Summer is finally here with the looks of it and festival season is well underway so I've put together some essentials for feeling and looking your best this summer. Weather your going on a sun and sea holiday, city break or simply hitting up a festival this season make sure you've got some of these items packed!


As your all aware Kiss Products imPRESS nails are my favourite stick on nails and I tend to wear them all the time. However the shorter styles are absolutely perfect for festivals. You can apply them within 5 minutes, you could even stick them on whilst your on your way to your festival (as long as your not the driver). Once on, I personally get around two weeks wear from them before I have to remove them to apply a fresh set. Now at a festival you may be more hands on; putting up a tent, carrying a lot of luggage -cough- beers and being outdoors so I did only get 1 week wear on this occasion but this is still amazing for stick on nails! imPRESS come in many different designs, styles and lengths so everyone can find a set for them. Grab yourself a set or two from your closest Superdrug, Boots or Asda or online here.



Now we're talking more summer holiday than festival here, well depending on where your festival is located I'm sure you'll be keeping the sandals and flip flops packed. For all the lucky ones having a summer holiday this year, check out imPRESS pedicure which are the same great stick on nails as the manicure sets but for your toes!! Don't deal with clipped nail polish or expensive trips to the salon, apply a set of these imPRESS nails for long lasting nails that look and feel amazing! Everyone has asked me where I had my toes done since I've been wearing these. They actually make my toe nails look better and neater than just wearing nail polish. These are a new product from Kiss so there are currently fewer designs to choose from but still a good choice. I had my first set on for around 4 weeks but I changed them to a fresh set which was more out of choice than needing to remove them.


Top Tip - Apply your press on nails before bed as your less likely to get your hands or feet wet for longer than during the day. This helps them stick and last longer in my experience.

Being outdoors or in the sun for long periods of time can dry up your skin even with the correct sun care. Pop a mini Hempz Beauty all day moisturiser in your case or bag and treat your skin morning and night to keep it feeling soft and smooth. Hempz use 100% pure natural hemp seed oil to create their products and sell a range of scents and collections. This one is the Herbal Whipped Body Créme which has a sweet scent which lasts and because of the whipped texture of the cream it applies beautifully without any stickiness. The whipped like texture is thin enough to apply quickly and easily but not thin enough to make a mess. Hempz is paraben free, Gluten-Free and 100% Vegan too!


Want fresh looking non-tried eyes whilst away from home then make sure to put these bargain eye patches in your toiletries bag. For just £1.00, yes a quid you can awake your eyes every morning so you can look and feel fresher plus do not worry about puffy eyes. Just apply one patch under each eye for 5 to 10 minutes, you can even do this whilst you get ready for the day. Once the times up, remove and check out the results! These are a total winner for festivals too as you don't always get much sleep if your on a noisy campsite so puffy eyes are a problem but not with these little life savers. Head to your local Primark and stock up!


The all important sun care products, this should be one of the first things you pack in my opinion. Even in the British weather, you need to protect your skin from harmful sun rays and UVA damage. I particularly like this Calypso once a day, the texture is oil like but smooths onto my skin. It's easy to apply, isn't sticky or shiny when on the skin and perfect for applying on the go for those jam packed holidays or non-stop festivals this summer. Note, I always reapply the 'once a day' sun protection after going in any water for long periods of time, after 6 hours  of being out in the sun consistently and always 15 minutes before any sun exposure. Calypso is made in England which is a nice bonus as well.

Festival season is here and the British sun is starting to shine making me really excited for my first festival of the year. I've got my packing list, essentials list and nearly finished my shopping already; there are some items you could probably do without but there's a couple of products I think you most definitely need.


The sun may not make an appearance all summer long but that doesn't mean we don't need to protect our skin. At most festivals you will be outdoors for the majority of the event so wearing sun protection is vital, here I have a few products from Calypso Sun care* that was sent to me earlier on in the year and a product I picked up in town recently.

