For me travelling is what makes me happy, being able to experience new places and soak up other cultures is something that I genuinely live for and having the opportunity to travel within my career has been an absolute dream come true. Having said that, travelling to certain places whilst i've been working has definitely made me want to go back and properly visit a few places, and I thought i'd share a few places that i'm dying to experience more of.

PARIS

Anyone who knows me knows how much I have dreamed over going to Paris, and every time I have tried something has always gotten in the way. That was until I attended an exhibition back in February which allowed me to experience the Parisian vibes i've been dying to see for the first time, and i've since been back a second time but as both time were with work it has definitely proven to me that I wasn't ever to give up on my dream of going to Paris because it is an absolutely stunning city that I can't and won't ever forget about. 

If you've been to Paris I would love some recommendations on what areas are good to stay in, and the places that are a hit, and others that are a definite miss.

THAILAND 

Back when I was around 14 I had the most amazing trip with my family to Thailand, where we spent both Christmas and New Year there of which I will never forget and since going to Australia back in March it only heightened my want to go back to Thailand and discover the places I hadn't visited before. With also being a bit older, I feel like my experience will now be completely different and one to definitely remember! With that I also would love to hop on over to Bali for a few days to just relax, and soak up some much needed sun.

HONG KONG

Having just come back from visiting both HK and China, it has already made me want to go back to Hong Kong and do it as a holiday. From what I did get to experience, I absolutely loved every second and it has only heightened my want to experience more of the city and also the nightlife, as that is one side of HK that I didn't get to see!

Now I couldn't not quickly talk about this cute CityMarble Phonecase* (£14.95) from CaseCompany, of which is a new design concept that is designed to allow you to create memories of your favourite places in the world that you have visited in the form of maps. For me I opted for the Eiffel Tower in Paris, as it's that one place I have always wanted to see and I absolutely loved this design concept. You can also totally customise the CityMarble phone cases by adding emojis how I have, and also by adding text or quotes, which again I thought was such a cute idea, and is like nothing i've ever seen before. If you're a bit of a travel junkie, or know someone who is then this would make a perfect gift idea!

What places are on your travel bucket list?

During my short trip to Australia I spent around five days in the city, and I did a whole variety of different things whilst I was there, from touristy things to finding some amazing places to eat that I often dream about because they were that good! 

Coogee To Bondi Walk - One of the most popular things that many people do is the coast line walk from Coogee to Bondi, stopping off at all of the little beaches along the way and taking in the amazing views! Luckily we chose to do this on a day where it wasn't too hot, and it took around two hours to fully complete, and if you love going a good walk, or even a run and want to soak up some of the amazing views then i'd definitely recommend it! You can find out more info about the walk here, which has a coastal map of the route and what to expect.

Taronga Zoo - Now I know this maybe a little of a controversial thing to do, but visiting Taronga Zoo was one of my favourite days during my stay in Sydney! Essentially you can drive to Taronga but it's easier and much more fun to catch the ferry boat over, which allows you to get an amazing view of the Sydney Bridge and also the Opera House. The zoo itself is on a hill, and you essentially start at the top, and zig zag down to the bottom whilst being able to take in some amazing views of the skyline, whilst also seeing all of the amazing and exotic animals.

Opera Bar - On my final night in Sydney, we headed down to the Opera Bar to see the Opera House and the Sydney Bridge all lit up at night, and we also chose to have a cheeky rosé whilst soaking up the views. It was so peaceful and lovely to see the views, whilst toasting to my last evening in Sydney, and if you want to do something to remember then i'd definitely recommend visiting the Opera Bar, where they also serve food if you fancy grabbing a bite to eat. 

Brooklyn Depot - If you love a good burger, then i'd definitely recommend heading down to Brooklyn Depot as they have an amazing menu of burgers, as well as having limited edition burgers each month and the tastiest milkshakes that i've ever tried! We visited to Surry Hills location, but they have a few different ones around Australia as well as one in Melbourne. 

So those are a few places that i'd highly recommend visiting if you're ever in Sydney, as there is so many different things to do and things to see! 

Have you travelled to Australia before?

Whilst I was in Australia I took a grand total of eight flights in two weeks, which sounds horrific but really it wasn't that bad but it did mean that I was literally living out of my suitcase and back pack the entire time. With so many flights also came different weight amounts, so I really had to streamline myself when it came to packing, and it's definitely true when they say that you will always overpack no matter what! Having said that I managed to pack pretty much everything that I needed and everything I did pack came in handy one way another, so here are my top ten essentials for travelling Australia.

Ear plugs - Yep, right in there at number one is ear plugs and let me tell you that I did not sleep one night in hostels without these things firmly shoved into my ears! If you're staying hostels or have stayed in hostels you'll know that people are not quiet, no matter what hour of the night it is and some people also don't have any dignity and won't care about what you can hear. So take my advice, get yourself some ear plugs.

