Raiding the sample stash: hot weather choices

I have a slightly out of control sample stash, due largely to my Memebox and Latest in Beauty addictions. Recently, the time came to raid it for all items possibly suitable for hot and sunny weather when I travelled to Australia over Christmas. I'll let you know what I packed, and whether or not I used it...

Here’s my stash:

(I promise, it used to be organised. And then subscription boxes happened.)

Here’s what I've salvaged:

Cooling things

Unni Recipe Vitamin Recharger Mist ¦¦ I called in all misting, spraying or cooling reinforcements from my stash. This one smells delicately of citrus and, whilst perfectly enjoyable, I ended up taking far too many cooling spray type things, so this didn't get used much at all... sadface.

Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray ¦¦ This wasn't as cooling as some of the rest, but has added moisturising properties so I used it a lot on the plane journeys. It was a brilliant refresher for when my face felt all parched and horrible.

Too Cool For School Gel Mist ¦¦ I haven't even opened this yet - I keept the plastic seal on to prevent suitcase leakage. This spray has added trehalose and baobab extract but... I didn't get around to using this either.

Kskin Emu Leg R-Free Massage Cream ¦¦ This is a cooling leg and foot gel with peppermint and menthol. This gave serious cooling tingles, and I enjoyed putting this on hot limbs at the end of the day.

La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water ¦¦ This is just water in an aerosol can, nothing more than that. It's pretty expensive for what it is, too. However, this and the Avene (same product, different water) deliver cooling like none of the rest do. It's something about the aerosol, I think. I did use this, but not as much as I thought I would.

Avene Eau Thermale ¦¦ As I say, this is exactly the same as the La Roche-Posay product (they're even called the same thing) but I had a sample of each so they both got packed. Also, they're perfectly handbag sized. As above, I only used this a few times - but those times, it was an absolute lifesaver.

Suncare things

CNP Cosmetics CNP Tone-Up Protection Sun ¦¦ This contains deep sea water to prevent skin dehydration and promises to help keep skin silky soft. I just care that it's got a decent SPF of 42. I used this a few times, and thought it was brilliant because it does give some light coverage and evens skin tone, but you can't feel it on the skin. I did however suspect this broke me out, so after a couple of days I switched to using...

ElRoel Tone Up Sungel ¦¦ This is a green tinted product which was pretty similar to the other tone-up suncream. This wasn't actually a gel, but had the texture of a primer. It blended in really easily and the green vanished quickly. It wasn't sticky, I couldn't feel it on my skin, and it stopped me from burning. I flipping loved this stuff and wore it to death.

Nuganic Customize Sunblock ¦¦ This factor 50+ wasn't too sticky and was fairly portable, too, ready for top-ups on the go. I enjoyed using this and nearly finished the bottle.

Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation ¦¦ This contains a relatively decent SPF of 30, so I brought this as I've enjoyed using this in the UK. However I hardly ever ended up wearing a base at all, it was just too hot. So this one stayed unused.

Tonymoly Luminous Goddess Aura BB Cream ¦¦ This has an SPF of 37 and is also pretty water resistant. On the one or two occasions I wore anything on my skin other than suncream, I chose this. It lasted extremely well throughout the heat, and looked natural too. I was so impressed that I bought myself a full size of this at the duty free in Seoul airport.

Hawaiian Tropic Satin Protection Ultra Radiance SPF30 ¦¦ This product was basically the best thing I took out with me. The SPF30 was high enough to stop me from burning (mostly...) and this contains a really subtle gold shimmer which makes your limbs look healthy and radiant, and not like a pasty English person. I love this, and finished it during the trip, so I'm buying lots more so I can take it away with me whenever I go anywhere sunny. 

St Tropez Instant Glow Body Lotion ¦¦ This is one of those insta-tan things. Yeah, I used this 0 times.

Face things 

SN Plant Stem Cell Cleansing Foam, Toner and Moisturiser ¦¦ I used these handy sachets on the plane, to do my mini facial. They were quite good, but they're designed for people with oily skin so they were a little harsh for my normal-dry skin.

Embryolisse Hydra-Masque ¦¦ I used this on the plane as well, to give my face a good drink. See me wearing it here...

Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel ¦¦ Samples are always good. I used this up in the first couple of days before moving on to my beloved No7 Hot Cloth Cleanser, which I finished up whilst I was out there.

Soy Bio+ Fermented Lumpoule ¦¦ This is a serum for use after cleansing and before moisturising. I thought this was a great size for using whilst I was away, and I did use it a few times but I didn't think it was particularly marvellous. Also the bottle was glass so it was a pretty risky choice.

ESPA Super Active Lift & Firm Moisturiser and Intensive Eye Serum ¦¦ Another sample sized duo which I used up during my trip. I didn't think much of this either actually, and after finishing these up went back to the moisturiser and eye cream I'd been using before with relief.


So those were all the many, many things I took with me. I definitely overpacked. Lesson learned for next time - at least I can look back on this post and rethink some of my packing choices! For example, I'd definitely take fewer cooling sprays: I didn't use them that much as they just always got forgotten. I think I'd also not bother with taking a base, and only take one tried and tested cleanser, moisturiser and eye cream. The rest was all a little bit unnecessary!

What are your can't-do-without products for hot weather?

-Rachel