Beach Bag Essentials

Given that it currently feels like it’s a thousand degrees here in Abu Dhabi and I had my sister visiting last week, we spent quite a bit of time at the pool!  I have also been told that the the weather back home has been extraordinarily hot (although I’m sure that this will have changed by the time this blog post goes up lol).  Regardless, I thought it might be interesting to share what I have been carrying around in my beach bag and the things I can’t go without in this weather!

Beach Bag

What better place to start than with my beach bag itself. Now, I know that straw beach bags are everywhere at the minute (to the point where I am almost sick of seeing them lol) but I actually got this beach bag when Dan and I went on honeymoon. It was in our room when we arrived at the resort as a gift for guests to use and take home. I was thrilled lol and I have been using it ever since.

There is a good reason why straw bags are so popular. They look so chic and pretty, as well as being nice and lightweight. The other bonus is that they do a great job of camouflaging all of the dirt that my beach bag seems to attract.  My beach bags usually end up covered in sand and sun cream, or get completely stained by wet patches.  The straw bag helps to mask these issues for as long as possible lol.  I’ve had this one for over two years now and it’s still going strong!

There is a link here to our honeymoon blog post for anyone who missed that 🙂 

Turkish Towel

This next thing is my absolute favourite item in my beach bag.  Of course a towel is always a necessity but I absolutely hate having to carry a big bulky towel in my bag, especially on the way home when its dripping wet and twice its original weight!  My best discovery of last year has to be my Turkish towels!! I discovered these by pure accident at a farmers / craft market here in Abu Dhabi about a year ago and I cannot believe I didn’t know about them sooner!

I was first drawn to this particular stall (ran by ‘2birds’ – they also have an online shop) by the beautiful array of coloured and patterned materials.  As I took a closer look the lady selling them told me that they could be used as a throw, a beach cover up or a towel! They are 100% cotton and extremely lightweight so I was unsure how this would work as a towel, but I was more than willing to give it and go and I am so glad that I did!! These Turkish towels are absolutely amazing!!  They are perfect as a beach towel because the material is highly absorbent but quick drying because it is so lightweight!!  No more lying on a soggy wet towel at the pool or beach.  The best part is that they fold up really small making them so easy and convenient to carry in your bag.

I picked up two of them on that day (The Turkish Towel in Ocean and the Oteki Towel with blue stars) and I definitely have my eye on a few of the others.  I cannot say enough good things about them.  They are amazing!  When I first got them I really was sceptical as to whether or not they would dry my wet skin as the material just doesn’t feel as though it is made for that, but it honestly works! Additionally, the material softens and works better and better over time.

I have included links to the exact towels that I have below but you can also buy Turkish towels on Amazon and Etsy and places like that.  They are becoming increasingly popular and for good reason!

Sun Cream

The most important item in any beach bag is of course the sun cream.  I don’t really have a preference when it comes to what sun cream I use on my body but for my face my favourite one for the last few years has been Heliocare 360 SPF 50.  I am all out of that at the minute though, so I have been using the Crystal Sun Spray by Recipe instead.  I discovered this sun spray when I was in Hong Kong earlier this year and I have been really loving it since.

As the name suggests, it is SPF in a spray form which I LOVE!!! It is so easy to use and feels very refreshing when I spray it on! You just mist it over your face and you’re done! It doesn’t require any rubbing in and doesn’t leave any sticky residue like normal sun lotion does.  The spray is so fine and light and doesn’t make my skin feel all oily and greasy.  The other great thing about a spray on sunscreen is that you can also spray it on over your makeup so it is so handy for touch ups during the day if you are wearing makeup.

I haven’t really found anywhere where I can repurchase this once it runs out but I know that Pixi and a few other brands also make spray on sunscreen so I can link to those below.  I haven’t tried these myself however.

Water Bottle 

Last but not least is my water bottle.  It’s not an option to go to the beach or pool without a water bottle in the UAE heat! However, you are completely wasting your time by bringing a plastic bottle as you will be drinking hot water within a minute of getting there lol and nobody wants that!! You need a seriously heavy duty bottle to fight the UAE rays lol.  My current bottle of choice is this one from Corkcicle.  Not only is this bottle ridiculously cute in its pastel pink lol, but it claims to keep water cold for over 25 hours and it really does! Well, to be completely honest, luckily I haven’t had to test it for 25 hours but when I use this bottle my water is as cold as when I poured it in there even hours after sitting directly in 40 degree heat!! It’s honestly magical! I’m so impressed by it.

That’s it for my very ‘essential’ beach bag items.  I hope this will be helpful for anyone who is lucky enough to be planning a summer holiday or who is just enjoying the hot weather where they live 🙂

Let me know if you have tired any of the things I mentioned or what your beach bag essentials are 🙂

Happy weekend all x

 

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