*Once a Day Sun Protection
This sun lotion only needs to be applied to your skin once and will protect you against UVA and UVB rays all day. The lotion needs to be applied to you skin 15 minutes before sun exposure, this allows the lotion to bind with your skin and form a protective film against the harmful sun rays. Providing you generously applied the product and let it sink into your skin your protected all day and the lotion has a water-resistant formula however I always like to re-apply any sun cream after I've been swimming or in any water for a long amount of time. I personally think this is a great product for a festival getaway since you can apply this lotion at your tent then head out for the day knowing your protected from the sun. The Once a Day lotion is available in SPF from 10 to 50 so whatever your choice of protection level you can use Once a Day lotion.

*Aloe Vera Gel Aftersun
If you do forget to wear sun screen one day or the sun manages to make you a little red then you will want a cooling aftersun product. This Aloe Vera Gel cools and soothes your skin whilst rejuvenating it; the witch hazel and aloe vera ingredients develop and restore moisture which will help get your skin back to normal after sun exposure and prolong your tan too. As an added extra this gel contains an insect repellent ingredient so your also protected from mosquitoes and other insects; I'd recommend this if your prone to insect bites. I prefer gel like products to cream especially with after sun, gel's have more of a cooling effect than a lotion so my skin feels instantly soothed.

Scalp Protection Spray
I first tried this product at last years Download Festival, my friend brought it with her as her scalp burns quite easily; I was really impressed with the product. It's non-greasy formula helps protect your scalp from harmful UVA/UVB rays. I think sometimes we forget that our scalp is exposed to the sun just as much as our bodies especially if you don't wear a hat so this little spray is a helpful product to take away with you. The product is a spray too so its really easy to just spray it onto your scalp and around your hair line then rub in and your good to go; just remember to reapply after any swimming or heavy sweating. I picked this up from my local Body Care store and it was only £1.99, the small bottle is easily popped in your bag, bum bag or pocket so another great product for festivals.


Washing your hair at a festival can be a chore and if your lucky enough to not need to wash your hair for the duration of the event then I envy you but for a lot of us we will need wash our hair, however I have another solution that needs no water at all.

Introducing Zerreau*, a new shampoo that doesn't need any water and lifts grease and dirt from your hair giving that clean hair feel. Zerreau is a foam product that has the power to remove odour, product build up and leave you with clean fresh hair. The website states that it's not a leave in product and it's not a dry shampoo, its a new hybrid product. I discovered Zerreau through Instagram after the brand followed me, I was very intrigued by the product especially as I attend festivals each year. They was kind enough to send me a bottle to sample and I have tried the product a few times now. The bottle has a pump on the top which the foam comes out of; a few pumps are needed to fully cover my hair. I massaged the product into the roots of my hair only and then using a dry towel rubbed the product off. This did leave my hair slightly wet to touch but it looked clean and smelt fresh, the apple scent of the product helps with this also. You can style your hair as normal after using the product, I feel like my hair was grease free, fresh and as clean as it would be after a normal shampoo. I only have one small issue with it, when I used this product all over my hair because the product does wet the hair I was left needing to straighten my hair; this is because my hair is very wavy and once wet needs styling probably again. I would definitely use Zerreau to clean the roots of my hair at my festivals this year as this was really successful but I wouldn't personally use it all over. Zerreau is available to buy at Sainsbury's and now Superdrug in apple and strawberry scents.


Staying clean at a festival sometimes feels like a struggle but after a few years of experience I've learnt a few tricks to stay as clean as possible. Along with these tricks I always recommend you take hand sanitiser with you; I take a bottle with me everywhere not only to festivals. What you do need at a festival is a smaller sized bottle to fit into your pocket or bumbag to save space and still keep your hands clean.

Merci Handy are a French brand that I discovered through a beauty box and since I've picked them up whenever I could. These hand cleansing gels come in small bottles and you only need a small amount of gel to clean your hands making them the no 1 festival essential for me!

The gels come in a few scents but my favourite is Black Vanilla, I am a huge fan of vanilla scented products, I was very pleased to find this scent within the Merci Handy range. I have also tried the New Wave scent and this was a really fresh and new scent which was also very pleasant. These cleansing gels are enriched with emollient beads and vitamin E which help to hydrate and care for your skin, all while fighting bacteria on your hands.

Merci Handy's hand cleansing gels are my no one favourite hand sanitiser and I am always picking them up in Topshop stores whenever I need a new bottle. These are also available on the Birchbox website.