The sun-kissed look: holiday beauty tips for the summer

In an ideal world, you’d start thinking about holiday beauty a few weeks before you head off to your beach hotel in order to make sure you’re looking on point for those holiday snaps.

But this isn’t an ideal world, and you’re busy, so chances are you’ll only remember you’re off on holiday a week before and start to worry that you haven’t booked in a bikini wax or even thought about what to take with you.

Don’t worry, though. A week is still more than enough time to start doing some basic holiday beauty prep so you’re feeling confident about stepping out in the sunshine.

One of the main things you can do before you go away is book yourself in for a haircut, however last minute. People generally think that one of the best holiday beauty tips is to get a hair cut after you come back, but experts say that it’s best to go with a freshly cut head of hair.

Getting it cut will get rid of dead ends and leave it strong and healthy, so it’s better equipped to handle the sun, sea and sand.

When it comes to skincare, exfoliation is what it’s all about. Having fresh, new skin on display means you can build a more even tan.

Get your hands on an exfoliating scrub for your feet, too, and use it once every two days before you leave to get those toes flip-flop ready. If you’ve not got time to get rid of all that dead skin yourself, then invest in a pedicure, as it’ll boost your confidence no end.

If makeup is your guilty pleasure and you have a pretty big collection at home, then now’s the time to streamline things, as you shouldn’t need a full makeup set on holiday. Even if you’re quite abstemious with your makeup collection, you’ll still probably need less in your travel makeup kit than you would do at home.

When you’re on holiday, your cosmetic travel bag should only really contain the essentials. For your travel makeup, think mascara, concealer, eyeliner, a bit of eye shadow, bronzer, an eyebrow pencil and a lipstick or two. After all, red lipstick can turn practically any look from day to night.

Don’t worry, this is by no means an exhaustive list. You might never include some of the above items in your personal travel cosmetics kit, but you’d never dream of leaving home without, say, your eyelash curlers. That’s absolutely fine, just make sure you keep it down to whatever is the bare minimum for you.

Make sure you’re not taking up valuable space in your hand luggage by packing things in your makeup travel case that you don’t actually need. And, make sure that you don’t pack things that mean you’ll be slaving away in front of the mirror for hours, trying to achieve the perfect holiday makeup look, when you should be out enjoying yourself.

On that note, this might be the most important of all our holiday beauty tips. When you’re on holiday, especially on a beach holiday, you shouldn’t feel the need to be applying makeup at all times. On the beach, it’s just impractical, as even the most waterproof mascaras smudge, and foundation isn’t your friend when you’re hot and sweaty.

Your best bet for holiday skincare on beach days is a good facial sun cream, and maybe a bit of a decent BB cream to even out your complexion. A stylish pair of sunglasses and a good hat are all you need to finish off your beach look.

Whilst you, obviously, shouldn’t overexpose your face to the sun, letting it catch a few gentle rays will give you that lovely glow that should mean you shouldn’t have to pile on the foundation or bronzer in the evenings.

We’ve written a whole post about beach holiday hair care, but the essentials are to protect your hair from the sun with hats or hair masks.

Rinse your hair under the shower before diving in the sea or the pool to protect it, and when you’re washing at the end of the day, end with a blast of cold water to stimulate your follicles. We don’t know about you, but we especially love travel beauty tips when they don’t cost us a thing, and this is a totally free way of revitalising your locks.

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Armed with these holiday beauty tips, you’re ready to pull out your favourite summer dress and hit that beach bar, relaxed and glowing, making the most of every second of your holiday.