My Beach Bag Essentials

 Now on a standard trip to the beach or pool , my beach bag tends to be of a 90:10 ratio , 90% my little mans things , and 10% mine ( if I'm lucky! ) . So the majority of the time , it's packed with buckets and spades , dinosaurs , more toys , and lots of Nivea kiddies blue coloured sun cream (because it can't just be your normal suncream colour , oh no !) .
However ; on the off chance I get a trip to the beach kiddy free , then these are my essentials I like to pack for a relaxed and stress free day .


1. Sunscreen Face and Body  

First things first , sun screen . For my body , my absolute favourite is 'Riemann P20 Once-A-Day Sun Filter' . This stuff is freaking amazing . I use the Factor 50 version ( did I mention how pale I am? ) , I put it on before I leave the house and I am good to go for the rest of the day . I can be a bit lazy on the body SPF side of things , who wants to re apply every couple of hours ? So this is the lazy proof Sun Screen ! I always take it with me though just in case I feel I need a top up . It goes on clear , its not greasy and absorbs quickly . You can pick it up at the duty free if your travelling to the U.K or (yep as usual - ) 'feelunique.com' starting at 16.84 euros .
And for my face I love the St Tropez Face SPF 50 , which I reviewed 'Here'

2. Hair brush     

Next up is the 'Tangle Teezer' , a must have for when you want to give your hair a brush through when your out the water . Glides through effortlessly . If you want to know more I did a review on it Here.

3. Leave in Conditioner
On the subject of hair , I like to take my ' Schwarzkopf Gliss Hair Repair with Liquid Keratin Leave In Spray ' . I enjoy spraying this in my hair , before I want to brush it or just to get rid of that sticky feel you get from the salt , this just leaves it with a really nice shine , and feeling super soft ( smells gorgeous to! ) . I picked this up from my local supermarket , for about 5/6 euros .

4. Lip Balm with SPF   

I think it's important to pack something for your lips , especially something with SPF . I typically go for the 'Nivea Sun Protect Lip Balm SPF30' , which is in the normal Nivea style sticks , making it really handy . and it doesn't leave marks on my lips or go patchy . As an alternative I love the 'Hawaiian Tropic Lip Gloss in Mango Papaya SPF 25' they give a lovely glossy sheen of colour and keep them feeling moisturised . These seem to be readily available at most supermarkets that stock Nivea and Hawaiian Tropic .

5. A Good Book
Quite possibly one of the most relaxing things to do , reading a book by the sea . I have quite a few favourites , but I think the most fitting for a relaxing day at the beach or pool and one of my all time loves , is a book by Belinda Jones called ' I Love Capri ' .

6. Hat

And lastly , to top everything off , a nice wide brimmed hat to keep the sun off your face and neck . I love the panama and fedora style hats , they just look fab in summer . I found a lovely one from asos.com for just over 25euros , but there's so many to choose from , the tourist shops around have some fantastic ones to !

Ps. A great tip I found to keep your valuables a bit safer , is keeping them in an old sun cream bottle !

Pps. I hope this has given you some inspiration for your beach bag !