Beach bag essentials

Top 10 Beach Bag Essentials!

Okay summer, stop arriving fashionably late for another year. Yes, us Brits are still at school- envious of other students around the world. Who have a longer holiday than us, undeniably better weather than us (Unless you're in Antartica or whatever, which you probably still have better weather than us) and who are currently off school already. Go on gloat some more over your Instagrams. Anyways. Time to be prepared *going into a random Lion King song now* for the 'sun'. I'm jet setting off this summer; so there will be 2 weeks of no blogging. Maybe instagramming if I manage to stop taking pictures of food (unlikely then). So, I've compiled a list of the ten things I feel are essential for the holidays.

1. Beach bag (Obvs).

Okay so this is slightly obvious, but it gives you another perfect excuse to look at lush handbags. I'm sure you've probably seen this bag before, but if not it's a ClaireaBella bag; if you browse through my blog labels you'll find out more and see more bags! I've been awaiting a perfect time to use her and a holiday is the perfect excuse to. Saying that, I have a bit of a crush on the Victoria's Secret bags. If they had a store closer to me I'd definitely be in there everyday! You need a bag big enough to carry all your bits in, but it needs to be lightweight for travelling. I guess it could double up as a travelling bag (idea for another post).


2. Books

As you can see my current read is 'Mockingjay' by Suzanne Collins. Part of 'The Hunger Games' trilogy. I haven't finished it yet, barely even started. I think 2/3 chapters in? I read it before my exams started- so I kinda forgot about it when revising. Catching fire was amazing and I cannot wait for the film! It's just a traditional thing to see someone reading on a beach. My english teacher says she can get through 6 long books in a 2 week holiday! There's plenty of awesome new books out there too for young adults, besides the sagas if they're not your thing. Such as 'Perks of being a wallflower' and 'The fault in our stars' are both popular and highly photographed over Tumblr. There's also the classics like 'The Great Gatsby' if you enjoyed the film as much as I did, you should get into the book. Ones I really liked last year were 'Losing Lila', 'Starters' and 'The Look'. If you're struggling to find one visit http://www.goodreads.com or http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/ to search! There's also your local library to search.


3. Magazines

For those who don't read books and prefer something more colourful and shorter; magazines are great to pack. My favourite is Company magazine, but any will do. Pack a few in that beach bag and get reading along! Of course Vogue magazine is the holy fashion bible. You should also check out Vogue's books, where they've got the front covers permeating the pages.



4. Perfume


Summer is the perfect time to experiment with perfume and find your signature scent. My favorite scent at the minute is 'Viva La Juicy' by Juicy Couture. I first bought it just for the bottle, for a little room decor, but I tried it and fell in love with it! My Mum calls it the 'boyfriend repellent' though. To be honest my personality is boyfriend repellent as it is! I like to think it's the opposite :P course I wouldn't tell Mum that aha. I'm eagerly awaiting the 'Viva La Noir' version of the scent. The scent doesn't strike me as summery or fruity for that matter, it's kinda sexy smelling. Plus Sasha Pivovarova is perfect in the ad campaign. Hollister can be heavily relied on for a beach scent- Laguna Beach is the one to smell if you're going to check out Hollister. It's quite fruity, I think it Jasmine in it which gives it that 'girliness' to it. There's always the classics like Princess by Vera Wang, Daisy by Marc Jacobs and Miss Dior Cherie. But if you want a body mist Victoria's Secret is also one to check out. For me, Juicy Couture is tantalising my smell buds atm.


5. Batiste dry shampoo

Rumour has it Danielle Peaser and Eleanor Calder use this hair wonder spray. Dry shampoo is such a clever invention which all girls should own. Basically if you don't have time to wash your hair, you spray this into your hair, rub it in and bobs your uncle. Fresh and new. Plus they have a sweet, lasting smell too. We've all had sticky hair on holiday and here's the solution. Spritz away to fresher hair! Plus you can try the product free when you save your recipt. Send it to Batiste and they'll refund it for you! Quick you've got till the 30th June! https://www.facebook.com/batistedryshampoopage/app_357049577745207


6. Spot sticks

I did a review on Melvita products some time ago (http://arrayostyle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/melvita-cleanser-review.html) , but still use them to get squeaky clean, spot free skin. They're very reliable and organic. So not to doddle on about them, you can check out the links for more info. Additionally, check out the 'Skincare' label on my blog for more bits. The Melvita spot zapper which I used, isn't on Amazon. But Tanya Burr has recommended Simple's spot zapper and the 'Australian Bodycare spot stick' so if she's recommended them, they must work! Plus they're small enough to put in your pocket :)


7. Sun cream
Don't forget the sun cream! Unless you want to look like a tomato. You need to be wearing at least SPF 30 for the heat and reapply this a couple of times a day. If you're heaps of fun, I think we've all applied sun cream in inappropriate shapes onto our siblings backs. Sun burns lead to skin cancer, and skin cancer isn't nice at all. Past experience a week of headaches and irritable skin isn't nice.
8. Music

Music makes the people, come together. Yeaaaahhhh. Yes I have an iPod, cos I'm so old school. Once you've got your music playing device- you need to load it up with albums. The tracks we all should have on our pods are: Blurred lines, Need you 100%, White Noise, Get lucky and La La La. There's probably too many to list but AlunaGeorge and Disclosure are probably the artists I want to hear more from.


9. Shoes glorious shoes!

Daisy dukes bikinis on top. I'm not even sure why those lyrics came into my head, it's not even related to shoes. Anyway, if you haven't got the most basic part of your summer wardrobe, you kinda need to get your flops on! Gladiator sandals are always in for summer shoes. But never, EVER commit the ultimate sandal fashion sin. Socks with sandals. Never, ever. EVER do it.


10. Last but not least sunglasses!

Well you need these to cover those drowsy, tired eyes after a long flight. Now these sunnies I've discovered are celeb style, but not on a celebrity budget. Check them out and choose some to cover those eyes and act like an undercover superstar on your holiday.



This has been a bit of a delayed article. I was originally thinking of doing a Youtube video for this. Maybe when I get more time next week. Course comment below if you'd like one :)
Happy summer!
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