Travel Essentials | Beauty, Fashion and More!

I haven't been abroad in years, the last time I went I was around 6 or 7 so that's over 10 years ago which makes me a little sad. Unfortunately i'm not going abroad this year as much as I would've hoped, I'm hoping to go next year with my friends. However, on Friday i'm lucky enough to be travelling down to South West England and in particular South Devon for the week- which is just a tad exciting as it's always nice to get out of your hometown and explore somewhere else.

As i'm not going abroad this isn't going to be an 'in-flight travel essentials' which seem to be pretty popular, but I just thought i'd share my essentials as a whole for a short break within the UK. Also, just a side note, i'm not going to mention the obvious like a toothbrush so just so you know, I will be packing that but the more obvious ones won't be mentioned.

The Basics

Money- Of course you're going to need money when you get there but you could also on route. There always seems to be somebody who cannot wait to go to the toilet and insists you stop at the services, so that of course means getting out and popping to the shop to pick up a snack for your journey! There is also a possibility of a toll bridge, I know you have to pay to get into Wales so perhaps keep that in mind also!

Tissues- These are always handy, I always carry tissue around whether that's in my bag or jacket pocket. You've spilt something? Here's a tissue. Hayfever? Here's a tissue. And of course, public toilets- better to be safe than sorry!

Painkillers- We all hope not to get sick when travelling, or at anytime for that matter. So again, better to be safe than sorry always carry some form of medicine with you- painkillers are compact and are a huge relief when you've got a headache that wont shift or worse, period pains.

Beauty

SPF- Yes, even in the UK. You should wear some form of SPF all year round whether that's in your makeup or apply it separately. As it's going to be warmer during the summer months, it's likely you'll have your arms or even your legs out and when the sun decides to make an appearance you don't want to be caught short, burn and cause damage your skin.

Mini Deodorant-  I always carry some form of deodorant/body spray/perfume around with me as you never know when you're going to break a sweat and I can't think of anything worse than smelling of B.O. (there probably are worse things but still).

Minis- I love the aisle of Boots where all the dinky sized products are, they're so cute but obviously are designed for travelling. I usually go and buy the basic essentials in mini sizes such as shampoo and conditioner, body wash, deodorant and toothpaste but to save money I also like to decant products into the small travel size refillable bottles/pots, especially my skincare and some makeup bits.

Clothing

T-Shirt Dress- I love T-Shirt dresses as they're super comfortable and casual worn with leggings and Converse or skater shoes but they can also be dressed up a little with tights and flats or if you fancy, heels.

Sunglasses- Again, yes even in the UK. Not only do they protect your eyes from the rays but are also great for putting on when you've got little or no makeup on and look half asleep, woo!

Scarf- Perfect for the evenings when it gets a little chilly, there's nothing worse than being cold and having to suffer while shivering. They also make a good blanket too, which could be ideal on a plane or just to get comfy in the car while travelling. I love a good blanket scarf!

Rain Jacket- You'll probably need this in the UK when the weather is having mood swings, raining one minute, sunny the next. This can be kept in your bag as they're so light but I know you can also get macs in a bag which are super compact so there's no excuse to moan when it rains and you don't have a jacket.

Entertainment

Tablet- I tend to download games on to here for when I don't have WiFi but when I do, I shall be catching up on my bloglovin feed and Instagram. This can also be used like a Kindle, though I don't read a lot but if you do this could be your best friend while travelling.

Chargers- There's nothing worse than forgetting the chargers for your devices. I forgot my phone charger once but thankfully I could use my brothers as it was the same as mine. Pop your wires in a little pouch so they don't get too tangled in your bag and hopefully having a cute pouch while help you not to forget them!

Earphones- Definitely need these to listen to your own music rather than music your Dad has chosen. My family have completely different music tastes so it'd be a little painful to forget them while travelling!

A magazine- Or multiple! I rarely read magazines unless it's the Boots one. FYI they're free with your advantage card or £1, if you didn't know! Long journeys in the car are a perfect excuse for me to pick up a few magazines, these can also be reading material when you're just hanging out at your accommodation or better still, at the poolside! 

And that's a run through of my travel essentials! As I said i'm going away on Friday but I've scheduled posts for next week so I shall update you on Instagram when they're live, so make sure you're following me: @xtracesofmythoughts to keep up to date.

You can also follow me on bloglovin to be notified when I post, you can click the button to the right of my blog which will take you straight to it!

What are your travel essentials?

♥   ♥   ♥

July 2015 Empties | Shower, Skincare and More!

Empties posts are a bit of a weird one, it's essentially me routing through my rubbish and reviewing it. However, I find empties post really interesting as you basically get a full review on a product, whether its worth repurchasing and the bottom line of whether to try it or not. So yes, recently I have been hoarding my rubbish in order to share with you my thoughts.

