My Essential Pre-Holiday Beauty Preparation!

I love holidays; I love everything about them (minus the packing and remembering of important things like passports etc, the paying for the holiday, and mostly the coming home); but I definitely love the excitement of looking forward to it, starting the holiday early at the airport - and yes I do mean boozing at wherever they'll put up with us in the departure lounge, boarding the plane, arriving (love it when that heat hits you as you step off the plane), and then of course the holiday itself.

However, before I go on holiday, there are definitely beauty chores that need tending to so that my holiday is as chore free as possible. I mean who wants to be shaving daily, or doing nail polish etc. when there's fun to be had?! Not me, that’s for sure! That's why I'm letting you know about my absolute essentials when it comes to my own holiday beauty preparation.

Hair Appointments:

The first chore to be tackled was my hair, because, other than the roots needing to be done, I wanted my hair colour as fresh and as vibrant as possible for the whole holiday; and with the potential for excessive fading due to the sun and swimming pool action, this was even more important for me. I stuck with the same colour combination I've been having recently, as I felt that a change (not in overall colour, just the tips) could mean that the colour build up that I had achieved so far with the orange-y tips could all be undone, thus there would be even more risk of fading.

I recommend having your hair colour done a few days before you fly if you're going for something slightly new/different, that way you have time to make alterations, should it not be to your liking. Otherwise, get it done as close to your departure time as possible for longevity.

Manicures and Pedicures:

Before gel nail polish existed, I would just go for a bog standard manicure before my holiday, in the hope that my nails would look nice for as long as possible; but then end up having to re-do or top up my nails myself throughout the holiday, since normal polish is extremely prone to fading and chipping very quickly, more so when in a holiday environment.

Nowadays, we have gel polish... thank god, and it has been an absolute godsend because it absolutely 100% lasts for my entire holiday (well unless I'm going on an extended break of more than 3 weeks - I wish!) without chipping, or fading. I had gel polish on both my finger and toe nails, which lasted for the entire holiday, and then some. In fact, the only reason it had to come off was due to regrowth. Although I actually have a post coming up soon about how to extend your gel polish a little longer, if only down to regrowth starting to show. I got my nails done the day before I went on holiday, which worked well for me as they lasted perfectly.

For your reference, I had my nails done at Blink Brow Bar at Selfridges in Manchester; and the colours I believe I had were Artistic Colour Gloss in shades Sexy (the coral-y pink shade on all but 'feature' ring finger), Sultry (the orange shade on my feature finger) and Halo (the sparkly top coat on my thumb and ring fingers)!

Hair Removal:

Well I've already written an article on hair removal recently, so I won't go into it in too much detail as you can read that here! However, when I go on holiday, I absolutely need to feel like I am hair free for the entire time. I mean nobody wants to be in a bikini with hairs that have escaped, or grown back poking out, do they (ew)?!

So, I tend to schedule in a bikini (Hollywood) and thigh wax as standard and then epilate the rest of my body (underarms and lower legs) as I can just about take the epilation pain there but then I keep on top of the fuzz with the epilator, if and when I need to whilst over there - which is rare, but I take it with me anyway! Now that I am doing some at home laser hair removal, I'm hoping that this will be a redundant step for future holidays though.

I also make sure my eyebrows are freshly threaded, as nobody likes a messy brow. ;-)

This isn't an eyelash perm image, it's an old image from a very old Max Factor False Lash Effect post.

Eyelashes:

I think this is another holiday essential if you want your eyelashes to look great whilst by the pool/on the beach during the day, but don't want to be putting makeup on for whatever reason. I personally don't wear makeup at all throughout the day whilst on holiday, unless going to a day time event/club - so having my eyelashes 'done' just makes me feel better about that.

I was actually due to have my eyelashes either permed or extended at Blink Brow Bar on the day that I left the country. However due to a mishap beyond my control, I was unable to make it there that day. I will be having these done on another occasion, so expect a separate review post on this soon.

Others:

Lots of people have fake tan applied before they jet off on their jollies, but I find this to be a total waste of time, since as soon as you hit the pool, the chlorine actually strips the tan straight off. If you're planning on staying poolside, this may not be such an issue, but I definitely like taking dips to cool down, at the very least. I do take a few short sunbed sessions to prepare my skin for the sun before I go, not necessarily the healthiest option, but I do find it helps to prevent overcooking my skin the moment I get there.

