Body Lotion for the Beach!

So I decided I would go ahead and talk about the lotions I am bringing with me on vacation. I am a girl that has very dry, sensitive skin and it is important for me to always have a good lotion with me when I travel. Since I will be at the beach, I am also bringing along a tanning lotion and a tan extender so that I can tan while I'm there. My skin tans very easily but I like to use lotions to help the process so I tan more evenly otherwise my tan will be really splotchy. Now I know that tanning is bad for your skin and all of that and yes I do lay in the tanning bed on a regular basis. For me personally, I like the way I look when I'm tan better than when I'm not. Even though tanning is bad for your skin I do it in moderation so that it doesn't completely destroy my skin. Now onto the lotions!

Photo Credit: Walgreens.com

The first lotion I am bringing is my Cetaphil. This lotion is the only thing I have found to help my dry skin so far. I use this mainly on my legs after I shave and for the first couple days after. I also use it after I have been swimming. When I get back from the pool or beach I always rinse off in the shower first thing to get the salt and chlorine off my skin and then I apply this all over my body to put back some of the moisture. There are some generic brands of this lotion but I prefer the name brand. I have found that some of the generic brands have a different texture and thickness to the lotion and even the name brand has a difference in texture in the bottle versus in the jar. If you have dry or sensitive skin I would suggest trying this lotion and see if it works for you because it has really helped me!

Photo Credit: SunlessDeals.com

This is the tanning lotion I am bringing with me. It is the Smile! You're Darker! from Designer Skin. I use this when I lay in the tanning bed and I plan to use it while we are at the beach. As I said before, I have really sensitive skin so scented lotions tend to irritate it. This lotion so far has not irritated my skin. I really like the smell of it too. Most tanning lotions have a very distinct smell so if you go out afterwards everyone can tell you have been tanning. This lotion does not do that. The scent is very light and smells more like a typical perfume than it does a lotion. This way if you have stuff to do after you tan, you don't have to worry about smelling like the tanning bed. One down side to this lotion is that it does not have any SPF in it. If you are worried about the UV rays from the sun or tanning bed, you should put a layer of sunscreen on under the lotion to add some protection.

Photo Credit: SunlessDeals.com

This is the tan extending lotion I use. It's called Angel and is also from the Designer Skin brand. This is in the scent Kiwi Pear. I use this lotion a couple hours after laying in the tanning bed after my tan has had time to develop, and after I shower or take a bath. This lotion just helps keep your skin moisturized so that your tan will stay darker longer. It also has some ingredients in it that help extend the life of your tan. This lotion is good if you lay in the tanning bed so that you can keep a darker color longer and not have to lay as many times. Again, this lotion does not irritate my skin and I love the scent! It isn't too strong so you don't have to worry about mixing scents with your perfume. Another good thing about this lotion is that the pump can be locked down for travel. I always hate traveling with lotions that have pumps that you can't screw back down because it always ends up squirting everywhere and wasting the lotion. This pump is able to screw down so you don't have to worry about that when traveling.

Those are the three lotions I am bringing with me. If you are someone who has trouble finding lotions that moisturize effectively, but don't irritate your sensitive skin you should try these out. I know how frustrating it can be to buy a whole bottle of lotion and then not be able to use it because either it doesn't do anything for super dry skin or it irritates it. I have been using the Cetaphil for 2 1/2 years now and it is so far the best I have found. I have only been using the two tanning lotions for almost a month. That's long enough to know that they won't irritate my skin, but not quite long enough to know if they are actually helping it as far as the dryness goes.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and that it was helpful! If you want to purchase these lotions yourself you can visit the websites I got the photos from. Have a great day!

Love Always,
Marlee

What I'm Bringing on Vacation!

For my first post I though I would show you guys what I am taking on vacation with me! This will include skin care products and makeup that I have packed. (If you would like to see the shower items I packed just let me know in the comments and I will post that.) On our vacation we will be going to the beach, an amusement park, and a water park. With this in mind, I don't have a lot of makeup packed because I have no need for it as it would just get washed or sweated off. Now lets get started!

I will start with the products in the bag on the left. It has 3 compartments. The main one, a pocket on the inside, and a pocket on the outside. I ordered this bag from a Thirty One consultant.

This is what I have packed in the main compartment. First, I have my equate makeup removing wipes. These wipes are really good at taking off all my makeup including waterproof mascara. An added bonus is that they are really cheap! This is a pack of 40 (most come in packs of 25) and I paid about $2 for them compared to the $4-$6 range of the smaller packages. I have used other makeup wipes and these are just as good and much cheaper! Next I have my deodorant. It is the ban invisible solid antiperspirant deodorant in the sent shower fresh. Then I have my favorite body spray at the moment. It is Beautiful Day from Bath and Body Works. After that is my Redken Smooth Down leave-in conditioner. This stuff is amazing! I have tried a couple other leave-in conditioners and so far this is the best! It makes my hair incredibly soft and you only have to use a tiny amount. Then I have my Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-humidity smoothing milk. And last I have my Tresemme Heat Tamer spray.

This is all the makeup I am taking with me. I have it stored in the inside pocket of the bag. On top is my powder brush from ecotools. They are an eco-friendly brand and have some of the softest brushes and the handles are made of bamboo. Starting on the left I have my Neutrogena 3-in-1 concealer for eyes. I use this as my eyelid primer. It also has an SPF of 20. Then I have my Maybelline The Mega Plush Volum' Express mascara in Blackest Black and my Rocket Volum' Express waterproof formula in black also. Under that is my jordana FabuLiner. It is a liquid eye liner pen and stays on really well for all day wear. Lastly I have my Covergirl Clean pressed powder for sensitive skin in the shade 210 Classic Ivory.

In the outside pocket. Here I have all of the smaller things I am taking with me. I have q-tips, a comb, pony tail holders, a large clip, and a bag with assorted bobby pins, hair bands, and clips.


Now we can move on to the blue bag. This bag I am using for all of my emergency type products I may need while we are at the beach or amusement parks.

Along with bandaids, q-tips, and pony tail holders I am keeping these three products. First is a Dove deodorant. I like to carry deodorant with me when I'm going to be outside a lot because I know I will get sweaty. In the middle is a Neutrogena sensitive skin sunscreen with SPF 60. I am bringing this mainly for my face because I don't want it to get burned. Last I have an EOS lip balm in the mango scent/flavor. This is my favorite chap stick at the moment.

Lastly is the bag on the right. In here I have my facial skin products.

On the top I have the Michael Todd True Organic skin care system for oily/acne-prone skin. I am bringing the cleanser, scrub, toner, and serum. I will do a review on these products in another post and explain what each one is and what they do. On the bottom I have my eye products. On the left is the Garnier Ultra-Lift anti-wrinkle cream and on the right is the anti-puff eye roller.

I am also bringing along a few lotions. I will not be including them in this post but if you are interested let me know in the comments and I will make a separate post with them in it!

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you want more in-depth reviews of any of the products I mentioned just let me know and I will make separate posts for that as well. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!

Love always,
Marlee