The only thing standing between you, mermaid-esque waves, dewy skin and a natural golden glow? Organisation.
Before you hit the beach, make sure your bag contains a little more than just sunnies and a towel.
From the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, here are some beauty essentials you need to pack in your beach bag.
#1 SPF Lip Balm
A word to the wise: your lips are just as vulnerable to UV damage as the rest of the skin on your body.
So don’t forget to slip, slop, slap your pout in the process. Aside from sun damage, dry weather and salty water create the perfect storm for chapped, flakey lips. To prevent a day at the beach from wreaking havoc on your lips, upgrade your regular chapstick to a lip balm with SPF.
Left to right:
QV Face Lip Balm SPF 30+, $4.99 at Chemist Warehouse
SunSense Lip Balm SPF 50+, $3.99 at Chemist Warehouse
Dermal Therapy™ Lip Balm SPF 50+, $6.99 at Chemist Warehouse
Ultra Violette Sheen Screen SPF50 Lip Balm, $25 at Adore Beauty
#2 SPF For Your Body
If you want to steer clear of sunburn, premature ageing and dark spots, make sure you apply a sunscreen with at least SPF 30 to your entire body. Be sure you don’t forget about those less obvious areas like your ears, the back of your neck and your feet.
Left to right:
Reef Coconut Sunscreen SPF50 Dry Touch Lotion, $9.95 at Your Discount Chemist
Eau Thermale Avène Sunscreen Spray SPF 50+, $34.99 at Adore Beauty
Cancer Council Ultra Pump SPF50+ Sunscreen, $21.99 at Chemist Warehouse
Naked Sundays SPF50+ Glow Body Mist, $44.95 at MECCA
#3 SPF For Your Face
On and off the beach, wearing sunscreen is a must. Fortunately, the days of thick SPF formulations clogging our pores and causing breakouts are long gone. Use a formula that is specifically formulated for your face to enjoy hydrated and nourished skin, plus all the anti-ageing benefits that come with protecting yourself from UV rays. For easy top-ups throughout the day, try Neutrogena’s spray-on sunscreen and keep your sticky, sand-covered hands off your face.
Left to right:
Dr Roebuck’s Barrier Reef Daily Mineral Sunscreen SPF50+, $49 at drroebucks.com.au
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face Mist SPF50, $23.99 at Priceline
Bondi Sands Hydra UV Protect SPF 50+ Face Fluid, $19.95 at Bondi Sands
Ella Baché Active Face Great SPF50+, $55 at Ella Bache
Hydrating Mist
Long days of sweat, salt, and sun rays can often lead to one thing: dehydration. And it sabotages a glowing complexion like nothing else. In order to keep your skin dewy, plump and hydrated, keep a mist in your beach bag and regularly spritz over your SPF to safeguard your skin against moisture loss.
Left to right:
Olay Mist Ultimate Hydration Essence – Calming, $35 at Woolworths
A’kin Rose Mist Toner, $19.95 at David Jones
innisfree Green Tea Mist [Micro], $25 at innisfree
Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist Intense Deluxe Edition, $79 at Myer
Hair Treatments
There’s a stark difference between salty beach tresses and frizzy, dry hair. To avoid the latter, infuse strands with nourishing and conditioning products and prevent hair from being compromised by the harsh and drying effects of salt water. Rinse out the salt water, run any hydrating treatment through the ends, and comb it out to prevent your locks from feeling like straw.
Left to right:
Herbal Essences bio:renew Pure Coconut & Aloe Hair Oil Blend, $16.99 at Chemist Warehouse
Glow Lab Hair Mask, $18 at Woolworths
JUSTICE Professional Detangle Brush Compact, $12.95 at JustCuts
The Body Shop Shea Beautyfying Oil, $20 at The Body Shop
Main image credit: @ultravioletteau
Are you looking forward to beach season? What are your beach bag essentials?
My body can not tolerate body sunscreens. So far had allergic reactions to all of them. On the face chemical based can wear about 3 to 4 hours on average before they start burning my eyes and create heat on my skin. Physical can tolerate a bit longer, but no more than 6 hours per day. Skin just shrivels and suffocates. So I use only face spfs and only for short period of time. So at the beach I am only early mornings and late afternoons.
Reef sunscreen is my favourite! Love the coconut scent so much!
I’ve never used Reef. The packaging is so retro!
Are sprays as effective as regular tube or pump sunscreens?
I don’t think so, Lucy – unless you diligently rub them in evenly, like a cream or lotion sunscreen.
A big hat too is a must too and sunglasses.
I’ve been struggling to find an SPF lip balm that’s not bitter. Will check out these options! Thanks BH
I don’t think I carry lipbalm to the beach. Maybe I should.
Some of these sound amazing I need to get my lips some SPF asap
Naked Sundays sounds great but $44 for a body sunscreen spray is a bit rich. Sunscreen spray doesn’t give amazing protection plus there are so many cheaper ones
Great suggestions. I’ve tried some of the lip balms and sunscreens mentioned.
A bit of talc is helpful – it gets all the sand off your feet when you leave.
Great suggestions of essentials.
I am trying to commit more to applying lip gloss with SPF coverage! I have it in every bag and in my morning routine too
yessssss
Love some of these products, very essential for summer
I would love to try Ultra Violette.