I've visited about 5 festivals in the past 3 years so im by no means a season pro but I've definatly been bitten by the bug and I absoloutly love them. The UK has some amazing festivals and whatever your looking for be it small, large, dance, chilled there will be one for you. Anyway I thought I would write some tips on what I've picked up and what I wish someone would of told me before my first few festivals!
When I packed my first bag at 16 with some friends off to my first festival I was clueless, what the eff to I take?! Well...
The essentials:
Baby wipes - so many uses it's unbelievable.
Dry shampoo
Toilet role
Camera- You'll thank me later.
Hair brush
Sunglasess
Clothes (obviously weather permitting) :
Shorts
Tee/vest
Overshirt
Jumper - You'll want this for sleeping becuase unless your partying up in croatia this summer you'll freeze in your tent.
Wellies
Converse
Bikini - Wear instead of a bra, 10x comfier and you can sleep in it.
Undies
PJ bottoms
You can obviously fill in the blanks with whatever trends you want to rock (co-ords where huge this year) but I keep it fairly comfy and casual. I tend to skip out on jeans as when your in a huge crowd you will sweat a lot and sweaty skinny jeans I'd rather miss. Also please do not wear flip flops. The only exception to this rule is if your going to an extremley chilled out festival where dancing is not on the agenda, otherwise you will get trodden on and they will probably break, trust me I've learned the hard way.
Beauty-
Hair chalk - I went for pink and blue.
Tinted moisturiser/ BB cream - you can wear foundation if you want but you'll only sweat it off, plus by the second day you wont give 2 shits what you look like.
Concealer
Powder
Bronzer
SPF
Mascara
Makeup is personal but I tend to go more natural with it especially on the face as I know it will of probably of melted off by the time I hit the hay, but I've seen loads of cool eye makeup and face paint so if thats your thing, go for it!
Don't be intimidated-
This may sound odd to many but when I arrived at my first festival I was freaking out. Everyone was bigger/older/better looking/more confident and I was scared shitless! And yes you will encounter some arse's but 9 times out of 10 your with a bunch of like minded people who just want to have a good time.
Arrive early-
Pitch up, get a good space and crack open a cider at a ridiculous hour. You'll beat the traffic and if you go with a lot of people it will guarantee you can camp together, plus make the most of the time you paid for a ticket after all!
Pack light-
Unless your going VIP you dont want to be lugging around a load of stuff plus you probably wont use or wear half of it anyway.
Food-
Take some with you but keep it light, squares bars are my favourite! And take a bit of cash and buy one proper meal a day, your stomach will thank you and it will minimise your hangover.
Obviously you can pick and choose what advice you like, and please share any tips you've picked up, I would love to hear them! This is generally what I've learned from going to festivals and hopefully I will of helped a few people.
Hopefully headed to Bestival in september, see you there!
P x
