As soon as I book a holiday, from the moment I see the ‘thank you for your booking’ confirmation it’s all I can concentrate on, I won’t think, talk or dream about anything else! Aside from jumping up and down at the prospect of a week of paradise, these are a few things which run through my mind:
1.) How many weeks I have until I leave, it doesn’t matter if it’s 25 weeks or 10 days I can guarantee I will be downloading a countdown app on my phone.
2.) How many swimwear pieces I’ll need to dramatically overbuy from ASOS, Boohoo, Missguided and Pretty Little Thing, after lusting over them for what seems like an eternity. (Before shamefully sending them back when I realise I can’t afford them)
3.) Bikini body planning – this is a bit of a tricky one because, there’s only so much that can be done when it dawns on me, my January plans to join the gym still haven’t happened 6 months later, and I now have days if not hours left until I get on the plane.
Here are my top 5 tricks for getting as physically and mentally prepared as possible in 4 weeks.
4 weeks to go:
Download The 7-Minute Workout app (available in the app store for Android, Windows and iPhone users) if you can start this preferably as soon as possible, but if you’re on a bit of a last-minute mission like myself, 4 weeks is good! It’s free and as is says it’s only 7 minutes and we all have 7 minutes right? Whether it’s before getting ready for work, whilst dinners cooking or before you go to bed, this is the easiest and quickest workout app you will find. It combines 12 exercises which are 30 seconds each, designed to target your core, arms, thighs, stomach and bum. I love this app so much for so many reasons! You don’t need any gym equipment, you can change the intensity level which increases how long each exercise lasts for, you can play your own music on your phone while apps open, there’s a 10 second rest in between each exercise, and there’s a trainer talking to you in the background, (they get a bit annoying after a while but you can always change their voice or turn them down.)
My favourite thing of all is the huge insentive to keep on top of your daily progress, you’re given different challenges to meet overtime which include working out at various times of the day, and completing the workout more than once a day. The other great incentive to religiously sticking to The 7-Minute Workout is the three heart lifelines you’re given when you begin your first workout, for every day you miss a workout you lose one heart, and if you end up losing all three, you lose all the extra points for the challenges you’ve completed and have to start again from the beginning. You can also unlock different workouts which target specific areas of the body, after you complete a workout everyday 2 months!
I’ve used the 7-Minute Workout to try and get ready for countless holidays, but with no surprise I haven’t managed to make it past the 2 month mark! I’d love to know what it’s like so if anyone has made it through to the second challenge and beyond, please let me know! For now though it’s a great workout even if you just stick to the first challenge.
As much as I’m a great believer in exercise and healthy eating to get me into shape for the summer, sometimes I still need a little extra help when it comes to making my skin a little fimer and evening-out cellulite. Sanctuary Spa’s Tight & Tone Body Serum, £12, is great for this. Whilst it’s not an overnight miracle cure, I love it because it’s really hydrating on the skin, you can replace it for your daily body moisturiser and it’s not sticky at all like some serums can be. It’s also completely natural and paraben free, containing only plant extracts and essential oils, which have a gorgeous zesty scent. Sanctuary Spa claim using this will tighten, tone and smooth bums, legs and tums in just 4 weeks with 24hr moisturisation, when applied twice a day in circular motions. I’ve been using it for 2 months now and can say it has definitely helped with toning my thighs, it also lives up to its 24hr moisturisation claim too. Win win!
3 weeks to go:
Regular face masks twice a week are great at this stage to clear blackheads, reduce pores, increase luminosity, tighten skin and banish blemishes. I love GlamGlows’ Tingling & Exfoliating Mud Mask, £25/15g. Whilst it’s slightly more than I’d like to pay for a face mask, I really like this particular mask as it gets to work quickly and offers noticeable results in just 10 minutes. The mask is of a clay texture which can be a little hard to get out of the pot, pouring a small amount of water helps soften the mask, you can then use a clean foundation brush to apply it to your skin. I used a cuticle pusher to scoop out the mask – I’m probably not supposed to do this but I prefer to apply it with my fingers so I can use a higher coverage on certain areas and rub the exfoliating beads into my skin. I was quite surprised how quickly the mask dried because a lot of other masks which are supposedly meant to be short treatments can sometimes take forever to dry but this one is brilliant. Washing the mask off take seconds too! You won’t need to grab a hot flannel or spend forever scrubbing stubborn areas off, it splashes off pretty quickly with warm water to reveal super soft radiant skin. 3 weeks of GlamGlows superhero mask and you won’t have a care in the world about going make-up free on the beach!
2 weeks to go:
Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate! I cannot stress this enough, try to do this at least 1-2 times a week. Exfoliating before a holiday helps you tan easier, it’s also key before shaving or waxing, as it will ensure any new hair growth which hasn’t yet risen to the surface of the skin is picked up. I really like Grounded Body Scrub’s Coffee Scrub, £15. There’s been a lot of hype about this range recently and I can definitely see why, the scrub comes in four scents; Coconut, Chocolate Orange, Grapefruit and Peppermint. I used the Chocolate Orange scrub, £15, which smelt divine, it was like all my dreams had come true and Chocolate Orange was finally good for me! A little bit goes a long way with this too, as the texture of the scrub which contains Robusta Coffee Beans, Brown Sugar, Himalayan Salt, Vitamin E, Sweet Almond Oil, Sweet Orange Oil and Cocoa is quite fine which makes it easy to spread across the skin and rub in. Make sure to use the scrub in the bath or shower as it does get very messy and go everywhere as you will see in the picture below! It’s really easy to clean up though and best of all it leaves skin sooo soft, I used it on my legs and chest this morning, I’m now writing this 9 hours later and the texture of my skin is still practically baby soft and thanks to its enriching coconut oil properties I didn’t have to use any moisturiser on my skin afterwards! Overall a lot better than some other branded scrubs whose results don’t last as long, I definitely recommend this!
1 week to go:
It can be difficult to know how long to leave between waxing and jetting off into the sun. I would say it depends on the area you’re getting waxed and also your skin type. Try to aim for at least 3 days before if you’re getting your bikini line, legs, underarms or any other area which is going to be exposed to the sun, to allow the skin time to settle down. I recently went on holiday and had a brazilian and underarm wax done with Lycon Hot Wax. I’d never tried hot wax before, but I’d seen various videos tutorials which praised it as a better option for thicker hair growth.
I was pleasantly surprised by my hot wax experience, although it’s a little more expensive and carried out in smaller sections, it seems to do the job in less time and removes hair a lot faster, with slightly less discomfort than a strip wax. Although as usual though nothing is ever as simple as it looks in a video tutorial, hot wax moulds to the skin quickly and sometimes can take a lot of tugging on stubborn areas which can be slightly stressful but just remember it will come off in the end! – No pain no gain!
If you’re not into waxing or are running to an extremely tight schedule or maybe you just need a decent shaver which isn’t going to leave you with a horrible itchy rash, try the Gillette Venus & Olay Razor, £11.49 This is one of the best razor innovations, especially if you’re in an emergency! I never thought I would ever get excited about shaving but I love this razor for so many reasons! It has 5 blades meaning it gets to work twice as fast, it also comes with a suction holder to so you can attach it to your shower door. And best of all no shaving need gel or cream is required, as the razor is enriched with two skin conditioning balms which act as a moisturising barrier, just wet the blade and you’re good to go!
If you are going away on holiday, have a lovely time and I hope these tips have helped. Let me know how you get on in the comments. ☀️👙🌊🌍
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