Holiday Beauty Prep

ASOS, beauty, body, holiday, lifestyle, summer

It's been a while since I went on my last proper holiday (not as long as for some people, it was just before I got sick though), & it's even longer since I went on my last beach/swimming pool type holiday.
I am left for a holiday in Normandy yesterday (if blogger doesn't ignore my scheduling again) & have decided that for this holiday I am going to take a bikini which is leaving me in a little bit of a flat spin. I have had body issues from being quite young & have always worn horrible one piece outfits, preferably with men's board shorts over them. Yeah, I was that girl.
I did own a bikini once before but I never worked up the nerve to wear it...
This year I have bought a bikini & I thoroughly intend to wear it & look darn good in it & to that end I have been doing some prep work.

So the first thing I did was get a good bikini, which was hard I have to say. I decided to get a bikini quite late on, say 5 weeks before the holiday & by that time the heatwave had started. As a plus-size gal there are only so many styles that suit me & only so many brands that sell bikinis in my size. Another thing that was against me was the fact that I really wanted an under-wired, correct size bikini top & high waisted bottoms having a little bit of a tummy issue. I also wanted a red one but I settled for this navy top & bottom set from ASOS & I am totally in love with it. The bottoms I got a size up so they fit very comfortably & don't dig in anywhere. They cover my belly button & so make me feel secure that my belly won't flop out. The top is very flattering although the halterneck makes my shoulders hurt after a while...mostly an M.E. thing....& because I'm not what you would call small chested.

Anyway, as I may have said more times than is really necessary, I have ridiculously pasty legs. Neon glowing, pasty white skin that looks radioactive. It's really gross. Because of that I have been using the Fake Bake gradual tanner in fair which I have been really loving. The colour goes on really evenly (I use a tanning mitt with it which probably helps but I have a feeling it'd be good anyhow). The colour is like a reddy-brown-y light gingerbread kind of colour which is great for us pale ladies. This colour can be built until it is - I am assuming - pretty dark but I like to leave it the kind of colour buns go when they are done. Yeah, I think of skin colours in baking terms. I'm crazy, I know.
Before I tan, like the evening before, I have been exfoliating & then moisturising. I've actually been using an old facial exfoliator on my body, nothing special - a peach kernel one...yeah I know. The moisturiser I've been using is the Crabtree & Evelyn - Citron, Honey & Coriander body lotion. This stuff feels like a nice facial moisturiser; light, non-greasy & smells really lush.

The only other thing I have been doing is taking these supplements - Green Tea Extract & Green Coffee Bean Extract. These are both anti-oxidants & help reduce water weight & get rid of any stored toxins. I retain a lot of water & toxins generally. It's not good but I deal with it. However when I'm on holiday I will be - surfing the crimson wave...
Around that time I retain more water weight, up to 5 or 6 lbs of water....water which I did not want to be carrying around when I'm wearing a bikini. This stuff really does help shift water weight & works great for clearing out the crazy quantities of toxins my body holds onto. I think the green tea one especially is a really good supplement to take regularly, toxins being a worry with chronic illnesses. At least for me...I like knowing that there is something cleaning out any rubbish in my system.
So what prep do you do for your holidays? Or am I crazy?

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