CLEAN REGIME: My Holiday Skincare
I have to admit that, with sun, sand & Singapore Slings at the front of my mind, skincare was somewhere around number 143 on my list of priorities whilst I was away. Nevertheless, as someone with skin that likes to surprise me (dry! no, sensitive! wait… oily! and here’s a pimple!), I took a few products with me to keep my skin in check and, most importantly, protected from the sun’s rays.
The one product that I used every day was the Invisible Zinc Environmental Skin Protector 30+. As a zinc based sunscreen it physically blocks the sun’s rays (rather than filtering them through chemicals), and this kept my face perfectly protected. It goes on a little white at first but quickly disappears into skin. The only quasi-downside is that it does such a good job that my face is now a shade lighter than the rest of my body, but this is easily resolved with a bit of liquid bronzer mixed in with my foundation. On the few days when I dragged myself from the pool or beach to do strenuous things like eat out or go shopping, I combined my sun protection with coverage by using the Invisible Zinc UV Silk Shield Foundation. I was a bit scared about using a stick foundation but it blended really easily, had excellent coverage (it doubles as a concealer). and had a nice natural finish. It says it is water resistant, and seems to hold up quite well, but it became a little more obvious after swimming and needed to be ‘re-blended’ into skin.
As I was using a fairly heavy duty sunscreen it was important to cleanse skin thoroughly at the end of the day, so I took along Planet Eve Organics Cleansing Oil. This was perfect for travel, as although it’s quite a tall bottle, it’s incredibly lightweight, and easily removes sunscreen & makeup. I also took MV Organics Gentle Cream Cleanser - one of my favourite cleansers- for when I wanted a deeper & more refreshing clean.
At night I either used Pai Avocado & Jojoba Hydrating Day Cream, Tata Harper Replenishing Nutrient Complex, or a combination of both. The Pai day cream is fine to use at night as it doesn’t have SPF and is a good general purpose moisturiser. I used the Tata Harper serum when I wanted a little more hydration, and it was also great to apply on its own under makeup, as it kept skin looking fresh & glowy and didn’t melt off in the heat. The serum is fantastic for travel as it comes in a little tube with a rollerball applicator - so no risk of spillage!
I must have been feeling a bit indulgent when I threw in a sample pack of the Dr. Alkaitis Organic Cellular Repair Mask, as I tend to be very lazy with my skincare when I’m away from home. I’m glad I did though - I was averaging about 3 cocktails a night, so I popped this on once or twice when I felt my skin needed a bit of a pep up. It’s another excellent travel product, as it is a powder that you add water to. You could easily fill a teeny container with some and pop it into your makeup bag when travelling.
Moving on from the face, the rest of the so-called regime was fairly relaxed. I took a sample bottle of Bodhi Ylang Ylang Incensa Shower Gel with me, which is basically a sexy tropical holiday in a bottle. It’s a delicious smokey & spicy floral fragrance, and the scent lingers on skin. For hair I just used hotel shampoo & conditioner (as I was swimming each day I didn’t think there was much point in getting hair perfect), but I did take Evo Happy Campers Hard Working Moisturiser as a leave in treatment and all-round grooming product.
And that’s it! I need another holiday after writing all that… Would love to hear about any of your holiday or travel skincare tips!
