Inside My Makeup Bag – The Bahamas Edition

I love wearing bronze and glowy makeup on beach holidays, so my recent Bahamas trip was the perfect opportunity to try out some of the new summer offerings from Shoppers Drug Mart!

Swimsuit

A lot of the new releases came in sleek multi-purpose palettes, so it was easy to bring them along rather than packing all my bulky individual pieces. And I have to admit – it felt really special filling my bag with this shiny new makeup!

Here’s a closer look at the makeup I brought with me:

Quo Summer 2018 Collection

A lot of the Quo products were designed with the prettiest metallic duochrome packaging – from the cheek palette and brush bag (seen in the first pic) to the individual brush handles – very summery and mermaid inspired!

Quo Face Palette in Terra ($20) – I have so much love for this cheek palette – I seriously can’t believe it’s only $20 for three full-sized products: blush, highlighter and bronzer. There are two versions of this palette – a cool-toned one called Orion, and this warm-toned one (pictured above) called Terra. I used the bronzer to contour my cheeks, forehead and nose – it applied so lightly and blended so easily. The coral-pink blush is my new favourite! It seriously looks airbrushed – plus, the colour lasts a long time. I used the gold highlighter down the bridge of my nose, on my cheekbones and under my brow, and it added a pretty dose of shimmer. This palette has everything you need – some days, I would skip the eyeshadow palette and just combine the bronzer + highlighter from this palette for a shimmering bronzed eye look.

Quo Brush Set ($60) – This eight-piece brush set comes inside a pretty metallic pouch (you can see the pouch in front of my straw bag in the top pic). I loved having an easy-to-carry brush set, I just tossed it in my carry-on and knew that I had everything I needed. These brushes are full-sized and very high-quality – the curved handles are ergonomic and easy to use, while the bristles are so soft and fluffy – they blend your makeup perfectly! The foundation brush was perfect for applying a thin, even layer of foundation on my face. After covering my whole face with a light coat, I dipped the pointed tip of the brush in foundation and pressed it on to any areas that needed additional coverage. I then used the flat side of the brush to seamlessly blend the extra layers onto my skin. The powder brush is unbelievably soft – I used it to dust a light coat of setting powder over my foundation. I used the angled blush brush to apply bronzer to my face AND to add blush to the apples of my cheeks – it worked perfectly for both uses, and it was good to multi-task since I was on holiday. As there was such a large selection of eyeshadow brushes, I repurposed the crease brush to use with concealer – I loved it because it didn’t lift off any of the concealer, it just blended it flawlessly in to my under eye area.

Quo Illuminating Drops in Radiant Bronze ($20) – These illuminating drops are great to take on holiday, because they have so many practical uses! You can apply it alone for a stunning highlight, or you can mix it in with your foundation for an illuminating effect. You could also add it to your body lotion to give your body an all-over glow! I liked layering this under the powdered highlight from the face palette for an intense cheek+brow highlight!

JOE FRESH BEAUTY

Lip Lacquer in Flamingo ($7) – This lip colour is so much fun to wear. It has a soft cushioned-tip applicator that dispenses the creamy product on to your lips. The formula contains shea butter, which makes it very moisturizing. It comes in six shades, ranging from nudish browns to pinks and reds. The Flamingo shade is so bright and pigmented – it worked perfectly with my colourful holiday outfits!

Essential Lip Oil in Rose ($8) – You seriously need to add this lip oil to your travel bag! It’s so easy to apply – it comes with a large sponge applicator which spreads the oil neatly onto your lips. It’s thick – but unlike other oils I’ve tried, it’s NOT gloppy or sticky. I love how this oil would leave my lips with a pretty, rosy glow – and it smells amazing too! It’s the perfect lip product for when I didn’t feel like wearing much makeup – and it was great at moisturizing and hydrating my dry lips. I’m packing it with me for my upcoming England trip, as long-haul flights always make my lips peel.

Eye Shadow Palette ($14) – I play it safe when it comes to eyeshadow colours – and I loved how this palette had such a pretty range of wearable colours. On most days, I used the matte nude shade or blended together the three shimmery brown shades for an easy daytime look – but I also liked having the richer dark shades, to blend into my crease for a more dramatic evening look.

Lash Lift Mascara with Olive Extract ($12) – this brush has the most unusual looking wand I’ve ever seen. It has thin silicone bristles, but the tip is a spiky ball! There is a reason behind this unique design – the sphere tip is designed to apply mascara on hard-to-reach places such as your inner or bottom lashes. I found the formula to be both thickening and lengthening – and the Olive Extract had a conditioning effect on my lashes.

Stay All Day Setting Spray ($10) – When you want your beachy makeup to last all day, setting spray is a must! It helps lock-in the makeup you applied, so you are always picture-ready and don’t have to worry about reapplying. Other than my swimming days, I wore the same makeup from breakfast until dinner – and would only have to blot and touch up my lip colour. My brow makeup, foundation and cheek colour lasted all day!

No7 Early Defence Glow Activating Serum ($31) – This serum is the perfect prep step to add into your routine before a beach holiday. It has both short term and long term benefits. In the short term, it contains ingredients such as Vitamin C, Ginseng and Salicylic Acid to unclog pores and leave your skin radiant and glowing. In the long run, it uses Peptides, Antioxidants and Matrixyl 3000 Plus to protect your skin from environmental stressors and pollution, and to help keep your skin looking young.

Here is my day makeup look using all the makeup I brought with me – you can see the shimmery eyeshadow shades, the bronzer + blush combo, the lengthening effects of the mascara and the pretty bright Flamingo lip colour!

Earrings

Let’s be real – when it comes to beach holiday hair – it’s a bit of struggle. You want your hair to look good for vacation photos – but it’s impossible to wash, dry and curl your hair everyday. Furthermore, your hair is not at its best as it’s exposed to pool and saltwater as well as humidity.

I came up with a two-step strategy for my hair – step 1 was fake it – make my hairstyle last as long as possible (two to three days) and then step 2 was nourish it when I washed it, to help make up for all the torture I was putting it through!

Dress / Shoes / Earrings

To help my hairstyle last as long as it could, I would wear it in a top knot while I was in the water, to keep it dry. When my hair got damp and the curls wilted, I would blow-dry my hair and curl it again. I figured the saltwater wouldn’t hurt my hair since stylists use it when creating beach waves? To revive my style, I would spray it with dry shampoo to give my hair lift and body at the roots. I loved using the göt2b Fresh It Up Dry Shampoo in Cocoa Brown ($9.99). The brown tint meant I could spray it on in the morning and head out immediately, I didn’t have to worry about white powdery deposits in my hair. The brown tint also means that you can use it as a temporary root touch-up colour if needed!

When it was time to wash my hair, I had a lot of repairing to do. I would start off with a clarifying shampoo – this helped deep clean my scalp and add volume to my roots. I would add a deep conditioner, and then, when I stepped out of the shower, I would spray on Schwarzkopf GLISS Ultimate Repair Express Repair Conditioner ($9.99). This leave-in conditioner detangles like no other – my hair is a matted mess after showering (thanks to heat styling and highlighting). However, with this spray, it was never a problem – I would just divide my hair into sections, spray on the sweet-smelling conditioner, and it would detangle like magic! Post-application, it would be so easy to run a brush through my hair. I’ve previously used Argan Oil to detangle my hair after washing – but oil is tricky and potentially messy when it comes to travel – whereas this spray is light and packaged very securely. I’m ALWAYS going to travel with this from now on!

What hair and makeup products do you take on holiday?

DISCLAIMER:  This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Quo Cosmetics/Shoppers Drug Mart, No7 and Schwarzkopf.