Hello hello, thanks for stopping by again! This week my mind is focused on one thing and one thing only. COA freaking CHELLA.
The day I purchased my Coachella ticket, was the day I realized dreams really can come true because I have dreamt of being the ultimate festival Hun in Palm Springs for years. The festival runs over two weekends and the plan was to go to the first one, but faith gave us tickets to the second weekend instead. That’s ok, my crystal ball tells me there are big surprises lined up.
I bought my ticket in January so I’ve had a few months to prepare myself, if not years! But of course, time slips away fast and here I am with less than two weeks to go, freaking out about what I’m going to wear, will I fit into my clothes (still rocking that Christmas bod) and is my skin ready to see the light of day after weeks of New York snow.
I’m a list maker and the type of person that needs a plan of action, written on pretty paper (or in a blog post), so I’ve put together this pre-festival prep plan to calm myself and maybe to help some of you guys too!
The most important thing about any festival is the what you wear
My Festival Shopping Go To’s:
Apart from a few Soho boutiques, I did the majority of my Coachella shopping online. I actually found it really hard to find outfits I loved. Coachella is one of the earliest festivals of the year so summer clothing options haven’t been the best. However, Sabo Skirt is an Australian brand so they have amazing summer clothes all year and provided me with a lot of festival inspo!
If you’re looking for extra unique items:
Four Types of Festival Styles
A festival is the best time to have fun with your style, anything goes and you can try out crazy looks without looking too crazy. When you have such freedom of fashion choice it can be hard to decide what type of look you want to go for. From my research, I have found there are four main types of festival styles. You might stick to just the one style or try all four, either way, have fun with it!
Some essentials no matter what your style
- Power bank
- Sunglasses
- Bandana for desert dust
- Raincoat (Irish festivals need only apply)
- Snacks
- Water bottle to refill at the water stations
- Backpack/ light bag
- Blister plasters for sore feet
- Glitter/ Facepaint
- Sunscreen- Face + body
- Dry shampoo
- Wet wipes & tissue (Portaloo hell Prevention)
- Face spray to keep your skin hydrated throughout the day
Weight
Let’s be real for a minute. We all want to look like supermodels and have the tightest bods possible at a festival. Not much is left unshown so it can be easy to feel the pressure to lose a few pounds in the lead-up to the weekend. Without kidding ourselves, there’s really not much that can be done if you haven’t been working out and eating right for a while. But, there are a few little things like skipping the takeaways and cutting back on the booze a few weeks in advance that will allow you to live guilt free during the festival when you indulge and embrace everything on offer. I’m not sure what the food will be like during Coachella but I can guarantee I won’t be eating no salads!
To make myself feel better, I like to do fitness challenges when I’m stuck for time and don’t have long until I have to be in a bikini. Just Google lunges, squats, press ups, and planks challenges. My favorites are by Cassey Ho on her Blogilates website.
A great fake tan with some subtle body contouring will always make you feel better about yourself. Another quick slimming trick I’ve used before is taking diuretic water pills. I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I don’t know what these pills really do, but I’ve been told they help to reduce bloating and weight gain from water. Give them a try if you’re inclined.
Body Prep
I take body preparation seriously and start the process at least two weeks in advance. I might sound crazy, but I’m ok with that. The following are the steps I am taking to look my best self.
Hair- I’ll be smothering my hair in coconut oil ahead of the weekend to ensure it’s at it’s shiniest and to prepare it for the strong sun.
Other hair-
There are only three places I want hair and that’s on my head, eyelashes, and brows. Everything else must go. My brows will be threaded and dyed. Wax strips will take care of the rest, a few days before the weekend and before I apply fake tan of course.
Skin- I wrote a full blog post on how I prep my skin for fake tan before a holiday, and a festival is no different. The post covers dry body brushing, shaving, and my favorite tanning products. View HERE.
Face- Coachella is held in a Californian desert. Sounds AMAZING, but my already dry skin will hate me for it. I’m doing my best to drink extra water to hydrate and plump my skin and also preparing with facemasks and good moisturizers. I’m bringing facemasks and eye pads for the weekend too, to use each morning before I paint my face with glitter.
Teeth- It’s been awhile since I’ve used any teeth whitening products. I do coconut oil pulling (google it) regularly which is amazing, but because my smiles will be extra large during this weekend I’m leaving nothing to chance and trying out some whitening strips! I thought about buying trusty Crest Strips, but in the end, I opted for the cheaper CVS version. I often find own brand products to be just as effective so I’m excited to put these to the test.
Nails- The last thing I want is to worry about chipped nails so I’ll be getting a gel mani and pedi. I almost always go for nude colors but maybe Coachella will be my chance to spice things up! Just like outfits, it’s hard to choose what nail design to go for but here are some of my favorites for a festival.
This will be my first year at Coachella and despite watching hundreds for vlogs on Youtube, I still don’t fully know what to expect. The one thing I know for sure is that it is going to be amazing! I’ll cover the nitty and gritty details of everything that goes into planning the weekend from getting tickets to accommodation and transport in a separate blog post.
Make sure to follow along on my Cali experience on my Instagram @she.prevails and Snapchat @sophiemitchl
Sophie
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Images from Pinterest
