Whats In My Bag | Festival Essentials



 

Hello lovely people! Thanks for dropping by my blog and stopping to read, today's post is all about what you'll find in my bag at a festival. Let's start with the essentials, you'll find my festival purse that I got years ago and have taken to every festival I've gone to it's a cute cassette tape denim purse from Accessorize and in it you'll find my ID, money and beer tokens. Tissues, hand sanitizer and an emergency poncho are always in my bag too they're just as important as my purse! These clear emergency poncho from Asda are only around £1 but they keep you dry and warm and are much more waterproof than the pack a macs from Primark (I found out the hard way). 

Also in my bag you'll find plasters, chewing gum and a portable charger. iPhone batteries aren't exactly the longest lasting especially if you're going to be snapping photos all day and trying to get a hold of your lost friends, so it's handy to have a portable charger to keep your phone on all day. I'll also pack a sun cream that has high SPF like factor 50 because you're outdoors in a field even if it's not sunny it's best to protect yourself from sun damage. Makeup wise I don't take a lot because I can never be bothered to top up/fix my make up I always pack a lip balm with SPF like these Carmex ones photographed and I'll maybe throw in a powder and some mascara. Some festivals don't let you into the arena with deodorant or perfume but I've managed to sneak in a body spray before, I like my Ted Baker Body Spray as it was a nice fruity flora scent that's no over powering but is surprisingly long laying for a body spray also it's really cooling when the cold spray hits your skin. 

This year I'll also be taking my Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Camera with me and hopefully capturing some fun, crazy festival memories over the weekend.  Lastly I pack a pair of sunglasses and a cover up like a kimono, oversized shirt or jacket if I'm not wearing one out to the festival encase it gets cold or rainy. T in the Park is only two days away now and I'm really excited, check out my top 20 festival tips here. Are you going to a festival this year? What makes it into your festival bag? Follow me Instagram at @terriswan to see my festival photos first!

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My Top 20 Festival Tips

 

Another year, another summer, another festival season to get excited/jealous about. If you are a fan of live music then the chances are high that you'll be attending a festival this year whether it be for a day or a weekend, I am only going to one festival this year (sob) and that's T in the park in July but I'm also going to see Paolo Nutini at Glasgow Summer Sessions.

As festival season has started up again I thought I'd share my festival tips with you. These tips are aimed at any festival goer but are tailored more towards weekends non-campers festival goers - as I've never camped at a festival. You might consider these tips to be basic simple tips but these tips always come in handy for me a self-confessed festival addict and I've learnt from personal experiences.

1. Stay hydrated yup you might have had 14 beers but throw in a bottle of water every now and again to keep yourself hydrated you don't want to ruin the festival for yourself by becoming dehydrated. 

2. Plan your trip this might sound like a bit of a boring one but have a rough plan of what you want to do/see while at the festival. There's so much to do as well as the hundreds of acts to enjoy, there's nothing worse than not seeing the act you were desperate to see. 

3. Think before you wear that playsuit might look cute but you know what's not? Having to spend more time than necessary in and around the portaloos. If you need a hand to get in and out of your outfit to go to the toilet it's not for a festival! You want to feel comfortable, confident and happy in your outfit.

4. Take sunglasses not only do they protect your eyes from the sun, they also hide the under eye bags and stop people from seeing your drunk eyes!

5. Don't take your entire purse a heavy purse will only take up more room and you don't exactly need your Boots advantage card so only take what you need like your ID, money and bank card - I'm not one for taking my bank card but there are ATMs at most festivals. 

6. Have a hands free bag because you'll want your hands for dancing, drinking, eating and waving in the air, you won't want to worry about keeping a hold of your bag. I like backpacks for festivals and there's lots of nice ones out there but the downside is you can't get things in and out that fast. Across body bags are good too! 

7. SPF whatever the weather do yourself a favour -I'm talking for experience - pack and wear SPF everywhere, don't forget your lips! It protects your skin from sunburn and damage even if it doesn't look hot and sunny spending all that time outdoors it's best to protect yourself. 

