I’m back by the sea taking in the beautiful surroundings of Italy’s Amalfi coast and eating way too much spaghetti. For my last holiday to Mykonos I kept my beach bag pretty simple, unfortunately some products just didn’t cut it so have been axed (cough Mark Hill hair protectant which actually bleached my hair as opposed to protecting it cough cough) so thought I’d do a ‘one month on’ updated beach bag.
My trusty River Island bag from Mykonos has sort of broken, I’m fully intending on fixing it, but for now I picked up a new one from a little shop in Verona. It’s very Missoni and Italian, super light and fits everything we need in!
I picked up Phyto Plage hair oil in a pharmacy in Bologna (despite the fact that I’m going to France on Tuesday- I just couldn’t wait!) and have been using it whilst sunbathing here. It smells delicious and protects hair much better than the Mark Hill one. It does make hair look a little greasy though. It is without a doubt my new Summer hair staple and am spraying some in now as I type. For the body Clarins factor 20 spray on is perfect, it smells yummy, doesn’t leave white marks and generally protects my naturally dark skin from the sun. As I’ve got older though I’ve been spending the harsher hours (12-4) in the shade anyway and keep sunbathing to a minimum. For a little pick-me-up this Kiko Sunny Island Body Mist is ideal, it is weightless and smells like Summer and instantly freshens you up after a day on the beach/by the pool.
I also purchased a little clear makeup bag from the same shop in Verona which is a dream to use, much easier than rummaging around in an opaque one. My two staples in the makeup bag are La Roche Posay Anthelios XL SPF50 (this may just be Summer ’13 hero product) and Kiko lipshine lipstick which applies beautifully, has SPF 15 and reminds me of Chanel’s lipshine in the shade En Vogue, it also smells like pick’n’mix! I keep a Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Stick in Bad Girl Bronze in my makeup bag too to smudge onto lids just incase I need a little more oomph post beach and don’t have time to get back to the hotel. And of course my Creme De La Mer concealer with SPF25 is applied under my eyes, on my lids and on any blemishes, although Anthelios is slightly tinted so deals very well at balancing out any redness.
And voila! My super organized beach bag, throw in an iPhone, a copy of this months Allure and a Kindle and that’s me sorted.