Tuesday 15 July 2014

What's In My Beach Bag

So, as my summer holiday is fast approaching (hello 3 weeks in the south of France!), I'm starting to make mental lists of what I need, don't need and already have to take with me. Plus, I keep seeing posts of perfect beachy stuff and wanting it, although my issue is that a lot of the things I see on other blogs are in American online shops and taxes and shipping makes some things just too expensive.
But, I thought I would just go through my beach necessities that I worked out after a summer in Cannes, some of these things I own, and some are on my wishlist, but it's helping me to dream about the sun on my skin and sand under my toes!

What's in my beach bag - Beach Essentials

A good beach towel. I've recently seen these Turkish towels (also known as hamam towels or pestemals), and they look like such a pretty alternative to your standard beach towel. They also pack smaller and are really absorbent and quick drying. Plus they become softer and more absorbent the more you use them apparently. Win win! So I have just ordered this hot pink one.

A bag to pack it all in to. I still drag around my old Jack Wills gym bag when I go to the beach, but I've always got my eye out for a proper beach bag that is actually meant for the beach, and came across Hayden Reis through The College Prepster and Design Darling; this pink and blue tote is just what you need to throw everything in to.

Sunglasses. Goes without saying really doesn't it? I invested in a pair of Chanel sunglasses when I was in Cannes, and they were definitely worth the money and I wore them almost every day when I was on my year abroad as it was just so bright and sunny, regardless of whether it was hot or cold!

Bikini! I admit, I hate bikini shopping... I'm not tiny and only started wearing a bikini two summers ago after I decided it was now or never. Plus a bikini dries more quickly than a costume. I picked up a couple in H&M (top and bottomtop and bottom), and both are wired so more supportive. I'm also a fan of Banana Moon bikinis, I used to look at them in Cannes all the time, but they are slightly more expensive than H&M.

Beach dress. I'm permanently searching for a good dress to throw over your swimwear when going to and from the beach, and love this nautical style one, and picked up this one a couple of weeks ago too.

Flip flops. Standard beach footwear, and I love my Havaianas - they don't rub my feet and are lovely and comfortable.

A small zip up bag/purse. Perfect for storing little things that you don't want to get lost / covered in suncream / covered in sand. I generally pop in money, keys, phone and spare hair ties (also necessary for when you need to scrunch your hair in to a bun on top of your head!).

Suncream. Always necessary, I got burned sunbathing in the UK last week, I didn't realise it was quite that warm, so made a rookie error and didn't have any protection... Oops. I love the Nivea Protect & Bronze Sun Spray. (I can't deal with creams in squeezy bottles... when they get sandy and gritty it's like exfoliating your skin too harshly when you try to put it on!)

A bottle of water. I think it might be necessary to invest in an insulated water bottle, and this Camelbak bottle has caught my eye. I was lying on the beach too many times last year and tried to drink out of the plastic bottle I had brought with me and found myself spitting out water hot enough to make a coffee. Not very nice... time to keep it cool.

A good book (on your Kindle!). My Kindle has 3G so I can switch it on and browse and buy books to my heart's content when I'm lying on a beach, wherever in the world I may be. Plus it saves so much on packing when you don't have to lug loads of books around with you (I read books very quickly!). I'm such a fan on Jenny Colgan at the minute, I love all her idyllic books of baking, cupcakes, chocolate, sweetshops and romance, and wonder why my life can't be like that. Plus I have a few other books that people have pointed out which I need to get a hold of this summer.


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