Top Travel Beauty Products & DoubleTree by Hilton London Heathrow Airport!

So the Easter/Spring Break is nearly upon us and for many, that means a holiday or maybe a cheeky weekend away. As you'll know, I'm spending quite a lot of my Easter break in Vietnam (eek) and I am probably on the plane right now as I publish this, eek, so I thought I'd show you what's in my travel beauty bag and talk you through my travel essentials... as I fly today, I thought I'd talk you through my first day of travel and show you what I'm taking with me, including a cheeky little holiday haul so you can see what clothes I'll be taking with me in my suitcase. Warning, these are veryyyy good products and I kind of bought too many clothes...

Soap and Glory Beauty Sleep Accelerator - Night and Flight Moisture Miracle - You might have seen me discuss this on my new skincare regime blog post but this was made for long haul flights and I can't wait to keep applying this on the plane. My flight is at it's longest, 12 hours before we stop off and I am scared about how dry and de-hydrated my skin is going to get on the plane! I'm going to be slathering this all over it hoping that it means my skin wont look horrible once I get to Vietnam. This will hopefully cheat my skin into looking and feeling like it's had 8 hours sleep.

- Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray and Styling Lotion - How could I not take these with me? As most of you know, I'm desperately trying to grow my hair so I'm desperately trying not to touch it with heat. I've loved Bumble and Bumble for a long time now and these two little perfectly travel-sized sprays will ensure that my hair looks beachy and styled, even when actually, I've done nothing to it.  Hooray for easy hair styling!

- Halo Deodorant wipes - I've had these for ages but recently I've had them in the bottom of my bag and I've been using them after the gym or on hot days, I feel like they're the perfect travel companion as they're lighter than deodorant and also make you feel clean at the same time - these are a long haul flight must have, but they're also going to be perfect for when I'm wondering around the busy, hot streets of Hanoi and I need cooling down.

- Clarins HydraQuench Cream and Beauty Flash Balm - I received these before Christmas in a cute little travel sized Clarins set from World Duty Free (I can't wait to shop around World Duty Free in the airport and buy some more beauty goodies). You may have seen me write about Clarins Beauty Flash balm in my February favourites post too so naturally, because I love it so much it must come with me on my travels and obviously I need the HydraQuench cream incase I have a serious case of dry skin, but also, to quench my thirsty skin after such a long flight (obviously). As if the balm needed anymore justification, the Beauty Flash balm is like a two in one highlighter and primer so why wouldn't I take this dinky little perfect beauty product with me? Who needs foundation when you've got Beauty Flash Balm!

- Liz Earle Botanical After Sun Gel - I mentioned recently that I've been trying some new Liz Earle products out (and absolutely loving them) so I am super excited to put on my Aftersun gel! Let's hope I get a tan and need to lather this on.

- Liz Earle Super Skin Try-Me Kit - I think I'll be taking this whole kit with me because it includes everything that I could ever need, a balm, a toner/hydrating spray, a cleanser and a moisturiser. I'll probably make my boyfriend take this in his hand luggage because I'll have so many beauty products of my own (oopsy), he can pretend this is his and I can steal it from him whilst we fly. I love the instant boost skin tonic so much, something else which featured on my February favourites post. I really do love Liz Earle and I can see why people rave about it so much - this is the perfect travel companion for anyone. I can't wait to start using the Cleanse and Polish after hearing such rave reviews.

- Tommy Guns Weather Protect Dew Drops Serum - This teeny little pot is going to be firmly in my handbag at all times whilst travelling, I love that it's described as a 'little drop of dew'. It's meant to be really humid in Vietnam which means my natural afro will well and truly come out. I'll make sure I add a drop of this to tame my afro. I love that you can buy Tommy Guns in Waitrose supermarkets, looks like I'll be stocking up every time I do my shopping - everything smells so good.

- Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Light Deep Treatment Mousse - Last but certainly not least, the only thing I have found that makes my hair big and bouncy whilst fixing it's condition, it had to be didn't it? Aussie's 3 minute miracle light mousse. You may have seen me do a full review of this product here (read it you won't regret it, it's amazing) and most of you will have seen my raving about this recently in the #AussiePerfectMatch Twitter Party, and on instagram too (I rave about this on a daily basis). But I really will be throwing this in my suitcase because I feel like it may be one of the only things that can really tackle 'holiday hair', by holiday hair, I mean big, dry, frizzy hair - mine is dreadful. This mousse turns my natural, frizzy afro into a light, hydrated, volumized happy head of hair (see photo below for results). It makes me want to 'whip my hair back and forth' when I've washed my hair using this, it leaves my hair bouncy, fresh but oh-so smooooth - I can't stop touching and smelling my hair when I've used this. This will be a firm favourite in my suitcase and something which I'll be using every single day in Vietnam to banish frizz and protect my hair. I love that you use this in the shower rather than once you get out of the shower too, it feels like it's actually soaking into my hair and actually fixing the damage. It also makes hair washing easier abroad as it means I can literally wash my hair with this, leave it to dry naturally and tadaa, I am ready for the day ahead (with big, bouncy hair). Lots of people asked me when this is available but it's available right now, for just £4.99 from Boots here. Seriously, I can't live without this now so please read my review and let me know if you get your hands on it too!*

