Uhmazing Uhmerica. I'll be back.

17 days in the States, I had an absolute ball. So did the rest of the family.  I didn't take a lot with me, mainly because I wanted to buy a few (all of the) things there. We took 4 cases with us, but only checked 3 (I packed one case into another) and so I had a whole extra 23kgs allowance to be able to bring things back. Which we did, but not as much as I would have hoped. Oh well. 

it was soooo bright!

Anyways... this is what I took body and skincare wise. I haven't included my Sun Protection in this one, because I bought our body SPF there (Banana Boat Spray on SPF50: not amazing...but it did the job), and left it there. My Facial SPF was all LRP and only LRP. The husband and kids also used it on their faces, and spending nearly all day outside in Florida in 32-36degC heat (we did wear peak caps) but we never burned. Not ONCE. None of us even got a little reddish. We picked up colour, but it was so gentle...we are back 5 days and its pretty much gone #sadface .

Cleansers first:

I took with The Body Shop Tea Tree Foam Cleanser, but it does not travel well. Despite being properly closed it leaked all over the place. Thank goodness I had it in a ziplock bag, the only victims of tea tree soakage were my cotton pads. I ended up abandoning it in the 2nd hotel we stayed in because it leaked during a car journey.

That brown tub filled with white lumpy grease is actually a mini body butter tub from The Body Shop that I cleaned out and filled with coconut oil. I love coconut oil at the moment. It cleanses quite nicely and doesn't clog my skin. It is also a great multi-tasking product: its good on hair ends to tame frizz, its an excellent cleanser ans works well as a light moisturiser (use a little) or a deep moisturiser (use layers), its a great waterproof makeup remover, body moisturiser, after sun, hand cream etc. We like coconut oil in our house... and not just as a beauty ingredient. I cook with it too.

I also took my trusty Nima Mitt with. I used it to take of my makeup most days. It is one of those micro-fibre cloths that just use water to take off make-up. It also works as a great exfoliator, but to the way it works. The hotels always supply a little bar of toilet soap (which is what you need to clean your mitt with) so I didn't need to bring that with me. I used my Nima Mitt first (as a pre cleanse) then went in with the coconut oil to deep cleanse.

My skin mostly played ball, but because my diet (and veggies) was pretty much out the window, I did get a few spots on my chin and jaw, nothing serious, but I struggled to get them to heal quickly.

Masks:

I brought these two sample masks with from Academie. Exfoliating Care is a lactic acid based mask to help lift dead skin cells off the face and reveal the newer skin underneath. I liked it, but it didn't blow me away like the REN Flash Rinse did (and still does).
Academie Stimulating and Moisturizing (urgh that z ) mask was great. I applied it as soon as we got to the hotel after out flight (I cleansed first) and my skin felt instantly soothed. When I took it off my skin felt plump and hydrated and it felt comfortable, I didn't need to rush with moisturiser. I liked that the 50ml sizes  had enough for multiple uses, without taking up massive space.
I think I would like to explore the Academie range a bit more actually...

Toner/Treatments:

I alternated using the NIP + Fab Glycolic Fix pads and my now beloved Alpha H Liquid Gold. I have already gushed about the pads... but I need to put pen to paper (or finger my keyboard... teehee) and declare my love for AHLG.

I used LRP Serozinc every evening before applying my moisturiser (after giving my toner/treatmet 30 minutes to do its thang) and every morning before moisturising... but I am still on the fence. It didn't particularly help prevent spots, or actually help them heal. But then the spots didn't become ulcerous once they came to a head, like they would normally. So I am not sure. I need more testing. Happily, the tin is still fairly full, despite me using it fairly liberally over the last 3 weeks.

Facial Moisturisers:

SteamCream. Its good stuff. And it is travel friendly. It is 75ml, so it can go in your cabin luggage. The tins seal properly, so there is no leakage. And the cream itself is lovely. Thick and rich, but absorbs pretty much immediately. We can also use it on Hanna's eczema prone skin without her complaining that it burns. I used this as my night cream. So did Hannah and my husband. Hannah also used it as her day cream. And her lunch time top up. We managed the whole holiday with no eczema itches.

Vichy Normaderm Detox, kinda got forgotten about. I only realised I had it with me when I was packing to come home. I have no idea why... but I just forgot I packed it. It would have been awesome on my chin and Jaw. And its back into my routine, where it belongs.

I used The Body Shop Vitamin E Sorbet as my day cream. I kept it in the fridge in case of sunburns, but we never burned. This meant that it was insanely cooling when it went on in the mornings. Perfect for refreshing skin after sweaty nights.

And the good old coconut oil. I've already explained.

Body Care was minimal:

Garnier Mineral Invisible Roll On Anti-persperant: it was ok. but that is about all I can say about it. It smells lovely, but it goes on so wet, it takes ages to dry. And ain't nobody got time to flap around the bathroom waiting for your pits to dry. I won't get this again.

Cocoabrown 1 hour Tan. Standard. Fool proof colour that stopped me from looking like a ghostly tourist. I applied it with a mitt at night before bed and showered it off the next morning for great colour. Hotel bed sheets... gotta love em :)

Oral B Pro Expert sample got us through the first few days of tooth brishing until we could hit up a Targe/Walmart and get a full sized toothpaste. Its good and gritty and has a lovely minty taste that I personally love, but that my hubby isn't keen on.

The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body Sorbet is just lovely stuff. Ultra hydrating, super soothing, lovely smelling cooling goodness. Especially coming straight out of the fridge. I have the Moringa one too and they are my favourite summer body lotions. They leave skin well hydrated without feeling greasy, and you are left smelling lovely too.

The hotels provided nice shower gels, so I used those. But I took with Lush Happy Hippy just for in case. Which was just as well. I ended up using it as a washing detergent. Yes. I washed our clothes with Lush Shower gel. And they smelled amazing afterwards. And the clothes didn't react badly. So yeah. I think I may have found a new way to scent my undies...


That was what I took with us to the States. We went because Dave's nephew was getting married and both our kids were in the wedding party. So we had to go. It was made a whole lot less stressful due to getting my Irish citizenship (and passport) and the fact that just about the whole Irish side of the family went, as a group. We had an absolute blast and I would love to visit again. I would love to spend more time in Chigaco City (the museum circuit is calling me...) and possibly join a tour next time too. And since we were already going to be there we decided to do Orlando too.

Our next holiday will be in Europe, but America is on my list. Especially the Beluga Whales.