Sunscreen - If like me you burn easily then it's an obvious one to wear factor 50 at all costs, but the ozone layer is quite damaged around Australia so it's very easy to burn whilst you're there. The lovely team at Jurlique sent me their Sun Specilast SPF40 High Protection Cream* (£27) to try out whilst I was there, and although I still burnt i'd say this definitely helped in stopping my skin from burning any further, and it smelt incredible!

Padlocks - Again, this is really only if you're staying in hostels or taking a few flights but having a padlock became so handy for me as it meant I was able to lock any important or valuable items in my suitcase if I was going out. Also a lot of hostels have lockers, so again if you want to make use of those having a padlock is really handy.

Bikinis - You can't not go to Australia without a bikini or two, especially if you're doing The Whitsundays, Frazer Island or just any general activities that include swimming! I got so much wear out of this Zaful Chinese Painting Swimsuit* (£16.64) and I absolutely love the green tropical print to it. I also found that I could style it with the matching bottoms, but also with a pair of simple black bottoms which made it a lot more versatile. 

Portable chargers/plug adapters - As i'm sure you all know when travelling to other countries the power adapters or plugs are usually different to those used here in the UK, so ensuring you've got an adapter or two is a must! I also opted to take my portable charger, which turned out to be an amazing idea of my behalf as I used this practically every day! 

Travel wallet/organiser - One thing that I didn't take per say is a travel wallet, but I did have all of my travel documents in a poly pocket thing. I just found ensuring that all of my documents including my passport and flight confirmations were in one place made everything so much easier than having to fiddle around trying to find things at the last minute. A lot of brands now a days are jumping on the travel wallet trend, so i've linked a few down below for you to check out.

Sunglasses - For every second that the sun was out I think I had sunglasses on as it was so bright, and I think it's really important to wear sunglasses to protect your eyes! I personally loved rocking these Zaful Gold Crossbar Cat Eye Sunglasses* (£5.40) as they're so funky and on trend! 

Preloaded currency credit card - When it came to changing my spending money I opted for a Cash Passport which essentially works like a credit card, all you have to do is preload your money onto it before you go. I did all of mine at my local Tesco and it was totally worth it as it meant I wasn't carrying around a huge amount of cash on me.

So that is everything that I would recommend is a definite when it comes to backpacking around Australia as everything came in so handy for me!

What are your essentials when it comes to packing?

When i've gone on any sorts of holidays or trips i've never really had to streamline much, but with Australia being the longest holiday i've been on for a good eight years, ensuring I have enough clothes and essentials to last me is my main priority but with the weight limits on internal flights being ridiculously low streamlining is going to be key. I thought i'd share some of my current favourite products, but also some golden oldies that have seen me through the years that I know I can always rely on.

For base products a long term favourite of mine has got to be the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream (£9.99) because although this is a CC cream, the coverage it gives is just as good as a liquid foundation but it's so lightweight on the skin, and so long lasting. I definitely need to pick up another in a lighter shade for Australia, but i'd definitely recommend trying this out especially if you like your BB or CC cream foundations. Another base product that I can't not take with my is the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (£4.19), which we all know is an amazing concealer that is also SO affordable! It's definitely the one product i'll be relying on to cover up any unwanted blemishes whilst trekking around.

Whilst travelling I always find palettes to be the go to product for me, especially bronze and blush palettes as I find they can double up as eyeshadow palettes depending on the shades within the palette. An oldie but goodie of mine is the Makeup Revolution Golden Sugar Palette* (£6), which you can see is very well loved and I love this for mainly the blush and bronzing shades but when i've been in major need of an eyeshadow the blush shades really double up well for a shimmery eye. Continuing on products centred around the eye area, and for brows I can typically use any product whether it be gels, powders or pencils but one product that I use every single day is the Benefit Ready Set Brow Gel (£20), which just saves my brows and sets them amazingly! Lastly for the eyes is mascara, and for me when i'm travelling where i'm going to be swimming and need a mascara to last i'll always reach for the Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara (£10.99) because it does not budge!

Moving away from the makeup and onto just general essentials that I know i'll definitely need whilst travelling. Starting off with a lip balm as my lips are dry no matter what time of year it is, and I absolutely love the Nivea lip products! I personally love the Nivea Lip Butter (£1.65) as it has a nice creamy consistency but is so nourishing on the lips, and I just love it! Another essential has got to be a toothpaste, and initially I was going to just take a bog standard mini but a firm favourite of mine at the moment is the White Wash Nano Whitening Toothpaste* (£14.95). I've been using this for a few weeks now and the difference in my teeth is absolutely amazing! I will be doing a full review of this but i'm thinking of decanting this so I can take it with me on my travels. Finally we have a skincare product that I know I will need in order to rescue my skin, and this is the Merumaya Retinol Resurfacing Treatment* (£33.50) which is the lightest yet heavy duty moisturiser that i've used in a long while and it just saves my skin from the dryness.

