Ask any beauty director, and she'll tell you that packing for a trip to sunnier climbs is a military operation that takes up an entire evening, preferably whilst listening to Al Green. This is not a case of choosing between four pairs of espadrilles, or figuring out how heavy a Zimmerman hessian beach bag might be.

It's the beauty stuff that takes an enternity; deciphering your SPF quota, musing over whether snaffling away three facial sprays is absurd and rebooting your make-up bag so there's some 'fun' non-worky bits in there. 

This was me, last night, packing for a five day trip to Ibiza to celebrate the 30th birthday that I have been dragging out since July 1st. I ended up with - and I don't think this is too out of control - one big wash bag for general skincare, one smaller bag for suncare and one chunky bag full of non handbag essential make-up. 

Excessive? Maybe. But friends have come to rely on a comprehensive surfeit of holiday beauty kit, who am I to let them down?

Click the gallery for my non-negotiable holiday beauty essentials. Eleven hours till take off!