isn't there and I have utilised my gym membership more effectively! haha.

Talking of the gym, I have spinning very soon so I shall head off (have you been spinning before? It is hell on a bike. Like a never ending ride to doom - why am I going?!), let me know what bikini and general holiday essentials you have been buying, link me up!

Ps...Bloglovin is soon to be the only way we can stay up to date with each others blogs, so click the link and give me a follow if you fancy it :) catch you soon x

Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | WIWT 

Review: Sleek 'Coral' Blush

I've been meaning to get my hands on some Sleek makeup for some time and when I returned some clothes recently I was suddenly in credit again on PayPal - dangerous.

Among a few cheeky purchases with the PayPal money that was clearly burning a hole in my virtual pocket, I picked up this Sleek Coral Blush. I don't know if it's just me, but I go through real colour phases sometimes where I end up getting everything in that same shade (I had the red lipstick phase a while back). Don't worry though I haven't been rocking coral eye shadow, blush and lipstick in one....yet.

(Back to the review) First off, the packaging is sleek - har har - and reminds me of the style Nars go for. I also like the fact that there's a small mirror because you need a mirror for blusher, handy. The colour itself is warm and summery, the kind that looks good pre and post tan to warm up or compliment your skin. It's also pretty pigmented, so you only need a gentle sweep meaning it will last much longer too.

The formula isn't too powdery and it doesn't look like it will easily crumble, but even if it did at less than £5 a go it wouldn't be the end of the world. I actually got mine from Amazon in with the Sleek i Divine Au Natural Palette as I was buying a few bits here and there and it worked out cheaper.

Overall, very happy and if you want something that screams summertime then this is the blush. I will definitely be buying more, have my eyes on Pixie Pink, Flush, Life's a Peach, Suede....

Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | WIWT