Your Ultimate Beach Beauty Guide

At last, our long-awaited summer holiday is here which means it's time to start thinking about beach beauty. So here are my top tips for summer prep tricks, from hair to skin, makeup to tanning, making sure you have everything you need to look and feel awesome when you hit the sand.

Your Best Skin:

Does your skin freak out as soon as humidity hits? There tends to be more moisture in the air in Summer therefore, some skins are definitely more sensitive to climate change than others and they react. We also perspire more, which can lead to breakouts. So, here's how to adapt to your routine.

Double Cleanse - Some people can have issues with sunscreen, which can block pores and bring out whiteheads. Make night time cleansing more thorough by cleansing twice. First, use an oil or cream based cleanser such as Cleanse & Polish (£14 Liz Earle) to dissolve the sunscreen. Then, use a non-stripping gentle wash like Pure Balancing Cleanser (£36 Elethea) to get rid of any leftovers.

Add Vitamin C - Layer it up in the evening to help counterbalance some of the sun-incurred free radical damage during the day plus it helps pigmentation. Try Vitamin C Facial Radiance Powder Mix (£15 The Body Shop)

Get A Trouble-Shooter - If you've caught a bit too much sun, spread on a layer of coconut oil - it's so pure and won't irritate sensitive skin. So try Raw Coconut Oil (£12.60 RMS Beauty)

Refresh - When you get back from your holiday, use an AHA mask to smooth and revive your skin. So try Vital C Hydrating Enzyme Masque £35.95 Image at LondonPremierLaser.co.uk

The Skin Edit:

1. Pure Balancing Cleanser - £36 Elethea















2. Vitamin C Facial Radiance Powder Mix - £15 The Body Shop















3. Superskin Concentrate - £42.75 Liz Earle















4. Vital C Hydrating Enzyme Masque £35.95 Image at LondonPremierLaser.co.uk
















Your Best Body:

Everyone neglects their body in Winter - everything is hidden under opaque tights and long sleeves plus it's too cold to apply body cream from head to toe. The result? Itchy, dehydrated, flaky limbs. However, this is very easy to sort out and here's how...

Step 1: A week before your holiday, start scrubbing daily in the shower - so try Italian Resort Smoothing Body Scrub £38 Acqua di Parma














Step 2: Use a hydrating shower gel to lock in rather than suck out moisture from the skin. So I would recommend The Method: Body Cleanse £30 Lancer.













Step 3: Try a rich moisturiser with firming ingredients such as Supreme Body £130 drsebagh.com or a body oil like Energy Bank Body Makeover £32.














Your Best Glow:

Body - Tanning formulas have come a long way - nowadays, most self tan go on really evenly, but the issue is still that they can come off patchy, which is not great when you're on day five of your holiday and you start looking like a snake shedding its skin. Of all the tans we have tried, the best one I would recommend is Phenomenal Tan £37.50 Vita Liberata. It stays put for ten days and then wears off like a real tan.

Face - Tanning the face can be tricky any imperfections get highlighted, dryness and pores can become more visible. Apply a very light layer of self tan (try Fresh Face Tan £20.99), just to warm up your skin a bit, and then enhance the tone with bronzers. There are a few new ones that have come up this Summer. So why not try Lumiere d'Ete £40 Chanel, which is super glowy and it gives quite a tanned look, so it's best if you have an olive skintone and as it's quite sheen, it's good for dry skin. Also, Terracotta Joli Teint Natural Healthy Glow Powder Duo £35.50 Guerlain gives good coverage, so it's perfect if you have a few imperfections you want to conceal.

The Make-Up Edit:

1. Lip Shine in Sacred - £22 RMS Beauty















2. Cheeky Cream Blush in Tiddly - £17 ButterLondon.com


















3. Long Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Goldstone - £20 Bobbi Brown















4. Precious BB Cream SPF30 in Medium - £29 Loccitane.co.uk
















Your Best Protection:

...Is staying out of the sun. Yep. Realistic? Nope. Ok, so we all want to have fun in the sun, but we also want our skin to have a good time - are the two mutually exclusive? Long term UV exposure is the main culprit of skin ageing, while the highest risk factor for skin cancer is singular episodes of burning. So appropriate protection is key.

Here's what to look out for...

A typical two week beach holiday where you're in the sun all day will account for about 33% of your annual sun exposure. The sudden intensity of radiation will cause a lot of damage.

There are parts of your body that don't get any sunlight outside of the summer months, so they won't have any level of melanin to give them even a small bit of protection. Be extra vigilant with sun protection on these areas such as upper thighs, stomach and inner arms.

It's misleading to think redness is a good indicator of damage. The amount of UV that causes ageing is much lower than the amount that causes burning. So, by the time the skin is red, you've already incurred damage.

It's a myth that darker skins have much more natural protection. The natural SPF of black skin is around four, which is very low. It doesn't matter what your skin photo-type is - you need sunscreen.

The Protection Edit:

1. Photoderm AR Tinted Cream SPF50+ Bioderma - Instant Colour plus protection for even the most sun sensitive skins.














2. Wet Force Expert Sun Ageing Protection Cream Plus SPF50+ £30 Shiseido - A clever, innovative formula which is activated by water.















3. After Sun Moisturizer Self Tanning £20 Clarins - Replenishes and bronzes once the sun is down.
















Your Best Hair:

There are two camps when it comes to hair in summer; the one that gives up and just lets hair do its own thing, and the girl who packs an extra suitcase full of products and appliances. But there is a middle ground, here are some of my tips to combat the heat this Summer and make sure your hair does nothing but SHINE...

Start your holiday prep two weeks before you go - instead of conditioner use a mask, which will boost moisture and not allow the sun to dry the hair out. Try totally TLC Hydrating Mask (£20 Percy & Reed)

Do your best to avoid direct sun and pool water; these two factors are most likely to damage hair and strip out moisture. If you're able to take care of your hair during the day while on holiday, it will make it much easier to style at night.

Apply Hydrate Hydra Whip Masque (£18.85 Pureology) in the morning, plait your hair and let it protect throughout the day. In the evening, rinse it out but don't shampoo, then apply Elixir Ultime (£36.50 Kerastase). Then just use your fingers to comb it into place and let it dry naturally.

Bring a straightening iron away with you to smooth out hair cuticles for an easy evening look so try Eclipse (£145 GHD)

The Hair Edit:

1. Masque Eternite £58 illuxe-saintbarthelemy.co.uk















2. Beach Blonde Sea Waves Sea Salt Spray £6.99 John Frieda
















3. Phytoplage Sublime After Sun Oil £26.50 Phytoplage

















Your Best Scent:

How do you define the ultimate holiday perfume? The possibilities are endless and everyone will love wildly different smells but in Summer, we find nothing sexier than a fresh neroli or orange blossom scent. Cologne Indelebile (£155 for 100ml EDP Editions Frederic Malle) comes pretty close to perfection. Often, though, you don't want to overdo the perfume, as warm skin diffuses smell much more, so that's when hair mist are the clever choice. So why not try Gypsy Water Hair Perfume £37 for 75ml Byredo or, if you want something sweeter, try the pretty Miss Dior Parfum Pour Les Cheveux £34 for 30ml.

The Scent Edit:

1. Cologne Indelebile £155 for 100ml EDP Editions Frederic Malle















2. Gypsy Water Hair Perfume £37 for 75ml Byredo
















3. Miss Dior Parfum Pour Les Cheveux £34 for 30ml.
















Here we have some famous faces look showing off their Beach Beauty...







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