Holiday must-haves

As I'm sure most people are by now, I'm counting down the days until I go on my summer holiday. Just incase you're interested it's 35 days 4 hours and 58 minutes. Of course there's exams and my birthday and loads of other stuff first but that's just semantics. I'm already mentally packing and so I thought I'd give you a sneak-peak into my suitcase so you could see all the essentials which I absolutely cannot go on holiday without.

I thought I'd start with the most obvious one; bikinis! I don't understand people who can just take one or two; these are three that I've bought in the last couple of weeks! My entire collection would not even nearly fit into one photo. I love bold prints for this summer and when it comes to bikinis, I think fruity prints come out the winner. I really wanted a watermelon print one and found the perfect one in new look but it sold out before I had the chance to buy it! Luckily, I found this cute one in primark instead (centre) and it was only £7 for the set! I could hardly believe my eyes when I read the tag and found that the top was £4 and the bottoms were £3. I think bandeau styles work well on everyone and flatter every shape and the print really is amazing. Primark aren't very generous with their fabric though so I'd suggest upsizing. The other two were both from river island and it was another of my many cases of love at first sight. The one on the left has two of my favourite summer colours (mint and pastel pink) and I think the high waisted style is going to big this summer. The orange print of the one on the right adds to my fruity collection and the black panelling is really slimming. It's also easier to get on and off than the palm tree print one as it has a gold zip down the back of the top. It's an online exclusive so I tried on a similar style in-store before ordering it so I knew which size to get. I like that river island sell their bikinis separately because I don't know anyone who wears the same size in top and bottoms. Both the river island ones were the same price; £12 for the bottoms and £16 for the tops and I know that £56 for two bikinis is quite expensive but they'll last all summer and I do have 4 weeks worth of holidays in July and August so I managed to justify it.

Going hand-in-hand with bikinis is a bikini bag! At first I didn't see the point in it but it actually is really useful. Instead of balling up your wet bikini in a towel, just zip it into one of these bags and everything else stays dry. They're only about 1 or 2 pound from primark aswell so it's well worth getting one.

Along with the obvious toiletries (sun tan lotion, sun oil, after-sun etc.), I also have a few extras I can't go on holiday without. I think a good body scrub and moisturiser are essential because all that time in the sun can dry out your skin. I love this Sanctuary Spa body scrub because it works really well and it's in a small bottle so it packs perfectly into your suitcase. I've tried endless moisturisers but this pure and simple Nivea one is still my favourite; it just leaves your skin feeling so soft. What with all the heat and saltwater and chlorine, I get seriously crazy beach hair on holiday, so this Charles Worthington 'no frizz' hair cream is a must for stopping my hair from getting too out-of-hand. At first I thought the whole 'compressed cans' concept was pointless but for those of you who like to take anything and everything on holiday, they're great for saving space in your suitcase so you can take that extra bottle of perfume or cami top.

Okay so my A-level photography skills might've deserted me on this one; photographing a white dress on a white backdrop was not one of my best ideas but hopefully you can still see it okay. As far as I'm concerned, every girl should have a gorgeous white summer dress to wear on the beach. When you've got a good tan, nothing looks better. This one is one of my favourite things I've ever owned and is probably the only thing to have survived all my many wardrobe clear-outs. I'm so ruthless with throwing clothes out that it would probably shock you to find out that I've had this nearly 5 years. It was £50 from lipsy and I desperately wanted it for my 13th birthday after I saw Mollie King from The Saturdays photographed in it in a magazine. I didn't have my own money then and definitely didn't spend anywhere near the amount of money on clothes that I do now, so it was the most expensive piece of clothing I'd ever owned. I'm actually quite proud to be able to say that it still fits me! Okay so my 12-13 year old self was a lot skinnier and about a foot shorter so when I first bought it, it was quite big on me and was probably around knee length. It's now tight-fitting and thigh length but you would never know I've had it that long and to say it's white; it's still perfectly clean and new-looking. I'd say it was well worth the money.

 

So I probably could've saved myself some money here by being a bit more patient. I wanted some jelly shoes the second they started to come back in fashion and the only place that were selling them were Office (Juju jellies) and so I got a pair of these silver glittery heeled ones. Then Topshop and river island started to sell them cheaper, then new look and missguided, and now it's impossible to walk into a high-street store that doesn't sell them. I still love them though and they don't show wear or tear because they just wipe clean - perfect for the beach because sand will just wash straight off.

Something that often gets forgotten is adapter plugs. Although it seems silly, it's still a must-have and these USB ones are ideal for iPhone users who need to charge their phone abroad because they're a lot easier to pack than the proper plug adapters which are a really awkward shape. I have them for Europe, USA and Australia and you can get them on eBay really cheap. Of course I got pink ones, what else?

Although a passport holder can be annoying because you have to take your passport out to go through security; it is good if you're with a group and you keep your passports in the same place. Instead of having to look at everyone's (probably unflattering) photos to find out whose is whose, you'll know straight away by the holder. It also bulks up your passport, making it harder to lose or misplace.

Lying out in the sun is only fun for a short time before you get bored, so you need to take something to keep you entertained. Even if you're not going on a sunbathing kind-of holiday, you still need something for the plane. Always remember you're earphones or headphones (I prefer earphones because they're smaller and easier to pack) and make sure your phone or iPod is fully charged before you take off. I love to read on holiday and so I normally take about 3 books with me (I'm not as bad as my mum though who manages to get through about 8 books in a week). Not ideal for packing though so maybe I should invest in a kindle.

Along with hair and skin, all the heat and water also does no favours for your nail polish! Mine always ends up chipped by like the first day so it's a good idea to take a couple with you to redo your nails while you're there. People who have been in my room will know I have every colour imaginable (arranged firstly by brand and then by colour because I have really bad OCD, and my friends are all mean because they mix them all up every time they come round) and I prefer really bright colours on holiday but if you don't have a big selection, just take with you the colour you already have on and you can just paint over it to hide the chips.

Now I should probably start revising for my exams seeing as they start in a week, and failing my A2 exams would really put a dampener on my holiday.