So everyone knows Coachella is a music festival with a trendy scene where you dress to impress despite the desert temperatures. After attending my first Coachella I learned what I really needed to bring and what I would do next time around. First off before I tell you anything else make sure you bring bandanas. Yes bandanas you probably have seen everyone wear are not just the style of the festival but the dust is no joke. I am still suffering along with my friends a week later of horrible allergies from all the dust we inhaled over the three days and I wore my bandanas so that is an absolute must have.
Now that I got that out of the way I have some other must bring essentials. Ear plugs, yes it may sound lame but three days of bumping base and extremely loud music these are a must have. I got the below on Amazon and no one can tell you are even wearing them plus they come with a cute little case so easy to take in and out when away from the stages. Trust me I had no ringing sounds later, could still hear the music and people talking to me without a muffled sound.
Shop All My Must Have Essentials
Next on my essential kit is hand sanitizer -since public bathrooms, enough said there. Mini sunscreen and Body wipes - for sunny, sweaty, dusty all day long dancing skin. Protein bars -to survive if you can’t move from your spot for the next show but need that extra energy french fries won’t help with. Water bottle- you are going to want to make sure to force yourself to drink, drink and again drink water it is a desert after all and you want to last all day. But good news they have refill stations and $2 water everywhere.
With the dust, yes I keep talking about it but it effects you and I want to make sure you can still enjoy your time like I did with these easy must brings. I brought extra contact lens and eye drops since they will get irritated and things will fly into your eyes so always good to have those as a backup. Cash- for quicker food/drink stands or if you want to take a petty cab into the festival some only take cash. Fanny packs- you want to be hands free to throw those babies up when your favorite dj tells you to and a backpack is risky in big crowds so I say a fanny pack is easier to keep an eye on.
Comfortable shoes since you will be on your feet all day running from show to show and dancing your worries away. Yes in my photos I have cute cowboy boots on but trust me I didn’t wear those all day. After my photo session I immediately changed into my converse’s with foot gels and put the boots in my locker. I pre reserved a locker by the front entrance before the festival and that came in handy throughout my experience. It was a great place to put my extra accessories or other things I wanted to bring in case of a fashion or health emergency without having to carry it with me at all times. Plus it gets cold at night so a jacket was great to keep in there as well. I also kept my T-shirt’s I bought in the locker as well. A good tip is to buy your favorite one the first day when you first get there. Styles will sell out and you don’t want that after you prepared for this trip. Also the Coachella app has a Postmates feature so you can skip the whole line. We placed our order on the app and waited 10 min, skipped the whole line and had our shirts, easy and great if you hate lines. Speaking of the app it is also a great plan to heart your must sees artists and compare your line up with your friends over breakfast each day. Once you are in the festival trying to figure out where you want to go and see is gonna be very time consuming since they have multiple stages all performing at once and takes time walking from stage to stage. Hate for you to miss a must see act over poor planning.
Everything I wore over my trip
Glitter is a festival must have I got body glitter at Unicorn Snot in silver and pink for fun sparkle. Tarte is the company who makes the star silver glitter I used on my face and hair that really showed up in my pictures and latest all day. Tarte is a great company since their products are more natural so better for your skin. Speaking of makeup I suggest using a setting spray so your look can last all day don’t want you melting of sweat throughout the day or touching your face with all dust and your makeup comes off with it. Almost forgot to mention an extra battery charger is key so you can keep your phone ready to capture any moment. You will not be able to have service at all times so that takes up a lot of battery. A tip for finding your friends cause trust me you will get separated and want to see different acts or just check out things on your own. Make sure to not just pick a monument but an exact spot cause if you just say meet at the Ferris wheel seems easy enough but trust me it is not, there is so much space you can be standing waiting for someone so be as clear as possible cause service again is spotty with so many people.
Makeup & Hair Products I Used
Overall have fun with your looks everything and anything goes for Coachella so plan accordingly and you will be just fine. Hope this helps plan your next Coachella or festival experience.
Xoxo,
Ashley