Weight loss - I always try to diet and tone up before a holiday. The fact that people will be seeing me in not much more than 'glorified underwear' through the day is a large factor in this. Obviously this is a personal thing, you may not need to lose any (lucky thing) but if you do, timing with this will depend on how much you need or want to lose.

Exfoliation is a key treatment to do both before and throughout your holiday if you're planning on tanning. The more you exfoliate, the better your tan will be, and the longer it will last. Dead, dry skin is not a good look at any time though. I tend to use a nice body scrub AND a scrubby mitt or sponge to slough away any dead cells.

So there you have it, my holiday preparation essentials. I would normally have posted this earlier in the year, however I obviously still had a lot going on then with my personal life (and then technical issues), so it's a case of better late than never and this will hopefully help those of you jetting off for some winter sun. You lucky things.

What holiday preparation do you do?

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Me, Ibiza, Photo's. :-)

General messing around at the airport and on the plane, plus the first sunset viewed from the first hotel.

So, as you know, I've been on holiday, and these are just a few of my pictures from my time on The White Isle (Ibiza). Apologies for the picture quality, I've had to download some of my own images from Facebook due to a mess up with my SD card that was in my camera. There's been fun, frolics, friends and many other F words, but it has been amazing, I loved every single second.

First few days, drinking, meals, morning afters.

By far my favourite events on the island were the boat parties, namely Driftwood and the Island of Trance boat party, also Captured festival and the subsequent after party was a definite highlight too. Top quality trance being played, unlike in the larger 'super clubs' with the superstar dj's and a good crowd to boot, what's not to like?! I'll be writing about these events separately though, so do keep your eyes out for that one!

Boat parties and general shenanigans on the boats - you need to check these out if you visit Ibiza. Also a few images of me being caught 'in the moment' without even knowing I was being snapped, ha.

Obviously there was a lot of alcohol involved in my time out there, so messing around and making a total idiot of ourselves was high on the agenda, hence many of the silly, not so flattering images included in this post! However, I am all about the fun, and not censoring images that were taken in the many moments of fun, that aren't quite so pretty is a consequence - sorry about that, lol.

L-R: First 2 are top of Ushuai Tower for Sasha, Pool Shot (no make-up eek), Bora Bora Beach before Sasha @ Ushuaia and me being an idiot at Captured Festival.

Finally some of the many group shots, we never did manage to get all of us together at one point for what would have been an epic image, but that's the problem with having fun... scheduling anything other than that is a total no go.

Good times.

Meals, messing about with eyeliner/crisps and aftersun in our hotel room whilst drunk, the U shaped potato skin to make U.V, Superclubs (Privilege), Festivals (Captured) and Sunsets (at Mambo).

Below are 4 shots in the curry house on our last night all together, it's the closest we got to a group shot, it took 4 attempts and we still didn't manage it, but here's the attempts of capturing as many of us as possible in one shot, ha.

Hope you've enjoyed seeing a few of my snaps, sorry if I've bored you to death, I'm still overly excited about how much I loved being out there with most of my besties. I almost didn't come back, ha.

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Hi Honey, I'm Home!!

View from our hotel in Playa D'en Bossa.

Sunset at Mambos.

View from Playa D'en Bossa hotel.

Sun.

Hola chicas.

This is just a quick post to say hello and let you know that I am back from my holiday to Ibiza. I had such an amazing time out there, having the most fun you can possibly have on two feet with the best friends on the planet. I met some awesome new friends, caught up with some others that I hadn't seen for years and generally had the time of my life out there. I am knackered, I need a holiday to recover from my holiday, but that's because there was too much fun to be had and sleep obviously came secondary to that. ;-)

I'll be posting many images over the next few days, both from the holiday and also from my clubbing and partying antics over the last few months - since I have failed massively at dodging cameras since being single, and actually haven't minded how I looked on some of the photographs as much as I thought I might.

I had intended on posting the clubbing/partying images earlier (and generally posting more regularly to boot), but alas there's always been something to stop me in my tracks, this time it was a local issue with the internet that made the internet either keep dropping out, or only work at snails pace... which has apparently now been resolved; and also more recently I have been in a massive rush, getting myself ready to make it to that plane on time.

