Festival Essentials

As promised I've finally got round to doing my festival essentials post! I'm setting off to Kendal Calling festival tomorrow morning and have just finished packing all my essentials so I thought i'd share them with you all. We're right in the middle of festival season 2013 and whether you're going to one soon or just want to nail festival fashion, here's a list of some essentials every festival goer needs! 

First of all the main essential is the waterproof! The Great British Summer isn't always so great so always be prepared with a rain mac, every high street name from Topshop to Zara sell waterproofs so a stylish one shouldn't be too hard to get your hands on, then come rain or shine you're prepared and on trend. I got a camo one for just £14 from G21 at ASDA. 

Of course the second essential is alcohol! My favourite festival drink is Kopparberg in either mixed fruits or strawberry and lime - super fruity and tasty! It's always best to go for cans of alcohol as most festivals have a no glass policy (for obvious reasons) and they're easier to carry around and dispose of. Kendal Calling has a very strict no glass policy as it's held at a Deer Park so it's in the animal's best interests.

No matter where you are hair care is super important, possibly even more so at festivals! I have three essential hair products that everyone should have at a festival. First is dry shampoo because without not even Beyonce's hair would look good after five days without a shower! I'd recommend Bastiste cherry dry shampoo as it keeps your hair smelling nice as well as looking clean. Second is VO5 tousled style spray to give you that wavy beach hair look as well as keeping your locks shiny. Last but definitely not least (maybe even first) is VO5 extra strong hold, weather resistant hairspray to keeps your tousled locks in place come rain, shine or even thunder storm!

Two mega essentials are of course wellies and knee high socks! Hunters are the most popular festival pick as they have their own special festival range but lots of high street stores like Topshop and Matalan have gorgeous collections in ready for the season. Knee high socks are available just about anywhere, my favourites have been from Topshop, Hunter and Primark - all super pretty and will keep your tootsies warm!

A fashion essential for any festival is a floral skater dress, so simple, so comfy, so cool! They go with just about anything and start from just £5 in Primark! Bargain of the year or what!? Shove a floral skater on and team with a denim jacket and wellies or your waterproof (depending on the weather) and you're good to go!

Your festival kit wouldn't be essential with out a pair of sunglasses! Sunglasses have been a crazy big trend for SS13 especially floral frames or brown vintage style. I have the sunglasses shown in the picture above - they were just £2 from Primark. The sunglasses start from just £1 at Primark and come in literally hundreds of styles and sizes, so grab a bargain pair while they last.

Your skin is something you have to take care of at a festival. With no showers, sun and drinking for five days straight your poor skin will dry up and probably get a bit spotty. I suggest taking a moisturizer and applying it all over each morning (not easy in a tent but a must do!), taking moisturizing/skin clear wipes and use them morning and night to remove make-up and refresh your face - I recommend Simple products as they have an amazing moisturizing range. As well as this I'd suggest taking a pack of baby wipes just to give yourself a wash each day and to remove any pesky mud stains from your skin.

A safe and secure bag is so important for festivals, sadly a festival is the perfect place for thieves to take advantage of drunk people who maybe aren't being as careful as they usually would be. I'd suggest a backpack with lots of zip pockets or a satchel, again, with plenty of pockets to keep any valuables like money, phones and cameras in. I have the denim rucksack shown above for this  weekend.

The last thing on my essentials list is fluro/neon face paints! Not really essential but are cool and fun for festivals. Most festivals have dance/rave tents with UV lights so fluro paint looks really cool under it! I'd suggest using Stargazer neon face paints in tubes, they're really easy to apply and you can get the for pretty cheap on eBay, they are also sold at most festivals so don't panic about ordering them last minute!

Above is the line-up for this year at Kendal. Doubt i'm going to sleep tonight, partly out of excitement butpartly out of fear I've forgotten to pack something really important (like my ticket!). I'm getting up early tomorrow to get my weekend lashes done and then me and my friends are getting a lift to Lowther Park where Kendal Calling is held for about 12 o'clock when the gates open! I'm especially excited as it's my 19th birthday on the Sunday, can't think of a better place to celebrate!

Check out the official Kendal Calling website here or follow them via Twitter here. My next post wont be until the middle of next week but as always my Twitter and Tumblr will be regularly updated. In the meantime comment and let me know what your festival essentials are or about some of you festival experiences! Remember to leave your link or blog address so I can check it out.