Holiday beauty essentials: four make-up and haircare products to pack

Holiday beauty packing brings its challenges. I have limited space but little discipline when it’s time to decide what to put in the suitcase, and tend to ignore a lifetime’s close acquaintance with my actual choices.

Experience tells me that no, I definitely don’t need that palette of brightly coloured eyeshadows (last worn in 2014), or three red lipsticks, but there’s something about holidays that creates the illusion that with a bit of geographical change, I will transform into an entirely different person. The type who wears a red lip at breakfast, or sparkly green eyeshadow to dinner. So I bring the overstuffed make-up bag on holiday, and then just wear a tiny repertoire of basic products that work in warm weather, or no make-up at all while my hair thrashes like a Kraken because I forgot to bring conditioner.

Not this year. This year, I am taking a realistic approach to holiday packing. Here are four hardworking basics which will work beautifully on holiday but also join your daily product rotation until autumn rolls back in. After much thought, I’ve concluded that my holiday beauty non-negotiables are sun protection, something to even my skin tone but that I can apply in moments and without a brush or sponge, and a couple of products with which I can tame my hair if I’m wearing it down, or tame my hair if I’m wearing it up. Humidity floof is the enemy of holiday hair.

Hair By Sam McKnight Sundaze Sea Spray (€32 at Brown Thomas) is my solution to the holiday hair quandary. You can mist it into damp hair after washing, or into dry hair to retexturize it. It contains UV protection (which is especially helpful for bleached or coloured hair), and just adds an “on-purpose”, tousled and critically non-crispy finish to the hair, bringing out its natural texture without dryness or loss of shine.

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You will need dedicated sunscreens for your face and for body if you’re going to be in the sun, but topping up over makeup can be a faff – often such a faff that we just don’t do it. Ultra Violette Preen Screen SPF50 Reapplication Mist Skinscreen (€38 at Space NK) is ideal for your two-hourly facial SPF top-up. It doesn’t leave a greasy or slimy finish, a whitish hue to the skin, or feel like a layer of cling film on your face. The mist is very fine, so use it liberally to stay protected.

The Smooth Company Smooth Stick (€14.99 at thesmoothcompany.com, Arnotts and Brown Thomas ) is a nifty little travel-friendly Irish product for achieving the perfect slick ponytail or bun. Just whack your hair up as usual and then use this little mascara wand to lay edges or flatten even the most stubborn saltwater-induced flyaways.

Finally, Sculpted by Aimee HydraTint (€25 at Boots and sculptedbyaimee.com) might be the ideal summer foundation product, holiday or otherwise. It is light but punchy enough to even skin tone. It’s loaded with skincare ingredients and contains SPF (though like all make-up products, not enough to provide adequate protection unless you’re applying masses of it, so use a separate SPF also). It’s also wonderfully easy to wear no matter your age or skin type. You can apply it with fingers, a brush or sponge. Pair it with concealer if you want extra coverage, but this is a little (very portable) bottle of summer skin.