My Holiday Essentials

 Right to left:

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish: The cult favourite! I used to steal this off my mum use this when I was about 14 and I remember how brilliant it was even then. Its more expensive than my usual skin care products but its worth every penny! I have combination skin and need something to balance out my dry cheeks and my oily t-zone, I don't like using anything too harsh on my skin and this is lovely and gentle. When used with the muslin cloth it still feels deep cleansing unlike other cleansers I've used that just seem to sit on the surface. I'm always impressed with how soft and smooth it leaves my skin!

Hawaiian Tropic 'Pink Bits' Sun Cream: I am a pale lady so I knew I had to take precautions before going in the Cyprus sun! I need factor 50 otherwise I just 'lobsterfy' even here in England! This cream is very thick and does take a little longer to rub in but it smells gorgeous, like all the Hawaiian Tropic products, coconutty and tropical. Its very water resistant which is great when your in and out of the pool. I think its meant to retail at about £10 but I picked mine up from Home Bargains for a bargainous £3.99

The Body Shop Vitamin C Daily Moisturiser: As some of you may know I work for the Body Shop so I'm always abusing my staff discount! I've worked for the company for almost 5 years so I know which products are the best! The Vitamin C range is by far my favourite, its aimed at people with dull, lacklustre skin and I can vouch that it really does work by brightening and smoothing the skin. This moisturiser is a newer member to the range and has SPF30 to protect from the sun. Its a great consistency, not too rich but still very moisturising. It does tingle a bit when applied but my skin felt hydrated all day even in the heat.

The Body Shop Rainforest Radiance Hair Butter: This hair butter only launched a few weeks ago so I was given a travel size to test-run. I'm always having my hair dyed and I change it often so I'm constantly trying different products that claim to prolong hair colour. You can apply it to wet or dry hair, I applied it to dry hair, waited about 15 minutes and washed and conditioned as usual. In hindsight using the butter on holiday wasn't a very fair test as the sun, sea and chlorine faded my pink an orange streaks in record time :( However it smells gorgeous and it did leave my hair soft and shiny. I'll have to try it again on freshly dyed hair and give you a true review. The rainforest hair range is eco-friendly and doesn't contain any nasty sulphates, parabens or colourants which is definitely much healthier for hair and the environment! For a small tub its £3 or for a larger one its £8.

Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Oil: I actually borrowed this Tea Tree oil off my friend who I holidayed with! I don't usually use the neat oil but I found it was fantastic for drying up any blemishes and it was also great to apply on pesky insect bites. I really like the smell of Tea Tree oil and I like the fact that its a strong antiseptic however still very natural compared to other spot products such as Clearasil or Oxy.

What are your holiday/ hot weather essentials? Have you tried any of the above products?

Thanks for Reading :)

Rachelle xxx