My Holiday Beauty Essentials and Favourites

Of course I took all my make up and lots of toiletries on holiday but I have skipped the boring stuff and wrote a list of my favourite beauty products and must haves!

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Powder in Medium Plus - I bought this just before I went to Ayia Napa because powder is a must have on holiday, I regularly topped up with this on my nights out as my skin became very oily as it is so hot. I always go back to MAC powders, they are my favourite because they are so light weight and long lasting. 

MAC 'Tan' Pigment - This was the first MAC pigment I bought and I have used it frequently, MAC pigments may seem very pricey but they last forever. When working with clients or creating makeup looks on friends I have used this many times as it is so versatile and can be used with a neutral or vibrant look. I found myself using this a lot on holiday with MAC 'Soft brown' in the crease and using various darker colours in the outer corners. For someone looking to try a MAC pigment I would certainly recommend this. 

MAC 'Candy Yum-Yum' Lipstick - I mentioned this in my recent MAC haul but only used it for the first time and holiday, I had wanted this lipstick for ages but was a little anxious to wear it as it is so bold but I was so pleased with the outcome and found it looked beautiful with so many makeup looks. I love the colour it is a fluorescent pink with purple tones. This colour is definitely in my top 5 MAC lipsticks, it is a must have pink but like all MAC satin finish lipsticks it can be a little drying on the lips. 

Victorias Secret 'VS Fantasies' fragrance mist in 'Coconut Passion' - This is my favourite body spray ever, I can't get enough of it. I love the smell of coconut it just reminds me of summer but I could cry a little every time I spray it now as it reminds me of Ayia Napa.

Victorias Secret 'VS Fantasies' hydrating body lotion in 'Love Spell' - Unfortunately before I went on holiday I could not get my hands on the 'Coconut Passion' body lotion so I bought this instead which is another of my favourite VS scents. This is the second bottle of VS body lotion I have and I have now decided I'm not a fan, as lovely as they smell I don't think these lotions are 'hydrating' I like a moisturiser to leave my skin feeling nourished and glowing but this product just seemed to disappear, next time I will try a body butter. 

Estee Lauder 'Bronze Goddess' Fragrance - I mentioned this in a recent post you can find here. Every girl needs a holiday perfume! I love this because it is so summery, now that I'm familiar with this perfume I would add to my previous description that is a very dusky and muted scent, the bottle is the perfect size and a little goes a long way! Grab it while you can as it limited edition for spring/summer.

Dove 'Summer Glow' in Medium/Dark - My face takes much longer to tan than the rest of my body so I applied this to my face daily to achieve a healthy glow which made me feel more comfortable when not wearing make up on a day time. I have used this a lot this summer, it is great because the colour is natural and it doesn't go streaky when used correctly however the smell is a big let down. 

Real Techniques 'Stippling Brush' - I often get bored of using the same products and tools so I began using this brush to apply my foundation instead of the Real Techniques 'Expert Face Brush'. I enjoy using this brush because I believe I am using less product than before which leaves my foundation feeling super light weight. 

Gelish in 'Make You Blink Pink' - This was one of the first Gelish colours I bought and it has always been my favourite colour in my collection but for some reason I never wore it myself till I went on holiday. I always have my nails painted pink on holiday but this is my favourite shade of pink, it is so bright and fluorescent which is perfect for holiday. 

Summer Nails

This week I decided to get in to the summer spirit and go for some bright nails. I'm loving this vivid orange Gelish colour called 'I'm Brighter Than You' it has been really popular with my clients and I've been dying to try it myself. I've had lots of compliments about them and surprisingly it looks great with so many outfits and colours, I think its a colour I will be referring to through out the summer! 

Gelish

Originally I aimed to carry out acrylic nail services in my salon after passing my Nail Technology course at college but I then later decided against it when I came to realise how time consuming the treatment is and I also became conscious of the damage the process of applying acrylic does to our natural nails. Although some people still do prefer acrylic nails, I have found a lot of my clients have turned against them and now prefer to enhance their natural nails with gel polish. 

Gel Polish is applied like a regular nail polish with the 3 steps; base coat, colour coat and top coat but the service requires a little more preparation to ensure beautiful nails that should last 2 weeks. 

The benefits of gel polish are that you don't have to wait for it to dry, it just simply needs to be cured under a UV or LED LAMP and after that you are ready to go with no worries of smudging, chipping or denting the polish. As with any treatment after care is important so if you want to maintain the perfect manicure I would advise you to steer clear from strong chemicals (like acetone or bleach) which may cause the polish to peel, or if you must do so, wear gloves to avoid direct contact with your nails. 

When your nails have grown you will be able to visibly see the growth and it may be tempting to start picking away but you should not remove gel polish by peeling it off, this will damage your nails and make them brittle and weak.

Gelish after 3 weeks! 

Removal of gel polish is also easy, this can be done at a salon or at home. To remove, finger nails need to be soaked in acetone for around 10 minutes, after that you will be able to see that the polish has lifted from the natural nail and you should then push off the polish with a cuticle tool. To finish, a buffing file should be used to smooth the surface of the nails and remove any remaining traces of the polish. 

I started collecting gel polish for my salon just before Christmas, there are many different brands of gel polish but after doing my research and test driving products from various brands, I decided to stock Gelish by Harmony Nails. What I found with Gelish is that it can last longer than other gel polishes, with some of my clients it has lasted 3 weeks! But the main reason I picked Gelish is because of the huge colour range. 

So far I have 19 colours (I have a sheer colour painted on another colour wheel) which have all been really popular with my clients. Gelish often bring out new colour collections but instead of buying a full collection I prefer to choose the colours I like and I think my clients will like and also colours they have requested. Some of the most popular colours in my collection are the glitters, which looks lavish all year round. When choosing colours I go for what is in demand at the time, for example at Christmas I ordered shades of red, where as now it is coming to the summer I have started buying bright and vibrant shades which are highly sought-after. When it comes down to buying, Gelish is quite expensive so I try to order about 4 colours at a time. I order online so I go through the many colours and narrow it down to my favourites. I think the next colours I buy will be a silver glitter, turquoise glitter, yellow, coral and a red/pink. 

If you are one of my clients what colours would you like to see in my collection or if you use Gelish yourself what colour would you recommend?

'Carnival Hangover' and 'All That Glitters Is Gold' with Swarovski crystals

'My One Blue Love' and 'All That Glitters Is Gold' with Swarovski crystals