Girly Packing for a Summer Holiday!

After enduring yet more revision this morning (can't wait for it to all be done on Monday!) I looked down beside me at my half-packed suitcase and decided to have a break and create a little post on packing for holidays! Can you tell I'm over-excited to be going away to Murcia, Spain next week!? 

First of all, the reason I added the word 'girly' in the title is because this post if full of little things that I find just make you feel pretty, girly and special while you're away! Don't get me wrong, I've definitely had a few last minute 'bung-a-load-of-stuff-in-a-case' moments, but when I've got a special holiday coming up, I like to be organised and make the most of what little baggage allowance there is haha! So yeah, I guess some of these recommendations aren't essential at all, they're just things that I enjoy taking on holiday as a bit of luxury... I'm a girl... what can I say haha! To make things easier to read/follow I've split up some little tips into 3 main categories that I enjoy packing the most... I won't bother with the essentials as we all know the drill... sun cream, toothbrush, travel plug blah blah blah... on with the good stuff!

From the picture above, it's probably clear that poor Matthew, has about 1/8th of the suitcase haha! When packing make up for holiday, there are a few things that I stick to...

1. Pack your favourite foundation! You'll want one that you know you love wearing so that you feel nice at night time :) 
2. I never actually bother with make up during the day... just wear sun cream and sunglasses and you're good to go!
3. Pack some exciting eye shadows as holidays are the perfect time to experiment with some funky colours! Same rule with lipsticks :) - a few that I'm excited to try over there (I've actually been saving them until then... saddo! haha) are Mac's Melon Pigment, Mac's Costa Chic Lipstick and Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in the shade 101!
4. Definitely bring a highlighter! They look so beautiful at night time on holiday with all the lights around... my favourite is Mac's Soft& Gentle... which I also like to pop over my collar bones as I just think it looks super pretty and feminine!
5. Use a primer! It will help make up stay on despite the hot weather
6. Pack a bronzer or two (or 3... or 4 haha) just in case you're like me and your face tans MUCH slower than the rest of your body! 

Of course, the most important skincare to take on holiday is sun cream!! No matter what skin type you have, too many UV rays are never a good thing... sunburn, skin cancer and premature aging being why! So sun cream is an obvious essential, I usually go with SPF 30, sometimes SPF 15 on the last few days but I have "blonde skin" (fair, easily burnt) so to avoid sunburn I actually stay in the shade a lot of the time - I'm not all that fussed about getting a tan as my tan is never particularly dark anyway... prefer to fake it ;) haha... but if you tan beautifully, you're very lucky!! Anyway, apart from the obvious suncream/aftersun these are a few things I like to use while I'm away to keep my skin happy, healthy and soft :) (happy skin? yup that's a thing!)

1. Not sure about anyone else but sometimes using the same thick sun cream that I use on my body, on my face, gives me a few pesky spots! So this year I've decided to try using the Khiel's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense on my face... hopefully this will work well... I'll keep you updated!
2. More to deal with any breakouts caused by the sun are the Origins Blemish Treatment Pads which I imagine are going to feel lovely and refreshing after being hot all day! Also from Origins, I'm taking their Super Spot Remover which is a fairly recent edition to my bathroom cabinet... but it's so great at getting rid of annoying spots! Plus, it's only tiny :D
3. I like to take a face mask on holiday too, as whilst I'm there I always relax in the evenings getting ready... no rushing (ahhh, the beauty of a nice break!) so putting a face mask on is really nice :)
4. I guess the last product is kind of a make up-skincare hybrid... a good primer! This Khiel's one is an absolute HERO PRODUCT! It's not actually launched in Khiel's stores yet but it's available at Space NK :)

I love using this little thing from Cath Kidston (£19 in the sale) to pack up all my skincare/toiletries/hair bobbles/falsies/jewellery and all that jazz! It folds up small in the case and it's just a neat way of packing everything so that nothing spills everywhere! Plus, it involves much less unpacking when you get there = tidy hotel room!

I must say this is probably the hardest bit of packing for me. Make up, skincare... pretty much done in a flash as I always know roughly what I want to take... but clothes are never my favourite thing to have to organize. I will quickly add that I'm no fashionista at all! I would say I have developed my own kind of style, I like quite plain things when it comes to the style of clothing but I enjoy wearing different colours/patterns :) Anyway... this is the general little guide that I have in my head when I'm packing some clothes for a holiday somewhere hot!

1. I like to hang everything up that I'm taking with me (new and old) on the front of my wardrobe so I can see it all together... it also cheers me up throughout long revision sessions knowing that it's not long till holidays! haha
2. Always take a "wow" dress (or outfit of some kind) that you feel really nice in - doesn't have to be anything fancy at all... mine is probably the little black dress in the picture above. Just something that you really like and will probably save for the last night :)
3. Pack some 'throw on' stuff for the day time (I wear these kind of dresses that you can just chuck on in the morning pretty much every day on holiday)
4. Try things on before you go - I'm never really a shorts kinda girl... but after trying some on, I was pretty pleased with them!

5. Pack some nice underwear (new/old) as after all... not much makes you feel better than matching underwear haha! 

 

     6. Find the right style of swimwear that you feel good in! Now I for one know, that bikini shopping is a bit of a nightmare- I never enjoy it! But I've found that my favourite style is a triangle top- gives nice shape and feels secure if you get my drift haha! And for the bottoms, I like to wear ones that tie at the side to both reduce the whole 'muffin-top' scenario and it's supposed to elongate the legs (not sure whether it really does, but I like this style anyway) :) Once you find a style you like, you can be boring like me and just stick to the same one or branch out and have a selection!

    7. If you're a different size on the top to the bottom (most girls I know are) go for mix and match ones so you can get different sizes in each! Most shops do this now, my favourites being ASOS, Urban Outfitters and Topshop.

    8. Most importantly of all, pack clothes that you love wearing!

I think that's about it for my little summer packing guide! I was going to add in a few extra packing tips but for someone who notoriously packs FAR TOO MUCH, I thought it best to leave that bit up to you! haha... I hope this was useful or a nice light evening read :) I guess to sum up this post, I should add a little quote that I found floating around the internet (somewhere on Facebook) as I think it's one of the most important messages to bear in mind! All this kind of superficial stuff that makes us girls feel good about ourselves, really needn't be something to be even remotely ashamed off... after all...

Happy holidays to anyone that's going away! :D