Hello from Hoi An! We’re having such a lovely time in this charming little riverside city staying at the Anantara Hoi An. I think I’ve fallen in love. Being on holidays is the perfect opportunity for a seriously low maintenance beauty regime, a lot of the time I’ll go sans make up completely, although I always try to moisturise and cleanse, sometimes I forget to do that too! Other times during a holiday I’ll want to feel a little special and so will reach for these products – ones that help to bring out a glow without covering everything up or being too heavy. After a few of you have been asking about travel beauty essentials, I thought I would share what I brought with me this trip and how I have been using it all.

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My Holiday Beauty Essentials

Skin

I feel like holidays are a great opportunity to let my skin breath (it’s always so much nicer after a few days of less products), but I still like to try to loom after it. So my number one skin product is a really good sunscreen (duh!), one that let’s your skin breath whilst also keeping UV at bay. Being Sri Lankan I’m lucky not to burn that easily, but the older I get the more I think sunscreen is essential. At the moment I’m using Invisible Zinc SPF 30. I also always reach for Kiehl’s Ultra Daily Cream and Cleanser to keep my skin clean and soft. Being from down under, naturally I’ll always have with me my trusty Lucas Paw Paw ointment. (Maaaate!)

Hair

Full disclosure, often I’m wayyyy too lazy to spend too much time on my hair when on holidays, particularly when I’m visiting a humid beach destination like Vietnam! Often I won’t wash it for a few days at a time (I usually addictively wash every day), simply swimming in the ocean and pool seems to be enough. I usually just add some Moroccan Oil when it gets too dry or if I want to style it – or try to tame that crazy frizz! Scrunching it onto wet hair and then twisting and pinning up will give you some nice waves when dry. On holidays I also like to experiment with up dos – a Swedish braid or a topknot look best when your hair isn’t too clean so it’s perfect. My fave is the braid because it looks hard but isn’t – I simply part my hair and quickly braid each side all the way around to the back, and then pin up. A good supply of bobby pins is something I always need for these (and also always seem to forget – it’s amazing what I can do these days with one bobby!).

Make Up

After a day of hanging out by the pool without any make up on, I’ll often get a bit pretty (or at least try to) for the evening. This means evening out my skin with a DIY tinted moisturiser – mixing a few dabs of Bobbi Brown Even Finish foundation (in ‘honey’) to my moisturiser for a base that’s not too heavy. I’ll also perhaps blend in some Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer (also in ‘honey’) on any blemishes or my dark circles. I’l then do a dusting of my cheekbones with some Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick  in ‘rose’ (to make that sunshine related glow pop). For eyes, I’ll use the lightest shade in the shimmer brick to lighten the corner of my eyes, and and then add a lick of mascara which I’ll even out using wet fingers. On holidays I try to avoid anything too powdery on my skin so it’s more dewy than caked. I always take my brow pencil with me but it turns out I rarely use it!

Lastly, I always (as in like ALWAYS) paint my nails with white polish, often needs a few touch ups during the holiday – at the moment I’m using OPI.

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What are your holiday beauty essentials? And any little tricks for using them?