Last week I took a trip to Sicily for a few days with my some of my closest friends in order to celebrate a couple of milestone birthdays (you may have seen some mention on my social media). We stayed at the beautiful Villa Dafne which is just over an hour outside the capital city of Palermo. We were only staying for two nights and so limited ourselves to only minimal hand luggage – who needs more than that anyway? It’s been a while since I shared the contents of my holiday beauty bag so thought I would revisit the idea…
I’ve accumulated a fair few mini (as opposed to sachets) and travel sized products of late (thanks in part to my subscription the Skin Organics Beauty Box) so I had plenty to choose from when it came to packing my beauty bag.
Face
Despite the need to travel light I have realised in recent years that I can’t negate my skincare products when I’m on holiday. Thankfully I am pretty versatile when it comes to my skincare so in my stash of mini’s I did have some suitable alternatives to my full sized products.
For this trip I cracked open the Balmology Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm (15ml – Full size 50ml -£27.00). This isn’t a brand I’ve used before and can’t honestly remember how I acquired this little pot but çe la vie. I followed this with my beloved Beyond Organic Ultra Radiance Serum (20ml – £65.00). This isn’t a product I would usually take on holiday as I am fearfully for it’s welfare however I was nearing the bottom of the jar and it is smaller than my alternative, so in it went! My plan was to take one of my more recent finds (Evolve’s Hyaluronic Eye Complex 10ml – £16.00) however a visit with Le Fix Beauty Bar a day or two before I left meant a last minute switch and I ended up with a generously sized sample sachet of SKN-RG Advanced Eye Elixir (30ml – £65.00) which I shared with my roomie during my stay.
For my oil and moisturiser I chose the Green People samples of Damask Rose Facial Oil and Damask Rose Moisturiser which both arrived July’s Rose themed Skin Organics box. I’ve had a full sized version of the latter previously so knew that was a go-er but hadn’t tried the oil before.
Body
In terms of body care I don’t usually worry too much when I’m away, especially if going just for a few days. I shave the night before (or get a wax if I have time) and then leave it to nature meaning I don’ have to worry about razors in hand luggage. As long as I have the following three products (in whatever guise they take) I’m happy.
For the shower I packed a Weleda’s beautify Wild Rose Creamy Body Wash (20ml – Full sized 200ml – £7.95). This I also received in the July Beauty box (a particularly good box that one) but it is available in many of the Weleda gift sets too. Post shower I will be applying the Anita Grant Vanilla & Cocoa Body Butter (15ml/ Full size 100g – £13.99). I hadn’t come across this particular brand before so it was exciting to try it out; after a day in the sun an by the pool my skin appreciated the cocoa butter!
As temperatures were high, full strength deodorant was a must so I doubled up with my trusty Gentle and Active cream deodorants from the Natural Deo Co. In hot weather I apply the gentle deo first and then go over with the active (I am sensitive to Bicarb) version. I took the handy travel sized 15ml jars with me which a just £6.00 each and last ages!
Sun
Unlike here in the UK where the temperature has dropped over the past few weeks to the low twenties/high teens, the weather in Sicily is still pretty warm; sitting around 28oC during the day and 24oC overnight so SPF was a must. I packed my trusty Odylique Natural Sunscreen SPF30 (100ml – £25.00) and a bottle of Hynt Beauty Sun Prep (50ml – £49.00) for my face (I hate the weight of regular sunscreen on my face) – and of course some Green People Hydrating Aftersun (100ml – £10.50).
As it was a holiday with the girls, we decided to make the most of the comparatively extensive me-time we had (we are all working mums with kids under six years of age) and factored in some pampering. Being the only one with any knowledge in this area, I was in charge of this aspect of the holiday.
Given we were a group of women in our late thirties and early forties and the limitations on liquids, I packed a selection of hydrating and soothing Whamisa Hydrogel Masks (£6.00) which of course were a real hit! I had tailored the gel masks to meet their individual skincare needs and they all commented on how great their skin felt afterwards – They will hate me for posting this photo!!
You can read more about travelling light in my post from earlier this year – Travel Sized: A Guide to Travelling Light
Which products did you take on holiday this year?
Images: (1, 2, 3, 4) LJS – OMUA.
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