Five Items Definitely Making Their Way Into My Suitcase For St Lucia

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As the move has taken over my life for the past few months it feels like I haven’t spoken about my upcoming holiday as much as I would have liked. On Friday 15th March me and Luke are heading on a holiday of a lifetime to one of the Sandals resorts in St Lucia to celebrate his 30th birthday, and coincidentally to celebrate selling my flat and moving out. There have been about 2 and a half weeks between moving out of the flat and heading to the airport for St Lucia which is nice as it means we can be settled back at my parents, and well and truly enjoy our indulgent holiday knowing it will be the last one for a while.

I haven’t done a relaxing, sunbathing type of holiday in quite a while so packing for me has seemed like a whole different kettle of fish; while I can loosely use my packing lists a lot of those are centred around city breaks. Most of my suitcase is going to be full of floaty dresses, sandals and swimwear but here are some of the holiday item essentials I am going to be packing to come away with me.

Essential holiday sunglasses

A good pair of sunglasses is absolutely essential for any holiday where the sun might pop out, and until now I had always gone for cheap versions from Primark or New Look, and I don’t think I ever paid more than £10 for a pair. That is until now, the wonderful team at SmartBuyGlasses offered to send me a pair of glasses and I was so excited as I’d spotted a pair of Ray Ban’s that I’d debated buying myself anyway. The Clubround glasses* have a nice rim at the top but aren’t too chunky so they’re great for when it’s actually sunny to prevent me from getting silly tan lines, and they have a stunning pink and black patterning which I absolutely love.

They shade all the sun without being too big which is one of the things which put me off buying expensive sunglasses as they all seemed pretty chunky. I was so happy when these arrived, and they come complete with the case and cloth so I can keep them nice and safe in my beach bag when I’m away. The end of February was so warm and sunny I even managed to give them a try out then and they were so comfortable so I’m excited to wear them exclusively for almost two weeks!

Holiday sun protection

It’s been a while since I needed a proper suntan lotion and something to smoother on my whole body, but Tancream ™* (£44.95) seem to have me covered with their SPF50 sun-cream which is also a gradual daily self-tan. I burn quite easily so I need all the protection I can get, so SPF50 is just right for my skin and the protection comes from a blend of organic sunscreen, gradual self-tanning and instant bronzing. Due to the fact that I can burn and I can get uncomfortable in too much direct sunlight, I like to lay in the shade when it’s too warm so the idea of having something with a gradual self-tanner really appeals as it means I won’t miss out on the sunshine glow.

The lotion is really moisturising and my skin has been loving it during the time I’ve been testing it. There’s no worry about it streaking and it’s more of a self-tan accelerator to give a nice bronze and help me when I don’t have too much direct sunlight.

How to keep my tan

To go alongside my new tanning cream, I’m going to pack up my Norvell Vivid Boost Tan Extender* (£29.99) which I want to start using as the end of my holiday nears. This cream is a moisturiser with a gentle colour builder within it and is designed to keep your tan looking great for longer. As we’re going away during March I’d love for my tan to last as long as possible so I don’t look quite as pale during our summer months. One of the things I love about this is the scent as it mainly vanilla but there are fruity hints boosted by vitamins from Watermelon and Cranberry to brighten and moisturise the skin. I’m going to use this as much as possible over the end of my holiday and when I am back to try and keep my colour so I’ll report back on it affects.

As I’m going to be dressing up a bit for the evening I’m going to take some lashes like the Ardell lashes so I can pop these on as opposed to layering on mascara as it’s going to be much easier for my limited makeup look.

Keeping my hair colour looking fresh

I am hoping to get my hair freshly coloured about a week – 10 days before I go on holiday to give the colour time to settle so it is less likely to go funny in the chlorine. But my hair hasn’t been in the full-on heat for a long time, especially not coloured hair so it’s going to need some TLC.  Joico seems to have me covered with the K-Pak Color Therapy Range* including a shampoo, conditioner and treatment mask. I have been using them for the past 3-4 weeks and really love how they make my hair feel so I’m going to decant some of the products to take away with me. The shampoo is designed to cleanse and refresh coloured hair, and with the chlorine that my hair is going to meet when away, I think the cleanse sounds like just what it needs.

I do love to have matching shampoo’s and conditioner’s as I feel that they work best together so the matching conditioner has been leaving my hair super soft and nourished. The treatment mask is something I want to try and use one or two nights during our trip when we decide to have an evening in as I think with the combination of heat and chlorine my hair will need a little pick me up.

What are your go-to holiday essentials?

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