Festival Essentials.

Festival season is right around the corner with Isle of Wight festival and Download festival due to start this week and Glastonbury at the end of the month so it's only appropriate that I write a post on my festival essentials.  In 2 days time I will be leaving the north east and heading to Isle of Wight festival for my third festival experience. I wouldn't call myself an expert, as this is only my third festival, but I'd like to think I've got this whole packing for a festival malarky down to a T now.

My first essential is of course wellies. My first year of Leeds festival I did take wellies but of course idiot me thought "oh it's only the first night it won't be muddy yet I can wear my Vans" BIG MISTAKE. It rained very heavily to a point where it flooded and I, of course, stood in a very deep and very muddy puddle and instantly regretted not wearing wellies. I'm not sure what Isle of Wight festival is like (some festivals are quite dry so no need for wellies) so I'm taking some boots and some vans style shoes in case it's nice and dry but of course bringing my trusty Hunters! To reduce chafing remember welly socks or tights. Showering isn't an option for me because limited amount of showers plus thousands of people equals long queues so dry shampoo and baby wipes are a must. To keep myself feeling/being as clean as possible whilst camping in a field for 4 days I'm taking Batiste Dry Shampoo in the scent Cherry, Johnson's baby wipes, and also Femfresh wipes, and Femfresh deodorant. I'm very self conscious about smelling of body odour because sometimes I perspire a bit too much in the heat so I'm taking two deodorants: Dove roll on in the scent pomegranate and lemon and Sure Maximum Protection stick deodorant. To stop that 'hairy' teeth feeling in the morning I've chosen to bring a travel size Colgate Max White One Optic toothpaste, travel size Colgate Plax mouthwash, ASDA Extreme Fresh Mint Flossers (found unopened from last year), and finally a pack of 2 cheap toothbrushes from Wilko's. Sun cream is an absolute must, which I've learned from my last 2 years of not packing any and having major sun burn on my face, so I've opted for Nivea Sun Kids Pocket Size SPF 50 and the reason I've chosen this is because the skin on my face is very sensitive so I've assumed since children's skin is more delicate than an adults it should work a treat. There are no sinks at the toilets to wash your hands (there's usually just hand soap in a container on the wall if you're lucky) so anti bacterial hand gel is also a must: I've chosen Carex Complete hand gel in the scent strawberry laces. I get very dry hands so not having access to my lotions and potions is gonna be a problem so I picked up Patisserie de Bain Hand Cream in the scent Sweet as Cherry Pie. I'm also bringing Carmex Cherry Lip Balm for lip care but I'm also gonna be using this under my nose instead of Vaporub if the toilets smell too badly. You can guarantee there will not be any toilet paper in the loos so it's best to be prepared and bring some pocket tissues with you (or even some loo roll), I've opted for a pack of 6 from superdrug. When deciding which sunglasses to bring opt for some cheap ones from somewhere like Primark and leave your expensive ones at home. Chances are you'll lose them whilst in a drunken haze or they'll get stood/sat on and you don't want that to happen to your £200 ray bans! A final absolute must is bin liners, a multi purpose item. These can be used to put rubbish in, put dirty clothes in, be used as an emergency poncho and also be used to sit on so you don't get wet if you, like I did last year at Leeds, leave your chairs outside in the pouring rain. There's a few things not photographed that I'm taking with me and these are Garnier Micellar Water and my 3 step program by Clinique (deposited into travel sized bottles). I am of course taking make up and body spray/perfume with me but I don't class those as essentials so haven't bothered including them.

Other Essentials:

• Paracetamol/Ibuprofen
• Hair grips and hair ties
• Money
• Tickets/Wristbands
• Phone
• Portable Charger(s) if you're a social media junkie and will need your phone
• Plasters/Blister Plasters
• Germolene
• Tweezers
• Travel documents
• Compact Mirror
• Plenty of hoodies/sweaters, it does get very chilly on a night. Remember we're in the UK!
• Torch
• Rain Mac/waterproof jacket/rain poncho
• Airbed & pump
• Duvet & Pillows
• Water bottle/carrier, this can be filled at water taps on site for free!
• Bag with plenty of compartments to keeps your things safe/bumbag
• ID for buying alcohol if you look particularly young
• Summer clothes and also Winter clothes cos again remember, we're in the UK.