Summer vacation skincare & beauty essentials

I've already been on a one week vacation, but I'm looking forward to my 3 week vacation in the late August. As I planned this first week in quite a rush, I forgot some things (although I made a free packing list). Now I know what I really need in my beauty bag, so read my list.

As you can see, during summer, I don't really worry about makeup as I tend to go all natural wherever I go. However, some minor improvements may be necessary so I included those too. I'll start with and concentrate on the skin care products.

Sunscreen. This is an obvious one, just don't forget to bring it to the beach (like I have). I hope you all know how sunscreens work, but just in case, here's a video of my favorite YouTube beauty guru who explained everything - Asian Beauty Secrets.

Baby powder. Unfortunately, these usually come in larger packaging, but loose baby powders can be really useful to carry around. I usually use it to powder my thighs (they rub against each other so I have problems with that). I also use it as dry shampoo and to remove sweat and odor under my armpits. Baby powder can be used in shoes too to remove smell and prevent your feet from sweating and therefore creating blisters.

Body lotion and face cream. After swimming in salty water and all that sun exposure, your skin needs some hydration. I usually use light moisturizing creams, but sometimes you'll need something stronger. It's all up to you and your skin. Face masks are also great quick fix up. Currently my favorite body lotions are by Fruttini and I have a separate post where I talked about those and a different post talking about Nivea day care cream.

Aloe vera or cactus extract. Maybe you won't be needing this, but I definitely need something with aloe vera or cactus as I always burn to the extreme. Sometimes it's obviously my fault for not putting on sunscreen, but sometimes I take all precaution measures and I still end up looking red as a crab. Redness wouldn't be my problem, but burning and itching definitely is. Aloe vera and cactus milk (is it milk?) can really help you with this.

Chapstick. As your skin, your lips also get dry and need some care. You all know I prefer strawberry Labello (as written in this post about it), but any will do. It's even better if you choose one with an SPF.

BB cream or light foundation. There's a high possibility that your make-up will melt right off if you put on heavy foundation and everything else on top of it. I have oily T-zone and I sweat a lot so light coverage just to slightly even out my skin is the right choice for me. Of course, I also need a setting powder. I reviewed Garnier's BB creams in one of my previous posts.

Lipstick. I don't really follow that trend that light, shiny lipsticks are made for summer and dark and matte are for winter. However, it's accidentally happened that I took two shiny lipsticks with me this time. Whatever your preferences are, lipstick is a simple piece that can make you look very well put together with only one product. Green/pink one is Barry M changing color lipstick and I recently reviewed it in a different post.

Eyeliner or eye pencil. For me, doing whole eye make-up is too much struggle during summer, so I usually take only black pencil so I can do waterline and maybe eyelid line and that's all I need to make my eyes pop a bit. If I'm really doing a "whole" look, I'll take some eyeliners in colors. All of these eye pencils are reviewed in a separate post so go and check it out.
Make-up remover. Sounds pretty obvious that after putting on make-up, you'll want to remove it. Although I go towards light make-up during summer, I can't go to sleep knowing I could have some more foundation on my face. My thoughts about Garnier's make-up remover are in this post where I compared three brands.

That's all I'm taking with me. What are you packing? Where are you going for summer vacation?