Summer Essentials

I’ve been looking for products to take away with me on my summer holidays.  Here is some of the stuff I’ve found so far:

First, the essential holiday product – sun cream.  Wilko do a great range of affordable 5 star sun creams.  I was surprised at how quickly they absorbed into my skin, even the higher factors, as other cheaper sun creams I’ve used tend to stay sticky.  The kids sun cream is purple until it is rubbed in which helps make sure you don’t miss anywhere out.  Wilko also have after sun in the range.

Insect repellent is a must if you are going anywhere warm.  Effitan insect repellent protects for up to 8 hours and is made with 98.88% natural ingredients.  It is parabens free so shouldn’t case any allergic reactions.  It comes in a spray bottle and absorbs easily into the skin.  However, it doesn’t smell very nice but then insect repellents never do – I suppose that if they did smell good then the bugs would be all over you!

Burt’s Bees natural beeswax lip balm has got to be my favourite lip balm of all time.  It has a refreshing peppermint smell and has made my lips super soft.  When you apply it, it make your lips tingle which is slightly strange but once I got used to that I became completely addicted.  The fantastic thing about the lip balm is that it doesn’t seem to melt.  I always keep it in my bag so it has been outside on some of the really hot days we’ve had in the last couple of months and hasn’t once melted –not the tiniest bit – even though one day I spent about 5 hours outside in 27° heat revising for my exams!

Everything Balm by Trilogy is brilliant.  You can actually use it for just about everything – according to the box it can be used for soothing dry skin, moisturising all skin types including face, massage oil, lip and cuticle conditioning and as an alternative to mineral oil based baby care.  It is the perfect product to take with you on holiday and is a great space saver especially as it has a nice but not too strong smell so can be used by both men and women.  All of the ingredients are natural.

Aloe Pura Organic After Sun is a good natural product.  It feels cool and soothing when you apply it and absorbs quickly into the skin.  I really love the smell which is subtle and nothing like the overpowering smell of lots of other after suns.  It is more expensive than the Wilko after sun but it smells so much better and also feels more luxurious.  You can buy Aloe Pura products from Waitrose and Holland and Barrett.

This next product is slightly strange.  Eau Thermale Avène is a spray can of thermal water which also comes in a little travel size.  It claims to be able to sooth sensitive skin, sunburn and irritation and can be used to complete cleansing.  At first I couldn’t believe that someone would try and sell water as a beauty product but after trying it out on a sunny day I changed my mind.  I didn’t get sunburnt so couldn’t really test whether or not it soothed my skin but it is just so refreshing to use – it sprays a fine mist so it doesn’t look like you’ve just thrown a glass of water over yourself!  I don’t think I would buy this again though unless I wanted to splash out as it is kind of pointless!

To keep your skin looking good over the summer, Simple has a range of skincare products.  They contain no colourings or perfumes as well as no unnecessary chemicals.  The moisturiser is nice and light so it doesn’t make your skin greasy after a day of wearing sun cream, but if you do end up with a few spots there is a spot zapper in the range which is small enough to be used on-the-go as and when needed.  I really like the eye roll-on which is cool and revitalising when applied and doesn’t stay sticky like lots of other eye gels.  Simple also do a sun cream for faces which is really good as it is not as greasy as body sun cream so is better for your skin.  It doesn’t smell or have any colourings making it perfect for sensitive skin.

Finally, Radox Shower Smoothies are the perfect product for a summery shower.  They smell heavenly and come in a few different flavours.  As they lather up really well they should last for ages and the little bits of what look like fruit pips gently exfoliate your skin to stop it looking too dried out from the sun.