SWEETIESAL

The Beach at The Colony Club, Barbados **This post is a competition entry**

I'm back in Great Yarmouth for work staying near the beach and it has occurred to me this is probably the last time I will see sand or a beach this year! *sob sob*

I was contacted about this Competition by Travel Supermarket and it is right up my street! The Beauty and the Beach Competition is for Bloggers to put forward their Beach Beauty looks and talk about how they style it up whilst beside the seaside.. so here's my take on looking hot on holiday!

Hair

Beachy Waves Styled with the Enrapture Waver

Holiday hair can be super stressful especially in warmer more humid climates. I think the most important tip for this is to just work with what your hair is naturally.. curly, straight etc.

My hair is naturally wavy, but tends to frizz whilst on holiday. To counteract this, I ALWAYS apply hair oil of some sort to combat the frizzing and drying out that happens as a result of the sun and salt water. Check out this post for my top frizz fighters!

I then either use Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray applied to wet hair, scrunched in and left to dry naturally or I use the Enrapture Waver to achieve the beachy waves. Depending on how high or low maintenance you are, both achieve a similar result with really very little effort.

My holiday hair inspiration is Blake Lively. She never really looks that 'done' yet achieves a gorgeous relaxed vibe with her hair. Plaits and up do's can look so pretty on a beach holiday, so whilst you might not normally wear your hair up whilst at home - don't dismiss the idea!

Nails

OPI Pink Friday, OPI In My Back Pocket, Illamasqua Obsess, Maybelline Ceramic Blue

Holiday nails can really make your tan pop so I always opt for a pastel or a bright, depending on the general colour themes of the capsule wardrobe! I like to apply some clear gel to keep my nails nice and strong whilst away and that way you can apply what ever colour you fancy and can also have a colour change whilst away if you want to! Just don't forget the acetone free nail polish remover!

Here are some of my favourite colours, all look amazing and very long lasting so hopefully no chips! If you aren't so brave with polishing your own nails then I would highly recommend CND's Shellac which is a UV Cured Polish that lasts for approximately 2 weeks chip free. It comes in a variety of colours and is a nice little pre-holiday treat!

For toes, I have recently discovered the stick on french polished toe nails which have actually revolutionised my life! I LOVE THEM! I think french polished toes on holiday look really classy and go with every shoe option. Painting toe nails is a bit of a pain for me as my toe nails are rather small and then with the sand and going in the sea I always find they start to look a mess. Using the false toes means that they look nice and I don't have to worry about them! I applied some a couple of weeks ago now and they are still perfect! I haven't had to stick any of them back on and I will definitely be using them going forward. You can pick them up for under £10 from Boots.

Face

Natural Makeup.. Let the freckles show through!

As I have grown older, my makeup tastes have completely changed and now rather than hiding behind a mask of makeup I am much more attracted to a more natural look.

I have suffered with my skin (adult acne) in the past and holidays were always a bit of a nightmare for me as it meant *gasp* I had to be nearly makeup free during the day?! Now that it has calmed down a lot (oil free suncream for the face is a GOD SEND) I am finding that I am so much more comfortable in my own skin and I am happy for the freckles to show through!

I have recently made the switch to Bare Minerals Makeup and I cannot sing it's praises highly enough. It has SPF and has really changed and improved the condition of my skin. It also lasts fabulously and is pretty much perfect for my blotchy oily skin which I am thrilled with!

I like to have a bronzed holiday look and use the Bare Minerals foundation and 'warmth' bronzer where the sun would naturally hit my face. You can reduce how much you use this as your holiday goes on and you get your own tan! I always pencil my eyebrows as it frames my face, and apply a coral blusher -  I'm loving Nars Blush in Orgasm at the moment! I then use a black eyeliner (Nars Long Wear) and lots of black mascara  (Benefit They're Real) to accentuate my eyes and then lips is where I can introduce a bit of colour! I find that eyeshadows crease a little more on holiday, especially when you have more oil on your face so I tend not to bother with them. Lips however can be a great area to experiment with colour. I love to wear a coral lip (MAC in Vegas Volt) or a sparkly lipgloss is a really nice look too! (MAC On a Holiday)

So there you have it! I am not overly high maintenance on holiday, I just work with what I have and it makes for a much less stressful time. You are on holiday so really you should be out and about experiencing new things and environments! We all love having nice holiday snaps but I genuinely find the nicest ones are when I don't look too done, have a big smile on my face and am obviously enjoying myself :o)