I live in The Netherlands where the weather's usually cold and rainy, even in the summer.
However, at the moment this is not the case.
The last couple of weeks it has been HOT HOT HOT in Holland, with temperatures alternating between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius and sometimes even more.
Needless to say, us Dutchies are having a hard time getting used to this.
At first you'd see people wearing jeans and jackets and just way to much clothes on their backs.
Now, girls are walking around in tiny shorts (and when I say tiny I mean TINY), barely there tops and skirts and summery, floaty and often short dresses and tunics.
Even the guys no longer refuse to wear shorts (a lot of them opt to wear those hawaian shorts :S ).
Myself, I had to adjust as well.I digged through my wardrobe to finds some clothes to fit this weather.
I'm usually a jeans and t-shirt gal, but now that's not an option.
Now I wear dresses and skirts (though not too short when I'm not at home) and shorts and tops.
The first week I tried to wear leggings underneath those shorts, skirts and dresses, but that turned out to be too hot, so I stopped being stubborn and I let the world (or at least my town) see my legs (eeeeeks!!!).
Since this weather makes us show more skin, some preparation is in order.
First of all, it's important to scrub your body (and your face) well.
This makes your skin glow, makes your skin feel soft and makes your tan look better (if you are able to get a tan, which I can't :P ).
Body Scrubs I like to use:
*Sugar Babe (Lush)
A coarse sugar scrub that smells like clean babies and makes your skin extremely soft. It's the best scrub I have ever used!!!
*You Snap The Whip (Lush)
This is also a coarse one.
I cut it into small blocks (approx 12 blocks, and I use about 3 blocks to scrub my whole body) so I can get more uses out of it.
This has the smell of The Comforter (a delicious berry scent) and makes your skin extremely soft and sweet smelling.
*Pure Coconut Oil Leg And Body Scrub (Inecto)
This one smells like coconut, obviously and is a milder scrub than the others.
It's convenient because it's in a tube which makes it perfect to take with you on holiday (or to the gym, or your boyfriend's house) or to use when you're in a hurry.
Like I said, this one has a much milder scrub, but still scrubs well enough.
It also hydrates your skin with coconut oil and makes your skin feels mooth and smell like coconut :D (yummy summer scent!).
*Smooch! sugar scrubs (Villainess)
Great scrubs that can be coarse or less coarse depending on which Smooch! you have. There are a lot of diffent scents, which also have different ingredients and scrubby bits, some are barely scrubby though, so be careful to buy the right one for you!
My favourite Smooches! are Ginger Snapped, as pictured above, which is a regular product.
It smells like Dutch speculaas cookies, spicy and sweet, and it scrubs very well but not as coarse as Sugar Babe or YSTW.
When you rinse it of it turns into a milk that makes your skin silky soft, and the scent also lingers after showering.
Most Smooches by Villainess also have a Whipped! (whipped body butter) with a matching scent.
I also like Smashing Smooch! (a spice pumpkin pie scent) and Gloop! Smooch! (marshmellow and chocolate scented), but those are both special editions that aren't available at this time.
Favourite Face Scrubs:
*Silk & Cyanide Smooch! (Villainess)
This is a Smooch! that's made especially for using on your face.
You stir the contents of your jar with a spoon (or your finger :) ) and then apply an amount the size of a strawberry on your dry face (with dry hands) and massage it in.
Then apply some water on your face and massage some more.
The scrub will turn into some kind of milk and your skin will feel soft, scrubbed an moisturised.
It is a greasy scrub that tuns into a milk in contact with water, and it doesn't leave your skin greasy at all. Just moisturised.
This Smooch! smells strongly and sweet of almonds, but there are also other face Smooches! by Villainess with different scents.
Other Available scents are Bathory and Shanghaied.
*Rice/Ginger Facial Scrub *Suhada Nature)
I can't find a picture of this and my mom still has my camera, so you'll have to do without a pic.
This is a strange but very effective product.
It is important to scoop a bit of this product in a smaller jar to use in the shower, so you don't get water into the rest of the product (this is important because the product will go bad if water get's in it).
To use, scoop an amoun the size of 4 peas out of the smaller jar, add a little water and make it into a past.
Massage this into your face, then apply some water and massage a little more.
Then wash it off and have gorgeously soft skin :D.
*Ocean Salt (Lush)
I rarely use this one on my face, since it's extremely coarse, but I love to use this one on my back and shoulders.
It's great for this purpose!
It really cleans my back thoroughly so I can enjoy wearing summer tops :D.
After all the scrubbing, comes shaving...
You probably know that it's unwise to shave with just water.
It's better to use a Shower Gel, Whipped Cream Soap, special shaving product or even an conditioner.
My fave shaving products:
*Dirty Shaving Cream (Bnever)
My absolute favourite shaving cream ever!!!
Sadly, Bnever has called it quits, so I can't order more of this products, but hopefully Lush will take this beauty into production (a girl ca hope...right!?).
Dirty Shaving Cream make shaving really easy.
The blade glides over your skin and you finish shaving within a short time (some products make shaving hard so it takes longer to shave).
The most amazing thing about this shaving cream are the hydrating properties, I've never seen anything like it.
It has butters and other ingredients that hydrate your skin so much you don't even need body lotion afterwards (and I ALWAYS use body lotion after showering, because I always need it)!!!
I usually still use a bit of body lotion, but it is definately unnecessary.
I don't know exactly how it works, because it doesn't make your skin greasy hut stil really, really, really soft, but I'm really glad I own a bit of this product.
*A Jelly (Lush)
I like to use a Jelly (Whoosh shown above) and put it in the blender.
With this substance I like to shave my legs, armpits, etc.
One blendered jelly provides enough "shaving cream" for weeks, though it also depends on how much you shave and how often.
The special thing about the jelly's is the Carrageenan Extract, which is extracted from Irish Moss Seaweed.
This amazing extract makes skin really soft somehow (and your hair too if you wash it with a jelly or a blendered one ;) ).
A great combo is first scrubbing with Sugar Babe and then shaving with a blendered Jelly!
*Cien Shaving Cream
This is a cheap shaving cream from a supermarket (Lidl) in my town.
I can't find a picture of this one either.
It isn't a very natural product (I use mostly natural products) but it is great nevertheless.
I probably has silicones and other bad things in it, but it's too good not to use.
It makes shaving really easy and fast and makes my skin slippery smooth (not oily though at all).
You definitely do need a body lotion after this, but it's a good product and also a bargain (yay).
I bought this product 2 years ago so it probably isn't sold anywhere anymore.
*Fluffy Stuff Foaming Cream Soap (Grumpy Girl)
I have two of these marvelous cream soaps: Hot Tranny Mess (a Lush Rockstar dupe) and Girly Girl (also a sweet scent, this one is musky).
Both are pink coloured and smell really great.
When I hear the word soap, I think of a drying substance.
This is not the case with this product :).
I just scoop some of it out of the jar, spread it on my skin and start shaving.
Great smells waft up my nose and make me happy.
This is definitely the best smelling product to shave with :D.
Afterward, the scent lingers, which I love!
This is it for now (since it's a very long post).
I still have a lot to write about, so I divided all the info between blog posts.
Part 2 will be about the next important process in looking good: hydrating!
I will talk about creams for face and body and also about protecting your skin from the sun.
Part 3 will be about all the other essentials: deodorisers, perfume and summer make-up amongst other things.
Perhaps there will even be a part 4 if part 3 turns out to big.
See ya next time and have a nice day,
Freya
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