What to bring for a week away in the Maldives? Pebble&co’s Zoe Jarchevska has put together her must-have beauty essentials for a week of sun, sea and relaxation…

If you’re anything like me, you will share the pain that baggage restrictions impose on the night before a holiday. Packing my life into a suitcase (yes I do need more bikinis than physically possible to wear!) takes a week of deliberation, re-packing, shuffling, squishing and occasionally more than a few tears. We’re going to need everything we pack at some stage, right? But forget the clothes and accessories, it’s the products that I really struggle with. Every time, just as you manage to fit all your things in, you remember, the wash bags – plural!

With little space left and a limit on its weight, this year I am culling my (perhaps slightly excessive) three wash bags of products to just one, and carefully selecting those necessities needed for a Maldives paradise.

Suncream:
With sensitive skin like mine, choosing the right sun cream is fundamental in achieving that perfect glow. No one likes that greasy layer that sun cream deposits, or the blocked pores and breakouts from over-thick, heavy lathering. Murad’s Oil-Free Sunblock SPF30 is brilliantly hydrating yet lightweight and matte. It also comes in a small size, perfect to throw into your beach bag or hand luggage and smells just like summer.
http://www.murad.co.uk/oil-free-sunscreen-broad-spectrum-spf-30-pa

Exfoliator:
As we all know, hours in the sun can be particularly dehydrating for your skin. After a day dipping into the salty waves and rolling around on the sandy beach, I love nothing more than a pre-bedtime deep facial exfoliation. Although most people shy away from exfoliating their tan away, it is vital to keep your skin renewed and your face soft and supple. Goldfaden’s Doctors Scrub is small and compact, and comes with ruby crystals that offer immediate cell renewal by polishing away those dead surface cells. It is also chemical free and uses active plant-based complexes, such as seaweed and organic red tea extracts, which miraculously offer a youthful and radiant glow.
http://www.spacenk.com/uk/en_GB/brands/g/goldfaden-md/doctors-scrub-MUS300023797.html

Moisturiser:
After a deep exfoliation, I’ll always rehydrate my skin with an intense and deeply nourishing moisturiser. For this, my fail-safe, go-to product is 100% natural pure coconut oil – the smell reinforces that holiday feeling, whilst is soaks deep into the skin. I’m a huge advocate of Dr Jackson’s Coconut Melt. What is so wonderful is its versatility: it can be used for the body, face, hair and even eye make-up remover. Four products in one, what more could you want?
http://www.drjackson.co.uk/04_coconut_melt.html

Travel set (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body lotion & lip balm): 

I always think I’ll need full sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner for a week away, but after two weeks dragging my heavy suitcase around Bali last year, I learnt my lesson – travel miniatures it is. RIK RAK – a collection we developed with Kit Kemp, interior designer and owner of Firmdale Hotels, has a gorgeous travel set which includes: a mineral and vitamin rich shampoo, a nourishing creamy conditioner, a purifying and cleansing body wash and a silky body lotion. The products are fragranced with RIK RAK’s signature Gardenia Greenleaf scent – a warm floral blend, reminiscent of a fresh English garden in summer bloom. I am also a little obsessed with keeping my lips hydrated with a balm and this set includes a beautiful citrus orange peel lip balm; it’s fresh, crisp and light – just what you need in 30 degree heat!

http://www.brummellsoflondon.com/rik-rak-travel-set

Heat protector:
Being the sun worshipper that I am, it is crucial that I give not only my skin, but my hair, some serious TLC. Spending hours in the salt rich sea, my hair has a tendency to become incredibly dry, exacerbated by the heat and sea induced wind. Sacha Juan has a fantastic duo kit of heat protecting products that includes a hair and colour protector that is to be used when you are basking in the sun, and another which is a leave-in-treatment that acts as an after sun for your mane. They’re also only 125ml each so light enough to carry and pass through airport security.
http://www.sachajuan.com/product/hair-in-the-sun-2/
http://www.sachajuan.com/product/hair-after-the-sun/

Now with my essentials packed in a gorgeous wash bag to match, I am ready to fight the wars of dehydration and intense heat, and give myself and my body the attention and refreshment that it needs.

Until next time! ZJ