All Lightweight Essentials You Need For Festival Season

What’s more fun: going to Coachella or shopping for Coachella? If you’re anything like me, organizing your outfits, bags, sunnies, and beauty favorites is part of the fun of taking any trip. Planning exactly what you’ll wear and what you’ll need not only helps the actual event go much smoother, but also helps you pack much lighter.

As someone who loves a festival — my favorites are Coachella and Governor’s Ball — I have a few tried-and-true favorites that get me through both the desert and a hot day in the Northeast. And whether you have to take a flight to get to your festival or not, the day itself is all about what you can fit into your concert purse as a mini survival kit.

Whether you’re heading out to a festival for the first time or want a packing guide cheat sheet, here are some must-have lightweight items to keep on-hand in the pit.

Bags

When it comes to accessories, consider the type of purse you’re bringing. While see-through bags have been gaining popularity at concert venues, festivals don’t typically have these restrictions. When I went to Coachella last year, I used my vintage Harley Davidson bag that had an adjustable strap that could be worn around the waist in addition to over the shoulder. I knew I’d want the option to be totally hands-free, especially in a crowd.

Here are a few other bags that fit the bill: a splurge multi-strap option bag, a leather belt bag, and a rocker-chic belt bag that’s worn around the waist without being an actual fanny pack.

Sunglasses

Now that you have the bag squared away, let’s get into everything that fits inside. Snapping festival pics is a great time to show off new sunnies, and you’ll want something that makes you stand out while fitting inside your bag. Below, find foldable cat-eye sunnies, horn-rimmed frames that’ll slide right into your purse when the sun goes down, and compact vintage shield glasses.

Tech

You absolutely can’t head out into the desert without a phone charger. When I was at Coachella, this was so dire that I actually lent mine to a girl in the Lana Del Rey pit who was crying over how she’d get home with 0% battery on her phone. Remember to help out your fellow pit members the way you’d want to be helped, and keep these slim, lightweight chargers on hand.

Below, find a MagSafe credit-card-sized phone charger and a mini corded charger for phones that don’t have MagSafe compatibility.

Beauty

Obviously, you won’t want to bring your entire makeup bag with you, but there are a few small SPF and makeup products worth bringing along for the day. I make sure to do a full application of face and body sunscreen at my apartment or hotel before I leave for the festival and bring this mini, palm-sized SPF for touchups, mostly on my face. Festivals like Coachella don’t start until around 2 or 3 p.m. and go well into the night, so you’re going to miss a lot of peak morning rays.

When I spent three weeks in California last summer, I seriously underestimated the effect the sun would have on my lips. They started burning and peeling after just a few days, and I realized it was because I was totally skipping my lips when it came to SPF protection. Slide one of these into your bag or even your pocket to stay protected. Lastly, tubing mascara will absolutely get you through a long festival day since it’s water-resistant and adds length and volume (aka drama) to lashes when you need touch-ups.

Wellness

The only hand sanitizer I rely on for festivals is from Bath & Body Works. It’s tiny enough to fit in any bag, and yes, you’re going to need it.

And finally, I wouldn’t head to any festival without a hydration packet ready to go in my bag. Most festivals have free water stations, so you can easily dump this into a water cup for a boost.

Things You Can Skip:

• Wipes: You’re going to be smelly, sweaty, and messy. Just lean into it. You don’t want to get weighed down by extra things that might sound helpful at first, but get totally forgotten in the moment.
• Portable fans: Most festivals are outdoors, where the wide open space won’t allow a portable fan to actually make a difference. Just look for shaded spots, drink lots of water, and escape the crowds when you need a breather.
• Eye drops: Unless you have a sensitivity to dryness, I’d skip this. I didn’t find Coachella to be as dusty as people said, but there are a few moments at the end of the night that you are trudging through sand and dirt to get to the ride transport section that might cause some dust flare-ups. Since this was at the end of the night, I didn’t find it to be a huge problem.