Prepping for holidays

In the next few days I will be jetting off to my favourite Canarie Island for a bit and after spending most of my winter staring at a laptop in a corner of the University library, I want to make sure I am sun and bikini ready.  So, here are a few things I make sure to do before I see the sun;

In the week running up to going away, I make sure to exfoliate my skin, at least, every other day and make sure that I moisturise after every shower.  I admit, it does add an extra 10 minutes to my shower routine but believe me it's worth it when you have soft, glowy limbs.

I also like to take good care of my skin in the run up to my trip.  On holiday, I like to keep my skin makeup free during the day so having good skin is crucial, try regularly exfoliating or even doing a facial and face masks to keep any spots at bay.

I always used to shave my legs regularly on holiday to ensure that I had silky legs every day but then I discovered wax.  I find that waxing my legs a few days before I travel means that I don't have to worry about shaving them every day and there's no risk of those pesky red bumps or cuts.  Make sure you grow out the hair on your legs for a week or two beforehand (yes, that does mean I currently have gorilla legs).

After waxing, I like to use a bit of fake tan too.  This is optional because I know some people hate fake tanning, but I personally think that every bikini looks better with a bit of a tan.  Make sure you complete this step after waxing because it will apply better to smooth legs and waxing may remove some of the tan too.

The day before I go abroad I like to try to squeeze a pedicure in between packing.  Holidays are made for sandals and flip-flops so don't ruin them by have chipped or bare toenails, instead I like to paint mine with a bright colour.  Try to ensure that the polish is long lasting because it's likely you will be spending a lot of time in the water and if not it will chip very quickly.  Don't forget to take the polish with you too to touch up during the holiday (just make sure the lid is firmly on! Exploding polish in your luggage is the worst).

So there you go, my top tips for looking gorgeous on holiday!  If you're going away this Easter, let me know where you 're jetting off to?

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THE DALMATIAN COAST - CROATIA

The more observant of you might have noticed I've been a bit absent on the blog recently, and that has been because I've been away in Croatia for a week.  I went with my family for the second time and still love it there!  We spent all of our time on the Dalmatian Coast which has lots of little islands on to explore.
Split is the main city on the Dalmatian Coast and although we didn't spend any time there, we spent a couple of days in Trogir, a nearby island accessible by car.  This tiny island has some beautiful views of the Dalmatian Coast and tiny, winding streets through the centre with cobbled streets and beautiful hidden churches around every corner.  However the area was very busy with tourists, most shops were very overpriced and it was rather loud in the evenings.  It's also worth adding that you have to pay to get into any attractions such as the bell tower and the fort and the small island limits how much you can do here.  I would recommend it but for a short stay only as there isn't much to do and no beach.

We then got a taxi from Trogir to Murter (more photos later) where we got our boat for the next week.  For those interested we had a Bavaria 46 yacht for 8 of us which was the perfect size for a week.

 One day we took a trip up to Krka National Park which is a huge waterfall with a swimming area. From Skradin, a nearby town, you can catch a ferry which takes about 20 minutes to travel up the river to the National Park. After a few days of swimming in the sea it was amazing to swim in fresh water, I want to find more fresh water places to swim!  Make sure you wear beach shoes if you plan to go in the water though because it's very easy to stub a toe on the rocks!  After swimming, we walked around the waterfall, although the walk doesn't take long there are plenty of steps but you get some amazing views and it's worth the climb!

These photos of the dragonflies were taken using a Tamron 70-300mm tele-macro lens which takes amazingly sharp close up photos, it's great if you like photographing wildlife.

One of the islands we stopped at was Zlarin, a very small island with only a handful of restaurants and no roads so there's not any cars.  It's beautifully unspoilt with pretty winding streets and flowers, pomegranates, dates, figs and apricots growing everywhere!  It was by far my favourite island which is why I photographed it so much!

And finally, I had to picture the beautiful Croatian sunset.  These photos were taken in Murter which is another pretty area with some great views and Hramina Marina, the nicest marina I've ever been to (if you sail you will really appreciate a really nice marina with great showers).

So there you go, a few photos from my time in Croatia.  I fully recommend sailing around the Dalmatian Coast if you're into that as it's the best way to explore islands and find beautiful little coves for lunch spots, go swimming and get a great tan!

I hope you enjoyed this slightly different post!

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TRAVEL BRUSH KIT

So, its that time again when the luckiest of us jet off to some exotic location.  Unfortunately that wont be me, but I am going away for a fortnight and am currently going through the process of choosing the very best makeup/brushes to take with me.

So, here are my brushes of choice.

You may notice that the majority are real techniques brushes and that is because they are just so darn good!

First up, all of the orange brushes are part of the real techniques core collection, included are the buffing brush, which applies foundation like a dream.  I can't say I plan to wear much foundation while I am away but if the occasion ever arises, I wouldn't be without this baby!

The core collection also features the foundation brush and detail brush which both I use for applying concealer, the foundation brush works best for larger areas and the detail brush for pesky spots.  A winning combo.

Then, last in the core collection, the contour brush which I have been loving when I want a great contour, it packs on product and fits perfectly under cheekbones.

The other real techniques brush in question is the blush brush which I don't actually use for blush (I'm a blush-o-phobe) but I love this for applying powder and bronzer, I couldn't be without this one.
Other brushes that have captured my heart are the No.7 blend and contour eyeshadow brush which I use when I want a bit of eye definition (its a rare occasion currently) and the Ruby and Millie lip brush which I have had for yonks but haven't found another lip brush to rival it, it applies lipstick precisely and smoothly, what more could a girl want?

And finally, a little spoolie.  I think I picked this up from an eyebrow stand at 'the clothes show' years ago and have taken this on my travels ever since, its so handy and keeps those brows tamed.

The little case thing is part of the core collection too, very handy indeed!

What brushes are your travelling favourites?

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Goodies from Italia + photos

So, if you read my most recent post, you might have picked up on the fact that last week I was in Italy!

It's somewhere that I have always dreamed of going and when an opportunity to visit popped up at school, I didn't have to think twice!