Things That Smell Like Holidays - Guest Post By Lovely Girlie Bits!

Ah, Thank Crunchie it's Friday!

This morning we have the one and only Karen from Lovely Girlie Bits taking over the site. Does Karen need any introduction? One of my favourite bloggers and people, her posts never fail to make me laugh and if you're not one for reading you can follow her youtube shenanigans too!

Take it away Karen!

Unless I win one on the radio or win the lotto, I've no plans for a summer holiday this year.  While I am now accepting this (kinda), I can still go to my happy place - my beauty stash - and pick out some products that will help me pretend I'm away in Spain.  I like things that have light and bright scents because when I'm feeling all meh and want to pretend I'm away and not at my desk at work, a quick sniff of one of these beauts and all is right in the world, for a few minutes anyway!

The Body Shop Coconut everything.

I've never been on a tropical island, but the Coconut range from The Body Shop instantly transports me to a white sandy beach where I'm wearing a coconut shell bikini, the sand isn't getting stuck everywhere, you know where I'm talking about ladies and I can walk effortlessly in the soft sand, rather than my usual oaf-like method.  I've a massive fan of the lip balm and body butter from the range and it's an added bonus that they help my skin and lips stay smooth, soft and moisturised.

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When Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino first launched a few years ago, I feel in the ultimate and absolute love with it before mentally chastising the models in the ad campaign for wasting such precious smelling liquid.  I will own this some day because it's one of the only scents I visit when I'm in Brown Thomas and I know when I do own it, I'll be rationing it because it's mucho expensive-o.  Until it's mine, I'm happily making do with this bottle of 471 I bought in TK Maxx recently.  It smells like orange blossom, sunshine, blue skies and happy days.

Malibu lip balm

This was a recent impulse purchase in Penneys and I'm obsessed with this Malibu lip balm.  Now hands up, I totally did think it was going to smell and taste like the Malibu you drink with Diet Coke, but no, it's mango flavoured which makes me imagine the massive fruit salads I eat outside in the sun on holidays.  Fruit just tastes better in the sun doesn't it?  Anyway, it's one of my new favourite lip balms and really hydrates my lips while making them smell and taste fruity.  Can't get much better than that.

Nuxe Prodigieux Le Parfum

This stuff is seriously amazing and again, has the ability to transform me from my drab work clothes into a pretty white summer dress, complete with a big white sun hat, but in my imagination, the sun hat actually fits my massive head, rather than leaving a big dent across my forehead and a headache.  It's got those orange blossom notes that I'm obsessed with, is warm, tropical and one of the must have scents for summer, whether you're going away or not.

SPF

We've all done it.  On a lovely sunny day at the start of summer, we've rooted out a bottle of last year's SPF, readying ourselves to sit outside and complain that it's too hot.  We start with the arms and as soon as we start rubbing it in, we say to ourselves and whoever else happens to be there "Ooh this smells like holidays".  It's a fact and if I'm sitting out my back garden with goose pimples galore, if I squeeze my eyes shut real tight, take a whiff of my arm, then I could be anywhere in Spain.... That's the theory anyway.  The fact that SPF stops you from burning is a bonus.  I just love the smell.  

And just so you know, I now smell like all of these things at this moment in time.  Yes, I'm one of those bridies that swans through duty free and tests out all the perfumes and then you're left to sit beside her. I smell like holidays right now.  Holidays on speed and I blahddy love it.  Now, where would one get an elasticated sun hat for a massive noggin like mine?

Karen x