After the stresses (and there were a lot of stresses) of organising a wedding, we couldn't wait to jet off to the other side of the world and enjoy everything it had to offer. Tropical climates, jungle backdrops, as many cocktails as I could consume poolside and day trips to locations that looked like another planet... As we started to relax and breathe deeply for the first time in months, I started to become so focused on living in the moment and letting my stress fade away that spending an hour getting ready every morning really seemed quite ridiculous. The first couple of days I made a marginal effort to pop on basic makeup and do my hair, but as we got caught in our first tropical downpour I wondered why I was bothering; less time in front of the mirror meant more time asleep (or eating breakfast) and less time having to faff around taking it all off again before bed.
For the next two weeks I barely wore anything on my face other than SPF and a touch of lip balm, while my hair spent most of its time tied up in a bun or plaited away from my face (and it was probably glad of the break from the straighteners.) It wasn't intentional, but I kind of had a beauty break - and it was the best thing I could've ever done. Here's what it taught me and how I've reassessed my relationship with makeup since.

MY IMPERFECTIONS AREN'T THAT BADIt's easy to focus on those dark circles, fine lines and redness around your nose when you spend so long trying to cover them up, but when you ...