I like to think of myself as a somewhat seasoned camper. I have been going camping  for a week every June for the last ten years, and I like to think that over that time, I have perfected the art of knowing all the essentials that I need to stay looking and feeling good.

 

When it comes to going camping, there are a lot of things that you need to know. One of the most important is that it’s essntial to get your camping trip maintenance level right. While you don’t want to be the girl who is completely over the top about everything, and is then known for the rest of the trip as ‘Miss high-maintenance’. You also don’t want to be the girl who spends the entire trip in sweatpants and her boyfriends t-shirts, with her hair scraped back into a greasy bun. When it comes to camping, you want to be the low-maintenance girl, who looks well put together, but isn’t over the top about it.

 

Camping can be a lot of fun, as long as you are properly prepared, that is. If I forget to take any of my essentials, I spend the week kicking myself for it. Whether you are off to a festival or a camping trip in the country, you need to make sure that when it comes to your camping trip, that you are as prepared as possible.

 

To help you ensure that you have everything that you could possibly need for your next trip, here are my top camping tips:

 

Write a list before you go

A few weeks before your trip, sit down and write a list of everything that you think that you could need. Pin this to the fridge, and then as you think of extra things, simply add them on. When it comes to have a successful camping trip, the key is organisation, so creating a packing list is a real must.

 

Pack a compact mirror

Yes, there will be a mirror in the shower block or portaloos, but in the mornings the ques can get crazy. So having a compact mirror to hand to use to do your hair and makeup will come in incredibly useful. I use Benefit’s some kind-a-gorgeous foundation, which comes with a handy mirror in it, so I often use that instead of a seperate mirror.

 

Don’t go crazy with makeup

You want to appear well put together, but what you don’t want to do is look like you are wearing too much makeup. You are living in a muddy field, after all. The key is to perfect your makeup style so that your makeup looks stylish and you feel good, but also so that your makeup looks as natural as possible.

 

When you are staying in the middle of a field, putting on false eyelashes might be a little much. Keep your makeup as minimal and natural as possible. Otherwise, you’ll end up looking a little bit out of place.

 

Take a moisturiser with an SPF

Far too often when I have been camping, I’ve ended up burning my face. I’m not a big outdoors girl, apart from camping, of course, so whenever I go out in the sun, I tend to burn. When you’re camping, you spend most of your time outside, and so it’s so easy to burn your face.

 

Even if you don’t burn, the sun’s rays could still cause damage to your skin, and as we all know, sun damage is no joke. Unless we want our faces to droop at 40, us girls know that protecting our skin is incredibly important. That’s why I now, always pack a moisturiser with an SPF factor in it, so that I know that my face is protected from any sun damage.

 

Don’t forget the detangeling spray

My hair rarely tangles normally, but whenever I go camping it always end up in a mess. I blame it on the dirt and the ash from the camp fire – that stuff gets everywhere. That’s why I always make sure to pack a bottle of detangling spray, to ensure that I don’t end up with a birds nest on my head.

 

Dry shampoo

Depending on how long you are camping for, you may be able to get away with using dry shampoo for the whole trip. I go camping for a week, so I brave the showers and wash my hair at least three or four times while I am there, and use dry shampoo in between.

 

However, when I went to a festival last summer, I managed to last three days using only dry shampoo and my hair still looked acceptable. So a bottle of dry shampoo – preferably Baptise Dry Shampoo, is a real must-have for any camping trip.

 

Aloe vera gelly

If you have read by ‘about me’ section, then you will know that I am a real fan of aloe vera. Aside from being great for burns, aloe vera has many amazing uses. From reducing the size of insect bites and spots, to healing cuts and grazes more quickly, aloe vera can be used to treat almost anything.

 

I never go anywhere without my handy tube of aloe vera, especially not camping. I always get eaten alive by mosquittos, and aloe vera takes the itch and soreness out of the bites, so is a real must-have item for me.