There is nothing quite like a nice relaxing holiday to release all the stresses that have built up over the year. However my favourite part is probably letting go of my vanity, no blow drying or straightening, no makeup, no high heels, no tricky jewellery. I always feel so free when away, and this year during the week I learnt some interesting things about my own routines.
1. Air dried hair is actually awesome
I am usually a giant fan of my hair dryer, I cannot stand the feeling of wet hair, plus you get a much neater and smoother result. However when I'm away on holidays, the idea of spending my time making my hair perfect only for it to get screwed up again in an hour when I hit the beach seems ridiculous. So this year when I went away, I didn't even pack my drier or straightener, it was au naturel all the way!
To my surprise, it was AWESOME!
After some salt n' sun, my hair seemed to thrive and look fabulous. I own a sea salt spray but never used it before. This has now changed. My new goal is to let my hair air dry with salt spray as much as possible. Not only will my hair look as fabulous as this, it will be good for my hair to not blow dry and straighten it frequently, and then it will grow and be fabulous all the time - hooray!
2. The is nothing healthy about a tan
The entire Pacific Highway is covered with billboards from this campaign. But do you think by the time I got to Byron, I listened?
Sigh, we all know this, yet sometimes the beautiful rays of the sun suck you in (along with everyone being super tanned in Byron) and you find yourself dozing in the sun thinking happy things.
My first day in Byron, I did just this (as above). While it started out fine and I did apply sunscreen, by the time we went home to head out to dinner I was red raw all over and my hair line was in agony.
Not only is being sunburnt ugly and painful, it's also hella ugly, and even though the burn occurred well over a week ago now, I still have ugly peeling and scabbing on my nose and forehead.
May this serve as a lesson to you all. It's St Tropez, or nothing!
3. Mineral makeup is still pretty amazing
When mineral makeup first came onto the market in a really big way, I was all over that shit. I didn't wear anything else for years. However around 2 years ago, I found that its dryness could irritate my skin, so I just stuck with tinted moisturisers and now BB creams to keep the moisture content up. However now my skin is sore and blotchy, it has been my best friend again.
Not only does it cover my skin beautifully and hide the ug, it's also gentle and comfortable to wear all day, and seems to not mind being placed over heavy jojoba and cuticle cream (yes that's how bad this is, cuticle cream on my face).
I think Mr Minerals will be making a giant comeback in my regular routine!
4. Aloe Vera should be used way more than it is!
When buying a moisturiser, I tend to go for heavier oily ones, I use oils for everything, so it's my natural choice. However when you are sunburnt to the point of death, aloe starts to look pretty good and memories of Mum breaking a branch off and basting you with it is all coming flooding back.
Desperate we hit up Woolworths for some relief, and despite it being a beachy town, their range of skin are was strangely low. So we ended up with this
Who knew such a boring seeming moisturiser could be so good! Not only did it cool the burn a bit and stop a lot of peeling for me, it moisturised my unburnt bits perfectly, it was light and best of all it smelled amazing! Seriously amazing, how did I not know this from when I used to work with the stuff?!
This is definitely staying as a regular!
Have you ever kept up a holiday regimen at home?
B x
