Last Minute Holiday Buys

Evening my little cupcakes.  I hope you've all been enjoying today in the sunshine - it's sure been a scorcher i tells ya! I arrived back from London late last night so it's fair to say I've been absolutely cream-crackered all day. For those of you who don't know, I've been on a trip with uni to a big exhibition for 6 days and it's been so exciting to be showing my work - I've had lots of good things come from it including interest in my children's book and potential jobs for the future/placements for summer - I've even had my work featured on a very well known graphic design site so to say it's been successful is an understatement! I'm grinning like a cheshire cat right now (and a very tired one at that...that'll teach me to wear wedges for 10 hours straight ;)).  There's no rest for the wicked though - I jet off on holiday in the early hours of Tuesday morning, so I'm currently in the process of unpacking one case and packing another (nightmare! my floor has never seen so many carrier bags and clothes!) - I definitely feel as if I'm ready for a holiday - I really need to recharge my batteries. Anyway,  I took a drive down to the nearest retail park last week to pick up some last minute bits for my holiday as I won't have chance tomorrow and I thought I thought what better thing to do than show you what I picked up... Everyone loves a holiday haul right?

| St Tropez Self Tan Dark Mousse |

Call me high maintenance, but one cannot simply arrive in a sunny country looking like a milk bottle on legs.  Whenever I go away, I fake tan beforehand so that I don't stick out like a sore thumb once I arrive.  St Tropez is my go-to fake tan. I find the mousse so easy to apply and fuss-free and I like the colour it gives.  I've never tried their dark version before but I thought I'd give it a whirl. I've since tried it and I have to say I think I prefer the normal version - the dark just looks a bit too muddy on me.  I can usually get away with not washing the guide colour off the normal version if I'm going out, but with this one I absolutely have to make sure it's off before I pop out as it looks too much. Oh well - atleast I've tried it.  I'll still use it but I much prefer my St Tropez normal mousse. 

| Tangle Teezer Travel |

I cannot live without my Tangle Teezer - me and that hairbrush are like the ultimate little dream-team and without it i simply can't function and my hair has a mardy.  I travel quite a bit, so I figured I'd whack the travel version in my basket.  It's really handy because it's slightly smaller and has a little protective case so that the bristles don't get damaged in your suitcase.  I took it to London with me and it was a little life saver - it kept my hair from throwing it's toys out of the pram and going all frizzy on me! Just what you need if you're a fellow traveller like me.

| Sanctuary Pore Refining Toner- Travel Size |

Ahh mini products... Every time I go away I relish shopping for mini bottles of stuff.  They're much more interesting and cute than normal sized bottles of stuff!  Sanctuary do some lovely skin care and this is my favourite of the bunch - their Pore Refining Toner.  It keeps my skin looking and feeling fresh and gets rid of any cack (Cack - be gone!) If you're in need of a good toner then it's worth trying this one. I loves it.

| Bourjois Bronzing Primer & Maxi Delight Bronzer |

I really tried not to get sucked in by Bourjois new summer offering. I failed.  Their new bronzing range is really tempting and as soon my holiday was booked I justified grabbing their bronzing primer as I've had my eye on it for a while.  It's said to be similar to the infamous Chanel Bronzer so we will see if it lives up to those claims (i own both so I shall be testing on holiday!)  Their products were on offer so I picked up the Maxi Delight bronzer too.  It's flipping huge. Honestly, the photos don't show the size but it's almost bigger than my head (slight exaggeration there...) I have a review coming up shortly of these 2 - I'm really liking the Maxi Delight at the momento.

| Charles Worthington Mineral Hair Rescue Masque |

My hair is partial to a masque or two.  I picked this one up for my jollydays as my hair tends to get a bit straw-like in the sun. Being blonde it often has the tendency to look really brassy too so I always pick up a conditioning treatment to use half-way through the holiday to refresh and revive my poor little frazzled ends. I really liked the sound of this one.

| Soap & Glory - Archery Brow Pencil |

I've never really tried Soap & Glory's make-up offerings but really wanted to give their eyebrow pencil a whirl.  It has a pencil on one end and a brush tip on the other that works more like a pen.  I really like this so far although I have to say the colour is really light. Now, I'm not a fan of a 'scouse brow' but I do like my eyebrows to look defined and the blonde version is possibly a touch too light - but I still like it anyway as the pen works as a great base for my HD Brows.  Nevertheless, I'd definitely buy one of these again - i really like it so far.

| Batiste - Conditioning Mist with Argan Oil |

When I saw this I had to grab it.  I'm a big fan of Batiste and I'm also a big fan of conditioning hair oil so the two combined was just a must-have! I often smooth a bit of oil over any frizzy-bits after I've styled my hair so this sounded like the perfect finishing touch without the risk of over-doing it with the oil.  I haven't yet tried this but I really cannot wait to give it a spritz - It's such a good idea and something that I haven't really seen on the market yet.  Thumbs up Batiste - you have pleased me.


And so that's yer lot! I have a few reviews coming up involving some of these products I'm sure - but these are just my first impressions.  I'm currently in the middle of packing my suitcase so wish me luck with that - I'm always always overweight with suitcases - give me a weight allowance and I'll bloody well use it (and more!).  Any tips on efficient packing for a girl who loves to take everything including the kitchen sink will be welcome...

Have you tried any of these products?