So those are a few of my beauty travel essentials that will be coming with me on my upcoming trip to Australia!


What are your travel beauty essentials?

Starting off with the base and as the weather is a bit on the warmer side at the moment here in the UK, and of course will be scorching if you're jetting off somewhere warm, the one thing you are going to need is a good primer. I've opted for the Laura Mercier Radiance Foundation Primer (£29), which is a lovely lightweight primer that blends in lovely and really helps to make your foundation stay in place. It also helps to give your skin that holiday glow by boosting your skins radiance, which I also love. As for foundation, the key thing is keeping it light and i'm currently loving the L'oreal True Match Foundation (£9.99), it's super lightweight but gives a nice coverage that is quite build able and i've noticed that it stays put really well, which you are going to want if you're going to be facing some heat.

Moving onto the cheeks and i've been keeping this really simple lately. A light bronzer such as The Body Shop Honey Bronzer (£13) has been my go to for some light contouring, just to add a little something extra to my skin whilst also giving my face a subtle hint of bronze. For blushers i've really been getting back into my peachy pinks as they just give you that lovely glow, and the Tarte 'Peaceful' Blusher (£23) is the one i've been reaching for. The Tarte blushers are great because they do not budge throughout the day, which makes them even more lustful as I hate when i'm on holiday and within an hour my blush is half way down my face. 

Now onto the eye area and when it comes to holidays I really like to keep everything looking as natural as possible, but if I am wanting to do an eyelook then I will usually pick something that I can muilti task with. I've been opting for the Wet'n'Wild Knock On Wood Palette as the darker brown shade works great for filling in my brows, but I can also create a few different eye looks with this. I love the pinky hues at the moment as I find they really bring out my eye colour. Going back a step kind of, if I am wanting to do some sort of eye look then an eye primer is coming along with me, and the Benefit Stay Don't Stray Eye Primer (£20.50) does exactly what you need it to. Lastly with the eyes I like a good mascara that is going to add some length and volume, and The Body Shop Big & Curvy Mascara (£10) does exactly that. I love the brush on this mascara as it just applies the product so well to the lashes, and gives such great volume.

What products are your summer travel staples?

As some of you may know, i'm currently in Plymouth visiting my Dad over the Christmas period. As i'm here for a few days I thought it would be a fun idea to show you guys the makeup & skincare bit's i've brought with me as I couldn't pack every single product, so i've cut it down to the minimum of what I thought I would need for a few days. 

As you can see I've managed to squeeze all of my makeup into this makeup bag from Primark, which is actually quite spacious and it even fit's my palettes nicely. For my makeup brushes i've opted for one of the Real Techniques folding things that come with the Real Techniques sets as you can fit quite a lot of brushes in these and they are super handy.

As for brushes i've opted for the ones that I pretty much on a daily basis. As you can see all of my brushes are Real Techniques as they work best for me and they are really great brushes. The first brush is the Powder Brush, great for dusting over any finishing powder. Next is the Blush Brush, which I use to apply blush, bronzer and contour - great multi purpose brush. Next is the Buffing Brush, great for buffing foundation into the skin. Moving onto eye brushes, i've got the Deluxe Crease Brush and the Base Shadow Brush to create some easy eye looks and the Brow Brush obviously for my brows. The last brush is the Expert Face Brush, which I also use to buff in my foundation.

As for palettes i've kept it pretty safe. It was obvious I was going to pack the Nars One Night Stand Palette, seeing as I use it everyday. It's just a lovely palette! I also decided to take along my new Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette as i'm still in awe over it and all of the shades are perfect to create so many different eye looks.

As for makeup, i've picked all of the products that I would need to create my daily makeup look. For my primer I chose the Laura Mercier Radiance Primer as it keeps my make up stay in place so well throughout the day. For foundation I opted for my trusty Rimmel Stay Matte which i'm still loving. For an added blusher I chose my Nars Luster as I love this blusher, I couldn't not pack this. As for brows i've been loving the HD Brows 'Foxy' Palette and with the RT Brow Brush my brows have never looked so good! As for eye make up i've packed the obvious options, the Rimmel Soft Kohl Eyeliner, Collection Fast Stroke Liquid Eyeliner and the Collection Multiplier Mascara. Also to go along with eye makeup i've thrown in my eyelash curlers. As for powder I opted for the Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder, which is a great powder in my opinion. Lastly I threw in a lip product, one that'll go with anything and that is the Bourjois Color Boost in Plum Russian.