All my festival makeup essentials!
I went to Latitude (one of the major English festivals) in late July, and here are the things I took. As always I used my large makeup bag from E.L.F. (eyes lips face) which has lasted me well over the years (it's practical and smart!), except for the mirror on the inside which had smashed.
(Before I get started, I might do a festival essentials post on in general tips about festivals, what to take etc. Let me know if this interests you! I'm going to Reading festival late August and i'm sure some of you guys are too.)
Here's an overview of the bag and what I brought.
This was my third festival and I'm very happy with the stuff I bought- I found I had exactly what I needed, nothing more and nothing less. I also took a very similar selection (but maybe slightly more) when I went on girls' holiday the week before.
It's so important not to pack too much unnecessary stuff, with everything and not just makeup, because carrying a heavy bag all day to trek to your camp on day 1 and then on your final morning, is such a nightmare. So try and pack light!
Now I'm going to go through exactly what I brought with me and why. It's important to bring makeup you're used to using, that's tried and tested so you know it's stuff you can work with, and most importantly, that you know it will last all day long and into the early hours of the morning. Also, don't bring your most expensive products. There's always the chance (very small, but it's there) of stuff being stolen, and also through the trekking and commotion a chance stuff will get smashed.
Just think very carefully about what you'll bring- it's personal!
Tools:
A mirror is so so essential! I forgot this to my first festival- bad idea.
I also bought tweezers- 4 days is definitely a long time and I didn't want overgrown brows.
Primers:
My face primer was the very cheap but fairly good W7 Prime Magic Camera Ready primer (the green anti-redness one). It smoothes out the skin very nicely and kept me looking matte in the heat.
My eye primer was the NYX eyeshadow base in White, which is basically like a slightly creamier version of the NYX jumbo eye pencil (means it has the tendency to crease a little more too, but I'm working with it, and trying to use it up and if you fully set it it works amazingly. I took it on holiday with me and used it every day for a week, and fell in love with it). I need a brush to use with this, so I brought the Real Techniques deluxe crease brush which is a rounded-top synthetic brush- amazing for any sort of eye primer or eyeshadow base. I have absolutely loved this combo of products.
Concealer:
I didn't bring a foundation, and I'm glad I didn't because it was so so boiling hot during the day that it just would've melted off. Instead I brought my trusts Collection lasting perfection concealer (in 01, the lightest shade). I mainly used this under the eyes (to cover the fact I wasn't getting much sleep), and I've recently come to love using the Real Techniques contour brush for placing it there, it's perfect.
Powder:
I brought the Rimmel Stay Matte powder (in 001 Translucent) and this powder brush from Eco Tools. I have other powders, I just brought this because I know I can count on it, and I'm so glad I did because I packed tonnes of this on and it kept my face nice and matte, and not oily and gross.
Blush, Contour and Highlight:
It's so much easier having them all in one place, so I brought with me the Sleek Face Form palette in the shade light. All I need is right here. I've been loving the Real Techniques duo fibre face brush (limited edition) for bronzer/contour. It's absolutely amazing and flawless and doesn't give a line that's too harsh. For blush and highlight I used the ELF small stipple brush which is another amazing duo fibre brush.
Eyeshadow and Brows:
The Sleek Storm palette is perfect, it's basically all I need. It has the neutrals, you can go for a light or dark look, but it also has blues, greens and pinks, so you can do a variety of different looks and branch out a bit by doing a pop of colour. As you can see by the two colours I've hit pan on, I absolutely love this palette so so much, especially this summer I've got a lot of use out of it. The only problem is that there isn't an appropriate browbone highlight colour, so I used this single called 'Snowstorm' by Natural Collection- their singles are really amazing and only £2!! I even got this and 2 others free on Boots points woo.
I brought 3 coastal scents brushes, 2 blending brushes and one angled brush for eyebrows (I used the darkest matte brown in the Sleek Palette for my brows) and the Base Shadow brush by Real Techniques.
Mascara and Eyeliner:
I brought the Rimmel Glam Eyes Day 2 Night mascara which worked fine, I had also taken this one on holiday, the L'Oreal Linear Intense carbon black eyeliner (my favourite), and the MUA clear (it was once clear I promise) mascara which I use as an eyebrow gel. It's not amazing but it's only £1.
Moisturisers:
For my face I brought the Body Shop Vitamin C Daily Moisturiser because it has an SPF 30 which is so so necessary for festivals when you're spending the whole day outside in the blaring sun. I love this, if you have really oily skin it might be a bit too much, but it's quite good and it smells amazing, like oranges!
For lips I brought the thick Nivea lip butter in the scent Caramel Cream. It smells delicious and is very luxurious.
Glitter is such a festival essential, I brought this one from Stargazer. It has purple and blue reflects and looks amazing as it catches the light.
Was this post useful to you? What are your festival makeup essentials? Let me know in the comments below.
