It's less than a month till I'm off to Vfestival and I'm starting to buy all the essentials. So I thought I'd show you what I tend to carry around with me in my handbag at a festival, obviously you don't need all of this stuff, some people only take money and a phone but I like to take a little more just in case!
1. Face Suncream - Daily UV Care Multi-Protection (Chanel)
Although you may expect more mud than sun you'd be surprised how many people get burnt at a festival, because you're outside all day. This suncream is my holy grail that I always use whether it's abroad on holiday or just everyday back at home underneath my makeup. I can't stress enough how important sun protection is. Also speaking of the sun remember to bring a small-ish sized water bottle along with you, a lot of festivals have water re-fill stations, this prevents you from becoming dehydrated and giving yourself a bigger hangover (which I'm pretty sure no one wants!!)
2. Dry Shampoo - CoLab (Ruth Crilly)
This isn't a necessity but it's very unlikely that you'll brave the gross showers unless you're a VIP, insane or staying at a hotel nearby. So we've got to find a way to sort out our hair. My hair gets greasy very quickly and so a quick spritz of this CoLab dry shampoo each morning in the tent will revive my hair and also give it some body for styling.
3. Deodorant - Mitchum
I swear by this deodorant, this is the only one I've ever used that's actually worked, other deodorants just try mask the smell whereas I don't even sweat with this one! I shall be throwing some awful shapes, jumping a lot and also sleeping in a tent with a lot of people so that'll probably be stuffy too. So I'm putting on the deodorant not just for my sake, but theirs too. I'll keep it in my bag incase I need to apply more during the day.
4. Poo - Pourri
Now this is a VERY odd one which I find absolutely hilarious (I have the humour of an eight year old boy sorryyy) but guess what? GIRLS POO TOO. It's finally out there (few) I saw this spray a months ago on Ingrid Nilsen's house tour and my friend Anya was going on World Challenge (adventuring in Malaysia and Borneo with only THREE pairs of pants and pooing in a hole) and so I thought what better gift than a spray that disguises the smell, she can now poo in peace. (LOL) The same applies to a festival not only is the porta-potty a very confined space but you practically have an audience with the humongous queue outside! A few spritz and no one will ever know (wink.) Plus the bottle is so cute, it even has a little charm, no one would suspect a thing!
5. Perfume/Body Spray - CHANCE EAU FRAÎCHE travel
You may as well make up for the lack of showers with a lovely perfume. I'll be taking a travel sized Chanel Chance which is my signature fragrance which I've worn for years and I really love it! However this is quite an expensive perfume and as you'll be camping and jumping around a lot it can easily get lost, so as a substitute you can take a cheaper body spray from Boots for peace of mind!
6. Wet wipes
Needn't I say more? Particularly at a muddy British festival this can be used to clean yourself up, spillage of drinks in the tent or to remove your makeup before bed or in desperate times it can be used on the toilet! I'd recommend keeping a gigantic pack in your tent and taking a smaller, travel-sized pack in your bag for on the go.
7. Tissues
Similar to wet wipes, these are just an essential. Many festival toilets run out of toilet paper really quickly and you don't want to be stuck in port-a-loo in that predicament!
8. Hairbands - Primark
Whenever I'm in town I'll always pop into Primark to buy a large bundle of their hairbands because they're so cheap and the quality's pretty good too! I'd recommend keeping a few hairbands in the zipped compartment of your bag, in case you ever need them.
Claudia x