What's in My Holiday Bag? Part 1

I am off on holiday this week and ever since I booked my tickets I have become obsessed with What's in my Holiday Bag videos on You Tube. I don't want to presume anyone has any interest in what I'm taking on holiday but I couldn't resist doing a post on the products I'm taking before I go, In the hope that maybe someone out there - at some point in the future - might find this useful. I haven't included every single product I'm taking (otherwise we'd be here forever!) to save you all from complete boredom I have omitted all the boring products, I'm pretty sure no one wants to see my bug spray, deodorant or toothbrush! :)

L to R: Garnier Body Intensive Hydrating Lotion 400ml £2.99, Superdrug,
Nivea Sun DNAge Face Sun Cream SPF 50 50ml £7.69, Superdrug,
Hawaiian Tropic Sun Lotion SPF 30 200ml £12.25 Superdrug.

First up is Sun cream. Being such a pale thing I don't fair particularly well in the sunshine, I do tan but it takes a long time and I'm prone to burning. I can't stand being sunburnt, not only is it painful but it's also very bad for your skin so I tend to wear a high factor. The suncream I have chosen to take on holiday is Hawaiian Tropic Sun Lotion in Factor 30, I have never used this before but it was recommended to me by a fellow pale skinned girl who just got back from two weeks in Mexico so it should be fine on my skin. Whilst I love the smell of all sun cream (mmm coconut scents!) this one smells particularly lovely! It doesn't feel sticky or greasy (v. important!), absorbs into the skin quickly and best of all is water resistant and has UVA and UVB protection which is a must with all sun cream!

Next up is the Nivea DNAge Face Sun Cream SPF50. I always use a really high factor on my face as I develop freckles easily and I'm hoping to avoid looking like a leather handbag by the time I'm 40. Nivea is a brand I trust and I use Nivea lotion every single day, so it was natural to buy my face sun cream from them. This will be slapped on my face, hands and decollete, I also pop higher factors over my moles - I have no idea whether this makes any difference but I like to be cautious and cover them in a high factor. The cream feels light and not too heavy or greasy for the face area...no one likes it when sun cream causes break outs! 

The price of After Sun is ridiculous so rather than spend £10 on a bottle of 'official' After Sun I opted to spend £2.99 on this bottle of Garnier Body Intensive Hydrating Lotion with Aloe Vera. It smells lovely and fresh and will hopefully feel cooling on my skin after a day in the sun.

L to R: The Pink Cow Vanilla Biscuit Bath and Shower Gel 500ml £2.99, Boots,
Alberto Balsam Coconut and Lychee Shampoo and Conditioner 400ml
£1 each, Poundland

Whilst the size is a little excessive I chose to take The Pink Cow's Vanilla Biscuit Shower gel as the boyfriend and I agreed to share it - I'm sure he'd kill me if he knew I'd revealed his love of girly fragranced shower gels on my blog! The product smells great, sweet and vanillary and best of all it doubles up as a bath foam and shower gel. I was not going to bother taking any body products but I'd rather take my own than rely on the hotel's toiletries, plus it is cheap enough to chuck out at the end of the holiday.

It's become a bit of a holiday tradition to purchase the very cheap Alberto Balsam shampoos and conditioner for my holidays. I tend to buy a different scent for each holiday and as a result certain fragrances remind me of particular places - the freesia one will always remind me of our family apartment in Florida and Sunkissed Raspberry (my favourite) makes me think of a friend's hen do in Malaga. For this holiday I chose coconut which I was delighted to come across (in Poundland no less!) as I have never seen this fragrance before and I am a total coconut fiend! These shampoos are very basic and gentle, they don't do anything fancy other than clean your hair and are perfect for holidays when you are constantly dipping in and out of the water.

Stay tuned for part two of this series which details my holiday make up :)