8. Never wear sandals well of course it's up to you if you want to wear sandals or not but for me it's a definite no, I always opt for boots or willies if it's heavy rain. Festivals can be so dirty with rubbish all over the place plus the crap in and around the portaloos (literally) you don't really want that on your feet. Plus you want something comfy because you going to be on your feet for a long time, my favourite shoes for festivals are my Doc Martens. 

9. Use a SPF lip balm I touched on this earlier in the post, to stop your lips from getting sore, chapped, dry and damaged take a lip balm that contains SPF and don't forget to apply it your lips will thank you for it - talking from personal experience again!

10. Tissues I cannot express how important tissues are, take a truck load because they come in handy. You will need them more so for the portaloos as they never have toilet roll so it's safe to take your own but be warned hide them because when you're standing in the long queue for the toilets and people see you with tissues you'll be pestered by every second person who wants 'just one'!

11. Invest in a waterproof always always always take something waterproof, the weather is so unpredictable here in the UK it's better to be safe than sorry. Something lightweight that can be thrown in your bag and chucked on if it starts to rain, you can buy some nice waterproofs now on the high street. If you want to show off your outfits you can find nice clear see through parkas in the likes of Primark, New Look, Topshop and ASOS. As long as it keeps your dry you'll be grateful because soggy clothes are no fun and will only make you colder.  

12. Take sandwitch bags this sounds strange but resealable sandwich bags are a life saver when there's heavy rain at a festival. Pack a few and put all your valuables in there to stop them getting damaged, the bags are waterproof so it's great for your phones, cameras and tickets!

13. Be Safe look after yourself and the people you go with, if someone's had a bit too much to drink don't let them wander off on their own. If you're splitting up with your mates arrange a meeting point and time, if you're not great with directions use the festivals app or buy a map so you don't get lost.

14. Take a Portable Charger these things are a god send. It keeps your phone charged on the go so you can keep in contact with your friends, keep an eye on the festival app and take photos until your hearts content. Most of them are lightweight and not too bulky so you can charge your phone with ease, it saves you having to stand in the seriously long line to use the overpriced mobile phone charger areas. You can pick up a good portable charger for cheap on amazon.
 
15. Don't over pack your the one who has to carry your stuff and 3 days with a heavy bag will kill your back and shoulders. I've done my fair share of over packing when it comes to festivals but trust me you don't need a makeup bag packed with every product you own. Pack only what you need; your purse, phone, tickets, tissues, hand sanitizer, SPF, a lip balm, a waterproof jacket/cover up/emergency poncho.

16. Always take a cover up because no matter how glorious a day it is the chances are you'll go through a cold patch. Whether it be a kimono, jumper, hoodie or jacket pack an extra layer that you can chuck on if you get cold.

17. Want to get to the front fast? Go down the sides it'll be much faster than pushing your way through thousands of people. Also don't be that dick that pushes people out the way to get to the front and then leave 10 minutes into the set and have to push out again! 

18. Take hand sanitizer it'll come in so handy for the grotty portaloos. As you probably know portaloos don't come with a sink so hand sanitizer is great for cleaning your hands when you come out of the portaloos as most of them will run out of the supplied hand sanitizer fast. Baby Wipes work just as well and help keep you clean.

19. Explore the festival there's so many things going on at festivals so make the most of it and go and explore it. Check out new bands and unsigned bands, check out the stalls you might pick up something unique, dance away in the dance tent, visit the comedy tent, there's always something going on so if there not an act you want to see try something new.

20. Have a great time you've spent months waiting for the festival to come round, spent a lot of money on your ticket and have probably hyped it up in your head and with your friends so make the most of it and have a great time! Dance the night away, sing till you've lost your voice, soak up the sunshine, get soaked in the rain, make new friends, create new memories just have a brilliant time so what if your covered in mud and soaked by the rain so is everyone else, so embrace the great British festivals and have a wonderful time.
 
I can't wait for T in the Park, I absolutely love festivals they are an essential part of the summer. What festivals are you going to this year? What are your top festival tips let me know in the comments. Check back tomorrow to see my festival fashion inspiration post it goes up at 7am, make sure to hit my bloglovin button to never miss a post!

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