Shower products seem to be the things that get used up the quickest as obviously I wash every day. 

First up I have samples of the Philip Kingsley Moisture Balancing Shampoo and Conditioner. I must admit, these were nothing to shout about, they felt a little rubbery when applying and didn't do anything spectacular to my hair- so these are not something i'd pick up again. 

Lush American Cream Conditioner

Lush is well-known for being cruelty-free, most products suitable for vegans and of course their amazing range of products. I hadn't tried a Lush conditioner before this one, I liked this but again it didn't do anything amazing to my hair. I mean it felt soft after washing once dry but I didn't see any dramatic changes. If I bought this again, it would be for the scent but there are lots of other conditioners I've heard that are great from Lush so this doesn't put me off.

Argan Oil Hydrating Hair Mask

I picked this up in a bargain shop, B&M or something but i'm almost sure they also do these in pound stores. I bought this when I felt my hair could do with treating, my hair was dry and probably quite damaged from not using heat protector(don't worry, I use it now). It is suggested you leave this on for 7-10 minutes but if i'm honest, I didn't. I used this once a week after shampooing instead of a conditioner and it definitely made my hair feel softer and look smooth. I probably would've got much better results if I left it on for the suggested amount of time, so i'd definitely give this a whirl again.

Soap and Glory Scrub of your Life and Clean on Me Shower Gel

Both of these are repurchases so need I say more? I believe I've spoken about both of these here on my blog and the scrub is my favourite, the shower gel lasted me a little over a year so you're definitely getting your moneys worth!

The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel

I didn't think i'd find a shower gel that I love equally as much as Clean on Me but I have. I hate the taste of grapefruit but I love the scent. This shower gel is perfect for morning showers as it smells so fresh and invigorating, it'll definitely wake you up!

It usually takes me a good while to use up skincare, most of it gets used twice a day but you don't need a lot.

Another one I've mentioned previously on my blog and was in my last empties, here. It's the Garnier Micellar Water, I've not tried that many micellar waters but this was the first I tried and loved so I've always gone back to it. It's so affordable and you get a lot in the bottle.

Vichy Purete Thermale 3 in 1 One Step Cleanser (1. Cleansing Milk 2. Toner 3. Eye Makeup Remover)

Here I've got another sample which lasted me about six months, not bad going huh? I didn't use this daily but I did use this when I couldn't be bothered to first use micellar cleansing water and then cleanse again. This is quite a liquid-y cream formula which can be applied all over the face to remove face and eye makeup and it did a good job! Though this is considered high-end, it isn't the most expensive therefore I would repurchase it as it'd be good for travelling rather than taking three separate products.

Aveeno Cream with Natural Colloidal Oatmeal

Towards the end of last year, I started to suffer with extremely dry, itchy and flaky skin around my eyes. Still to this day I have no idea how it came about but I was starting to feel so self-conscious about it, my eyes were always pinky/red and I could barely apply any concealer as it clung on to the dryness/flakes. Nice, not.

I decided to pop into Boots and ask at the pharmacy if they had any suggestions, I was convinced it was a form of eczema so she suggested this and gave me a free sample. If I could remember her name and what she looked like i'd go back and thank her because my eyes were back to normal within a few days. I'm scared to be without this now so I've repurchased the full-size. I'd recommend it to anyone that suffers with dry skin or eczema.

I Love...Coconut and Cream Body Butter

This came in a gift set I had for my birthday. I'd seen a lot of I Love... products but had never actually tried any myself so I was excited to give this again. It smelt amazing though I think it would be a little sickly for some people. I did manage to use all this up and I didn't love it nor hate it. I wouldn't rush back to repurchase this again but I definitely wouldn't write it off.

Lip balms

I don't think i've every fully used up a lip balm, I always used to loose them so to finish three in such a short space of time was weird. None of these have brands so I believe they may have again been from a bargain store, they were alright but nothing to shout about.

Other

Sanex Dermo Invisible Roll On and Sure Compressed Aloe Vera Deodorant

I've definitely gone through more deodorants but if I showed them all they'd probably make up half of the post themselves. I decided to opt for something more eco-friendly this time, both of them are actually. I've come to the conclusion that I much prefer roll-ons FYI.

And last but not least, Avon Anti-Rub Stick

This thing has saved my feet from the crippling blisters that come from wearing new shoes. I simply pop this on where I find shoes tend to rub, put my shoes on and most of the time i'm blister free. This helped me break in my Topshop Skater Shoes that killed my feet the first time wearing them. I recently ran out of this and I've already got my repurchase on the go.

That's it for my empties! To save or not to save my rubbish next time? Haha!

Have you got any product recommendations?

Let me know!

♥   ♥   ♥