Even for a self-confessed beauty minimalist like myself summer, and summer holidays specifically, necessitate adding a few new products to my beauty bag. These are the things I bought, used and loved on my recent Formentera holiday.

Cheeky Bright As A Button Dry Body Buff, £10

I’m a big fan of Cheeky, the little sister brand to Cowshed, and I love this Dead Sea salt dry body scrub which is a pleasing shade of turquoise and smells of the beach. As well as using it to scrub away dry skin on my body, I use it as part of my DIY pedi routine. After soaking my feet for as long as I have time for, I dry them off, slap this on, leave it for a minute or two and then scrub it and a layer of dry skin away, to reveal feet that are considerably smoother than they were before.
You can buy it here

John Frieda Beach Blonde Sea Waves Sea Salt Spray, £6.99

I’m not big on hair styling products, most days I pretty much just wash and go, but in summer I’m partial to a spritz of sea salt spray. I’ve mentioned this one, from the recently relaunched John Frieda Beach Blonde, range before. It smells of coconut, which I love, and gives my hair enough grip and texture for it to stay in a braid or twisted knot, without it feeling weighed down.
You can buy it here

Hawaiian Tropic Aftersun Body Butter in Exotic Coconut, £4.99

I picked this up as part of my big pre-holiday Westfield haul attracted by the packaging and sold by the whiff of coconut. Hmm, there’s definitely a theme developing here. It’s one of the best body moisturisers I’ve used and definitely the best aftersun, it kept my skin smooth and soft and stopped it peeling. I’m not sure you could ask for anything more.
You can buy it here

OPI Nail Lacquer in I Just Can’t Cope-acabana, £12.50

From OPI’s Brazil collection, the first coat goes on a little streaky, but don’t panic, two coats = bright, happy, sunshiny nails.
You can buy it here

Clarins Sun Wrinkle-Control Cream For Face 50+, £19.50

When it comes to my body on holiday I’ll happily slap on high factor Boots Soltan at regular intervals, unless I’m doing something that means I’ll likely be in the water for a long time, like snorkeling or surfing, in which case I’ll go for something that no rays or water are getting through, like, at all. However cheaper brands frequently make my face break out and so I’ll usually pick up something more premium at Duty Free on the way out. This summer I tried this high factor face specific sun cream from Clarins and I’m happy to report no breakouts and absolutely no burning, even my nose, which always burns. I’ll be buying this again.
You can buy it here

Pixi Nail Colour in Soft Sea Foam, £8

In summer if my toenails aren’t coral they’re usually turquoise and my several-summers-in-a-row go-to has been Essie’s Turquoise and Caicos. This summer I’ve been cheating on my long-term summer partner with this shimmery shade from Pixi. To max the mermaid vibes I put a coat of Nails Inc Alexa Holographic on top
You can buy the Pixi colour here here. The Alexa for Nails Inc Holographic polish seems to be sold out everywhere, but you can still buy it as part of a set here.

Clinique Chubby Stick in Woppin’ Watermelon, £17

I don’t wear much make-up as a rule and I wear even less on holiday but I like to add some colour to my lips of an evening. I got this free with Glamour magazine, I think, the colour works particularly well with a tan and I swear it makes my eyes look bluer. Not only that but it stopped my lips from drying out as they often do on beachy breaks.
You can buy it here

What are your summer and summer holiday beauty must-haves? What nail polish shades are your this summer, or every summer, favourites? Anyone else love the smell of coconut as much as me?! Do share below!

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