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The Weekend Post #79: Parklife

I love my humble abode, but the one thing it lacks is outdoor space. The one-person-standing capacity balcony doesn’t allow for any sun worshipping, just a spot for one pot plant and space to hang my weekly flannel wash out to dry. So when the rays come out to play I have to pack up shop and head to the park. After searching out a dog poop-free patch at the nearest green stretch, that’s just the right distance away from all types of civilisation, I like to whip out a magazine (or three), stick on some tunes (no, I still haven’t moved on from Daft Punk – Get Lucky) and busy myself with some beauty bits (dur). So here’s what’s being lugged along in my ‘I-wish-it-was-a-beach-bag-but-it’s-a-park-pouch’ today…

I’ll account for the non-negoiables first; SPFs. I’ve been shielding my face with Clinique’s City Block Sheer SPF 25* for days when I fancy mixing it up from my Kiehl’s favourite. It does what it says on the tin, feels light and tack-free and the slight tint it’s got serves perfectly well as a weekend complexion evener. For body I tend to slather on Clarin’s Sun Care Milk-Lotion Spray in SPF 20 on whatever limbs are being aired; a good choice for a light dose of UK sun that halts the morning after the day before ‘lobster look’ when you didn’t realise it was that hot and you’ve got some funky strap marks going on. Been there, done that, got the one shoulder burn.

Then onto the fun stuff. Now this one’s a bit of a wild card – Sol de Janeiro Posto Cool Coconut Water Cooling and Hydrating Mist* – like an in vogue version of those water spray cans. It doesn’t smell coconutty, nor perform anything spectacular and I’m struggling to see how some Vita Coco in a spray bottle wouldn’t do exactly the same thing but the act of spritzing it on while shaking out your hair adds some luxe to the park right? Though, it’s a bit of a dream that it would even get that hot on Anglo shores for this to be required. Wishful thinking aside, a lipbalm gets thrown in the bag wherever I’m heading off too and to add some pow to a makeup-free, sunglasses covered face I like a texture with a hint of colour – enter Revlon’s Lip Butter in Sorbet. It adds a fair share of clout, but patted in I’m a fan. For another hit of colour, I’m a big fan of nail painting alfresco. For some reason I find lacquering a shade on a rather therapeutic experience, and whipping it out in the big outdoors stops my boyfriend coughing and spluttering an hour after application complaining of the stench. So on it goes, and today I’ve got Rimmel’s Salon Pro Polish in Reggae Splash on the menu. Thanks for the heads up on that one Meg.

Polish painting, a pile of reading and a punnet of strawberries that will be gone in T-minus two minutes. That is what weekends are about.

*PR Samples

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