So as mentioned, today is the day that I fly to Vietnam for a blogging trip! I have got lots of bloggy stuff scheduled for you whilst I'm away (I'm away for around 12 days) but I am planning to update my blog whilst I'm travelling so hopefully you can share the journeys with me - let's hope there's some good wifi! I thought I'd write a little bucket list of the things that I'd like to do whilst in Vietnam so that you can see what I'll be getting up to over the next few weeks! I'm excited to do a bit more creative tourism and a few more lifestyle posts, creative tourism is basically going away and really getting in with the natives and immersing yourself in the local culture - I plan on doing this so here is my bucket list...

Vietnam Bucket List:

- Cruise along Halong Bay

- Eat lots of street food

- Find some beautiful Vietnamese accessories and clothing

- Go to some Vietnamese markets

- Bring back some Vietnamese goodies to give away on my blog

- Find a beach (apparently Vietnam has some of the best beaches in the world)

- Drink at the hidden sky bar in Hanoi

- Try some Vietnamese coffee 

I have lots more planned but I don't want to ruin the surprises so above are just a few basic things which I hope to do on my trip.

Now onto the clothes... Here's a little updated video which will show you what clothes I'm taking in my suitcase, eek!

It would be amazing if you could subscribe to me here: www.youtube.com/emshelx (thank you!!!)

Obviously no trip is complete without a gorgeous travel wallet, I was kindly sent this beautiful, traditional travel wallet by Aspinal Of London - as most of you will know, it's one of my (if not my favourite) leather brand. I needed something to get me organised because I'm forever digging into the bottom of my bag for everything. This is basically everything a girl (or a guy) could ever need.

I love having my initials on it, it makes it so perfect and special, something I will keep forever - the only problem is, I need a matching bag, purse and suitcase now. They do this in some gorgeous colours, I was very tempted by the poppy red but played it safe with black as I guessed that black is always going to be in fashion. I'll have to buy myself a poppy red one for my Summer travels!

The quality of the wallet is amazing and I love the pop of red inside, it's so smooth and professional.

Aspinal have got it oh-so-right with this beautiful wallet, you can check out the rest of their travel collection here. Cards, tickets and passport at the ready?... it's time to fly!

Lastly, I wanted to talk you through my first day of travel. Last night I headed to London to spend the night at the DoubleTree by Hilton London Heathrow Airport, I decided I'd like to rest my head before I fly so decided to come the day before. I'm forever rushing so I decided to be more leisurely about my travel this time round. Here are a few highlights and a little mini review of the gorgeous hotel, I was blown away by it actually - walking through the door at 7.30pm, exhausted but the staff took care of my every need and even handed me a warm, home-made cookie on arrival and trust me, I needed it!

We were upgraded to such a beautiful suite, I expected this to be quite a basic hotel with it just being a hotel close to an airport but it was far from basic.

The macaroons on arrival really did make my night. I ate them immediately (well, after instagramming them) - instagram: emshelx

Me and Jack nibbled our delicious, warm cookies (we couldn't get enough of them, truly delicious).

As mentioned, the staff couldn't do enough for us, they really do help with everything and made our stay so comfortable and enjoyable.

We had a late dinner in the gorgeous restaurant, the Indian platter to start, it was a hard choice between the Italian, American and this one. We tossed a coin and went for the Indian.

The menu so was big, it was really hard to choose what to go for, we were beyond impressed, so impressed that we actually told the head chef how fabulous his food was. He explained that they have a lot of regulars and then insisted that we try his specials, below...

Obviously they were delicious and yep, they were pretty special! 

I went for a light main, poached chicken - utterly scrumptious. 

Jack obviously went for a huge burger, standard male meat lover!

We finished our wine and jumped into the biggest, comfiest bed (fit for a princess) - after I had a long, relaxing bubble bath! I made sure that my hand luggage bag was ready, the beautiful bag above is from Aspiga, expect to see it featured on a lot of outfit posts throughout my trip. Thanks DoubleTree, I can't wait to stay at your hotel again, truly fabulous. Now the fun really begins... I can't wait to share my travels with you, be sure to follow me on Instagram and keep checking my blog because there will be constant updates somewhere! 

Here's to Vietnam!

*As most of you will know, I have been working with Aussie on a few sponsored posts recently, however, as always my opinion about their products (and everything I write about) is always 100% genuine, I absolutely love Aussie as a brand, always have, always will and their new product is no exception - please do go and try it and you'll see just how genuine my opinion is about the product, it's flipping brilliant!!!

Are you going anywhere this Easter? Do you like the look of any of these products? Will you be trying any of these? Have you already tried any of the above?

Lots of love, Em x

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