La vie en Rose ..
Fresh and clean.. It’s always good to start the day as we mean to go on (or end it), by applying a toner to the face and neck, to remove make-up and sebum, clean, moisturize and refresh the skin… And for that, I have chosen “pivoine sublime ” perfecting toner by l’Occitane which smells out of this world… And when I travel, I take the Eau Ginseng by Erborian , which is very practical in its minature format, to cool down and moisturize the skin during a long road trip or during our holidays…
When it comes to accessories and girly stuff.. my absolute must have are the « invisibobbles ».. Ring a bell ? These trendy and funny « hair rings » come in different colors and are perfect for the beach or during sport as they do not damage the hair (not too much anyway).. I also always carry a nail files in my bag, just in case…. .
Bikini body.. I also take with me the firming oil made from essential oils by Puressentiel in case of any water retention, cellulite or bloating issue that we sometimes experience before our period for example. I apply the oil after showering, or taking a bath around the buttocks, thighs, hips, stomach and I massage well (specially the stubborn zones) from top to bottom.. I see really good results if applied regularly. The texture is really great ; it is a dry oil that does not stick, quick and easy to apply, and also it is in a spray format which allows you to take it with you easily as it’s nice and light.. I use it only in the evening because certain essential oils (especially citrus fruits ones) can react badly to sun exposure, and because I am not 100% sure which ones are present in this products as it is a mix of 18 essential oils, I avoid using it before sun exposure.
=>A vacuum cup is provided with the spray, but I have never really had any use for it, I found it to be quite restricting.. but I promise that I will give it another shot for a month , and I will let you know how I get on, and how efficient it really is.
Gingerbread color, healthy glow and a good spf..
Keep calm and wear sunscreen.. Goodbye olive oil, lemon juice and other tanning gels and oils…We must be careful when going to the sun and really protect our skin to avoid looking like a dried out mummy at age 40… Even with a with a hat, a beach umbrella and some suncream (spf 40 or 50) we can still get a beautiful tan, but without the dangerous side effects;-) I always protect my body with sunscreen care oil spray in spf 30, 40 and 50, like ones by Bioderma, Nuxe sun or Clarins.. I alternate depending on my needs.. For the face, I have adopted Sun umbra sport, an organic cream with zinc in it from Australia.. It is really amazing and water resistant (only available online)..
And let’s not forget to protect your lips, an ultra fragile area of the face that at times we often seem to neglect, and that dry out very easily.. I have discovered this year, a small protector stick with sugar by Fresh sugar sport in factor 30 that I simply love and that has already found its pride of place in my beach bag;-) See through in colour, it is waterproof and protects the lips but also the eyelids and the face from UV rays.
After exposure, it is essential to repare and hydrate the skin with a good after sun or a hydrating cream. I use the refreshing after sun lotion by Nuxe which smells divine, and for the face, I never go without my subliminal essence Ultime 8 by Shu Emura, ideal for anti aging or as a make up base, it is really sublime and satin like on the skin while nourishing at the same time.. Divine (even cheri steals mine from time to time) And where make up is concerned, I am happy just to top up my bronzer and accentuate that healthy summer glow with a touch of blush in “sunkiss ribbon” by Chanel on my cheekbones and voilà !
Natural is the best way…
Paraben & silicon free is the key.. The big winners of my numerous beauty crash-tests this season are natural products, delicately perfumed, practical and effective.. Concerning shampooes, I have been using Khiels care for several months now and I see a real difference by adopting these products that contain niether paraben nor silicone..
This summer, I applied 2 of their shampooes for dry / damaged hair and colored hair ; the results are simply amazing, I am completely won over. My hair is not dried out (too much) by the ocean and the sun, it has grown a lot faster, and is so soft and shiny without having that straw effect that needs « trimming constantly » which it is used to having during this time of the year!! I will go over in more detail Khiels in a special blog review coming soon.
Scrub, scrub, scrub.. When it comes to the body, we should do a small exfoliating scrub from time to time to eliminate the dead skin and embellish our tan, which can only be a good thing 😉 That is the theory, but in practice, I am always a little bit reluctant to use body scrubs, because they are slightly too aggressive for my skin, which does not seem to like them on the whole and I end up with dried out, weak skin and small pimples..This time I tried a natural exfoliating scrub using brown sugar and jojoba, citrus fruits, evening primrose, sweet almond and apricot kernel oils.. And it was absaloutly perfect! My skin felt clean, fed, satin like , ultra soft and also the exfoliating scrub smells so good.. You can do the same treatment for lips if they are cracked or dried out with the mini special version for lips in shea butter and jojoba oil..These 2 great exfoliating scrubs are brands that you need to discover asap, and as mentioned above : Fresh.. this has really been a sucess in America and is distributed in France yessss !!! But that too we will talk about later 😉
Summer style ..
From head to toes… As I have just done a special post about beauty for hands and feet, I did not speak about my numerous favourite nail polishes in this article (I am an ardent supporter of Kure bazaar, Chanel or Essie, I have suitcases full of them).. Small reminder all the same, we can kind of ignore make up during the summer when we are beautiful and tanned because we look good naturally, but we must not really neglect our nails or the bottom of our feet which tend to dry out or crack due to walking barefoot or in flip-flops..
To sum up, do not go overboard with foundation but moisutrise well the hands and feet and we can go crazy all we want with colorful nail varnish..For those of you with catching up to do in terms of hands and feet beauty , see here😉
And to finish, if you are looking for how to fit all of these products into your beach bag ( not always an easy task I know) , me personally I have fallen for coloured bags by Sephora that I find really fun and practrical to organise all my stuff;-) Do not hesitate to share your opinions and comments on your must have products that you prefer for example;-)
Kisses and long live summer !
Xo
Pictures @peter soubbotnik
Translation @Natalya Paupe
