6 Beauty Ways to Prep For Your Holiday Abroad*

Okay, so 90% of my life I spend being a slummy mummy. I’m single so I don’t really shave my legs if they aren’t going to be on show. I let my roots come in because it’s so expensive to keep on top of it and I rarely wear make up. But when it comes to going on holiday and knowing I’ll probably have my photo taken, I do make an effort. Also, when I go on holiday, I actually have a social life, I meet friends and go to dinner, and those are the things I would make an effort with at home so it makes total sense I do some beauty prep before leaving for our next trip.

So today I wanted to share six of the beauty things I do before jetting off abroad;

Paint Toe Nails
This is the only beautifying I do with LM, we spend a night before heading off on holiday painting our toenails. It’s a little treat for her and something I remember doing with my mum before we used to go on holiday. She has a little collection of nail polishes I put in her stocking last year that she likes to use. Before becoming a mother I used to always have my nails painted red, even if I wasn’t going to have them out, it was just my thing. If it’s not the summer, I can go between holidays without painting my nails, so it is a bit of a treat to do them before we go and it’s even nicer to do this together.

Dye My Hair
My hair is naturally blonde, just like LM’s. But I hate it. Aside from the year blip of 2016, it’s not been blonde since I was 18. It’s been brown and it’s now red, which is how I like it. However I’m terrible at not keeping on top of the roots. Sitting still for that long (not to mention the money) is boring. So I kinda let it fade to a rose gold colour with lovely dark blonde roots. Except when I’m going on holiday. I always find the motivation to get it dyed before going on holiday. I love to have it at that freshly dyed stage where it’s soft and glossy, I feel good even if I’m melting in 90 degrees heat.

Hair Removal
Yes, I’m one of those people. The one time I do total hair removal is before a holiday. And by hair removal I brave the wax. I hate shaving so by waxing (at least the first week of my trip) it keeps the hair at bay for longer so if I want to lie in for a bit, I can without having to worry about shaving in the shower every morning. I also shape my eyebrows not just pluck the strays.

Have a Facial
My skin is not the sort of skin that enjoys sun cream, even if it’s organic sun cream, on it every single day. It breaks out badly (it’s not happy with the heat wave even though I am) so before I go I ensure I give myself a facial. I’m talking multiple face masks, hot cloth cleansing, pore strips, the lot. I do it over a few days. If my skin is in it’s best condition before heading off on holiday, I can usually make it through the trip without a break out, that usually comes when I’m home (like I need a break out on top of the holiday blues!)

Take Care of Dry Skin
On my feet. Ever since I spent my early 20s as a waitress my feet are pretty much done. I get super dry feet which is also due circulation problems (my feet don’t sweat) and if I’m wearing sandals all day every day and walking a lot, I need to do some damage control before I go. I spend a week before going with heal balm on my feet with socks every night, it softens the skin so I don’t feel embarrassed to have them out for 2 weeks. I know this is something I could do every week but I just don’t have the motivation. Anyone else like that?

Pack My Make Up Bag
Finally, I take such care packing my holiday make up and toiletries bag. Only taking what I need, so it doesn’t take up too much room in my suitcase, but also enough that I can look my best every day.

Although, it’s all good and well making sure you look good while you’re on holiday, but another thing I always do before jetting off abroad is purchase insurance, just in case. If you’re travelling get travel insurance, it wasn’t something I did in my younger years when everything in my suitcase was Primark and if I lost it, oh well. I didn’t ever consider worst case scenarios. Had something happened abroad I could have landed myself with hefty medical bills, or found myself stuck somewhere if a flight was cancelled. Maybe it’s because these days I also have someone else to consider, and although beautifying myself for our holiday, ensuring I have travel insurance is my mothers instinct kicking in.

How do you prep for your holiday abroad?