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Last week, I packed up all of my swimsuits and beach vacation beauty essentials to head to South Carolina for a little sun and sand. When I think of beauty and the beach (what a cute blog name that would be, btw…), I think of bronzy, #IWokeUpLikeThis no-makeup makeup, surfer girl hair and glowing, healthy skin with minimal effort. My travel makeup bag includes the must-haves to get that kinda look.
If you’ve been to South Carolina, you know the beach humidity is no joke. It’s not the kind of beach air I experienced growing up in New Jersey or even when I’ve visited California. It’s special. It means you’re certainly leaving your flat-iron at home because there is no hope. To give my hair some sort of post-beach style, I picked up a mini of Bumble and Bumble’s Surf Infusion spray. Described on Sephora.com as “an oil- and salt-infused spray to create soft, sea-tossed waves with sheen for medium to thick, dry hair,” it’s the perfect product to spritz throughout towel dried hair and head to a local beach bar.
I also brought along my new Ouai Hair Oil to protect my hair during the day. It’s also great to add extra shine to my surfer girl beach hair. I really like this formula because it’s a clear oil instead of a gold/amber color. Recently, I’ve learned that when you have blonde highlights, gold/amber hair oils may turn your hair brassy (which is a problem I often struggled with). Since changing to the Ouai oil, I haven’t noticed any brassiness and I like the soft scent.
You cannot go to the beach without SPF, so naturally I brought along my previously mentioned Paula’s Choice SPF 50 moisturizer/sunscreen. I even have my husband loving it, so one less item to pack for the both of us! It’s so lightweight and absorbs quickly. Continuing on the SPF-theme, my summer go-to lip balm has always been Blistex DCT SPF 20. Not only is it great at ensuring my lips don’t burn, but it heals/hydrates them overnight when worn before bed.
The Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Intense Recovery Ampoules were probably my favorite addition to the trip. Ampoules are a Korean beauty item that is now starting to hit the mass beauty scene in the US. They’re basically little booster shots of high-performance serum/oils in a pre-measured gel capsule that help your skin manage a multitude of concerns. Estee Lauder’s ampoules specifically target anti-irritation and stress. You can use them whenever you need to help your skin recover from visible irritation – perfect for travel, spending too much time in the sun, when the seasons change (hello summer to fall) or just when you’re extra stressed out.
Every time I travel, I usually pack a sheet mask, but in this situation, I was sharing a bedroom with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend. Wearing a sheet mask felt sort of awkward before bed, so these little beads filled with oil were perfect to crack open and mix in my night moisturizer (or used alone). Plus, they took up NO room in my suitcase [I didn’t pack the entire container… just a few individual ampoules in a Ziploc bag. 😉 ]
I always switch to Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant in the summertime. It’s no-joke protection and keeps me smelling lovely all day long – especially if I’m outside in the hot sun. Yea yea, I know there’s a lot of negative talk around chemicals in deodorant, but if you live in Houston TX or anywhere in the south, it’s really tough to give up the deodorant. Also, they’ve added Olay moisturizer to the formula, which significantly helps the itchiness I would feel occasionally from the product keeping my skin super dry.
Now to my favorite – the makeup! Although I have to be honest, the makeup wasn’t very exciting for this trip since no one wants a full face of makeup at the beach. But to keep things slightly polished, I brought along my glominerals pressed base powder foundation in Honey Medium to even out my skin tone without feeling heavy. For added dimension, a light dusting of my TooFaced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer on the high points of the face where the sun would naturally hit.
When in the sun for a long time, my brows tend to lighten up a bit, so it was important I brought a brow pencil that can withstand the humidity – IT Cosmetics Brow Power in Universal Taupe is always my go-to for travel because it’s water-resistant and has a built-in spoolie brush. For my eyes, I love using Charlotte Tilbury’s Color Chameleon chubby shadow pencil in Amber Haze because it’s the perfect deep bronze-gold shade (such a Gisele sort of color, if you know what I mean). Plus, you can smudge it out with your fingers and once it sets, it is completely budge proof. A couple of coats of Maybelline Lash Sensational Waterproof mascara with a swipe of Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Gloss in Intense Spice (peachy-bronze shimmer) and I was ready to go!
I hope you found something to help you on any upcoming trips you may have planned! Next month, I’m going to Vegas for the second time ever and you can bet many of these items will be coming along – especially the hair products and ampoules because my oily self got SO DRY last time I was out there.
Are there any other beauty essentials you won’t travel without? Let me know in the comments.
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Happy sunbathing,
-Steffanie
