Holy-Grail Holiday Picks

I've recently just came back from my summer holiday in Tenerife, and there were, as usual, a few stand out items that saved me on that trip! At 8 months pregnant, I was worried about how I would cope in that heat, and how I'd keep myself entertained when I couldn't join in with the cocktails by the pool or the jet-ski at the beach. I tried a good few products, new and old whilst I was away, and these were the good old Holy Grails that stuck out to me whilst abroad.

1. Kindle E-Reader
I'll be the first to hold my hands up and say, I dissed the Kindle beyond belief when it first came out. I was a big book lover (geek), and to me nothing beats the feeling of holding a brand new book, the smell of the pages, the ability to stick post-its wherever my heart desires, and a Kindle to me took all of those things away. It was only this summer, when I realised that my pregnant body probably wouldn't allow me to do half of the things I normally would on holiday, and that the amount of books I would need to see me through 10 days by the pool had tripled in size, did I consider an E-Reader. I didn't shop around too much, simply bought the first one I saw in Argos. The latest model that wasn't the Paperwhite. To this day, I don't understand what the Paperwhite possibly does that justifies the £109.99 price tag, in comparison to the £59.99 i payed for the standard model. A back light and the use of 3G doesn't quite add up to double the price if your asking me... Either way, my standard model done the trick just fine. The charge lasted brilliantly, roughly 8/9 days of good usage time before needing charged, and seems fairly durable, as far as I can tell after a few months use. The only qualm I do have with the kindle is the price of e-books... Am I the only one who assumed e-books would be significantly cheaper than paperbacks? Oh how wrong I was! If you keep an eye out for deals though you should be winning, amazon generally have a decent selection on the £1.50 list! 

2. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
I'll blame Elle Darby for this one! I've been looking into a lot more self-help and motivational books recently, and I came across her recommendation for this in an instagram post she recently put up, which you can find here. I won't go to far into what the book entails, the title pretty much gives it away, but it's a great first read for anyone looking at the self-help realm, or who just really wants a kick up the arse! Everytime I finished a chapter I found myself making notes/plans/mentally preparing my wonderful future, which is what I'm looking for in a motivational read. It is a bit on the pricier side, but it's free on Kindle, and if not on there I'd still wholly recommend it!

3. Ray-Ban Clubmasters

I've been umming and aaahing for years (literally years), as to wether or not to buy a pricier pair of sunglasses. Every summer without fail I buy 5/6 pairs of Primark/Topshop/HM sunglasses, that I manage to break or lose within weeks, or failing those, I'll simply never wear them because they don't suit me. This year, I decided to splash out a bit the extra bit of money and get a pair that would hopefully see me through the summer, and that I'd actually be able to use next year. I bought the Clubmasters for £135 from Asos, which I would now say was completely worth it. Not once did I wear  another pair of sunglasses my entire 10 days, I have no dodgy bent legs, the lenses aren't scratched, and my hair didn't get awkwardly caught in the nose pads: what more could you want? I will say though, I wish I'd gotten the polarised version of the Ray Bans, my friend had those on holiday and you could see an obvious difference in the quality of the lenses. Still though, I was extremely happy with these sunglasses my entire holiday and I'm sure I'll get a lot more wear out of them (even if it does have to be in the dingy Scottish weather).

 4. Dove Summer Glow 
This has been a holy grail product of mine from when I was about 15, every year it comes right back out and every year I'm just as impressed as I was the year previously. This year especially I wanted a self-tan product on holiday with me as I was reluctant to try and lie out and tan with oil/accelerators here given the increased sensitivity of skin during pregnancy. There's no point in me doing a full review of this, the internet is saturated with folks who have been just as impressed with it and who will have written comprehensive posts on this tinted moisturiser, and if your in any doubt I urge you to jump to one of them and give it a try. It truly is a diamond in the rough, tinted moisturisers are often so so so bad, but this one is just so subtle and so easy to use, I can't fault it. (Plus it smells amaaaaazing).

 5. Make-Up Revolution Ultra Contour Palette

I'm a big contour girl, always have been (by always I mean since Kylie Jenner made it cool...). I've used many a contour kit, and in turn have shattered many a contour kit - for some reason, I can't keep a bronzer in tact for more than a month or so. In a last ditch effort to replace my Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit before my holiday, I grabbed this one from Superdrug. I had no expectations of this, I just didn't want to spend any decent amount of money on something I would no doubt ruin whilst abroad! I was so so so impressed though. The packaging is initially great, although within weeks the motif has started to wear off, as can be seen in the picture, not that that really bothers me. When your paying £8 for something your not exactly expecting the most durable of items. The product has been fantastic though. All of the colours are so pigmented, especially the highlighter, which truly is light reflecting, and perfect for the summer. It is more warm toned, which means in winter for me this might not be too useful, but for summer this was brilliant, and definitely worth the buttons you pay for it! I'd recommend checking out all of Make Up Revolutions products in Superdrug, some is hit and miss, but for the price range there's quite a few hidden gems!

 6. Chloe Love Story
This was a typical duty free purchase, but one I was so happy about. At £59.00 it was a fairly average price for a good perfume, and this one especially is so long lasting you get your money's worth with every spray! I find it so difficult to describe scents, so I won't say much more than it's a strong floral smell, but with a little extra kick to it. I can't explain it. If your ever in the realm of a Perfume Shop though, give it a smell, I promise you won't regret it! It's my summer fragrance without a doubt.

What's your Holy Grail products? I'd love to hear about them, especially given I'll have a lot of time off in the coming months to try out new things, suggestions welcome.

Till next time,
Kirsty