I hope you've all been well and I am totally looking forward to sharing my escapades with you guys, and showing you some of the fabulous products I've been discovering recently too. It's definitely time to get my writing/blogging mojo back. The images above are just a few scenic ones from the island.

Adios for now.

Claire. xx
 

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

My Bikini/Beach Body Challenge!

Possibly the only 'before' picture I can bear to show, from being in the garden the other week.

Going on holiday is always something to look forward to, especially if you're going abroad... getting out in the sun with your nearest and dearest and partying the nights away is absolute perfection for me. However, there is ALWAYS one bugbear that I dread (and I'm sure many of you do too), and that's getting my body out in full view in a bikini.

I have lost over 5 stone in weight, which is great but I still have about 1 stone or so still to go, and also with plenty of wobbly bits to tone up before I'd feel 'happy' being so bare, especially in front of a lot of friends this time (including male friends)... now I am single and not jetting off with my ex.

So, I have made it my mission to get my body bikini ready by the time I go away at the beginning of September, which gives me approximately 11 weeks to get in shape and ready for public viewing (god help me). I'm looking to slim down, tone up and generally get my body (and my face for that matter) looking the absolute best they can, including my skin tone/texture, hair removal and suchlike. :-)

I'd love to be able to go and have the fat sucked right out of my problem areas (tummy, bingo wings, inner thighs, back fat and hips - to list a few, ha), but my budget would not run to that unfortunately. :-(

So, unless I have a lottery win, I'll just have to do it the hard way with diet and exercise. That being said, I will be trialing products in the run up to the holiday that claim to help with weight loss, firming and toning and generally getting my body and skin in shape. So, expect lots of beach body posts once I am back, letting you know how well I did, and how well I felt specific products worked.

I'll also be finishing off with a recap detailing my results, including the highs, lows and what I felt worked the most, for me.

Are any of you off on your jollies? If so, what have you done/are you doing to prep for them? x

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Oliveira Lisboa Shoes - Perfect Holiday Shoes!

What girl doesn't love a good pair of shoes? I know I do! I've got a fair amount of shoes to my name - although I have to say, I do spend most of my spare (and not so spare) money on beauty products, so my collection isn't as large as I'd like it to be - yet! ;-)

I have to admit, I love a bit of animal print, and these fabulous shoes from Oliveira totally satisfy my animal desires, without going over the top. The mixture of the animal print with the bronze-y brown works perfectly and would flatter any skintone, in my opinion.

I also think that these are perfect for taking on holiday, firstly because I think they'd look even more amazing against tanned skin (don't forget your SPF though, girls), but also as they're quite lightweight, and wouldn't take up lots of your precious suitcase space.

The design of the shoe is quite different from most shoes I've worn in recent times; mostly due to the quirky toe post, that is one of Maria Oliveira's signature design features in her shoe collection - and I think it works very well with the design as a whole. I was fully expecting the toe post to rub, like between the toe flip-flops have done to me in the past, but actually it's been perfectly fine, and dare I say... comfortable.

Comfort has to be a factor when I wear a shoe these days (unless I know I won't be stood/walking much, in which case, bring it on), and these shoes have proven to be very comfortable indeed. I think the slightly cushioned soles help a great deal, but I also think that the heels are just the right height to look good, whilst still allowing me to be able to walk in them.

All in all, I'm very happy with these shoes, and am just willing on the warmer weather so that I can make more use out of them.

I should also mention that Oliveira shoes come in an amazing plastic shoebox that has a draw in it, so that the shoes inside are accessible even when stacked up - I love this, and would happily transfer my whole shoe collection into these boxes. You can actually buy the boxes separately for £5 each - which seems like a lot if you own a lot of shoes, but if your shoes are worth more, then it's a no brainer to keep them safe (and make your life easier)!

You can buy the Lisboa shoes from oliveira.uk.com for £70 with free delivery.

What do you think my lovelies?


PR Sample - Views are my own!

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

I'm Back From My Holidays....

I had a fantastic time in Egypt, even though I caught some kind of bug over there - along with 6 others from my travelling party! Normal service shall be resumed ASAP; I just need to get my luggage (that was heavily over my weight limit due to the masses of beauty products I took with me) unpacked/dealt with first, otherwise I'll never do it!!