Beach Day Must Haves

It's that time of year again, beach season! I hope many of you have beach plans for the summer. I do! I'm going to Florida for a few days and then on a cruise! Can't wait.

I thought I would do something a little bit different today. I have some Beach Day Musts for me and I am going to talk about swimsuits, beach accessories and of course, beauty products.

Let's start off with swimsuits. I don't know about you, but there is something timeless and fun about a polka dot bikini. I have a pink one with yellow, white and red polka dots. I got it years ago from American Eagle. I don't think it will ever go out of style. Since mine is no longer available, I have to say that Adoreme.com has something similar called the Jules Push-Up in a gorgeous aqua green as shown above. I also love a white bathing suit. I have a couple of white bikinis, mine are from Victoria's Secret and American Eagle. Both styles are no longer available. Adore Me has a great one piece called Kaia in white, also shown above. You can't go wrong with a one piece.

I'm really into flutter swimsuit tops this year and I think the black with white and black checkered print style called Monyca by Adore Me hits the mark. Adoreme.com has so many cute, affordable swimsuits and lingerie. You should check them out and their Instagram!

I recently bought a Madewell Packable Straw Hat online from Nordstrom. It's on sale right now for $25 U.S. I don't know about you guys, but I find it so hard to find a reasonably priced packable sun hat. Any regular hat that I pack for a trip or in a beach bag gets destroyed. This hat is great because the ribbon band doubles as an elastic to wrap up the hat when you pack it. I am totally going to go full out Joan Collins in the Dynasty era with the big sunglasses and hat this year! Seems appropriate since her character's name was none other than Alexis.

Speaking of the big hat and sunglasses, I recently found a pair of sunglasses that that I love at The Bay by Jeanne Beker called the Alannah. Picture is shown above. I love these and the little bows at the sides are adorable. I'm all about affordable sunglasses. These are normally $44 Canadian but I snagged mine for $35 on sale.

I recommend getting a lined beach bag, ideal for wet swimsuits and towels, if you can find one. I have one that I bought on a cruise ship a few years ago. Winners/Marshalls and sometimes The Gap have smaller pouches for this purpose that you can throw into a beach bag. Super handy.

Finally for beach accessories, I have the Lauren Conrad Valencia Flip Flops shown above in the Flamingo Bird print. I had these in my hand when I was down in the States recently in Kohl's and for some bizarre reason, I didn't buy them. I have been kicking myself ever since. If you can find these, and they come in several colours and patterns, you need to pick them up! They are only $9.99 right now.

Okay, beauty products! I personally don't feel comfortable hitting the pool or the beach with nothing on my face. Habit of a lifetime. At the same time, you want to protect your face from the sun's damaging rays while still not wearing a mask of makeup. My solution is to wear Origins VitaZing SPF 15. This is a tinted face moisturizer with SPF. There are little beads in it that look orange, but they work in with the moisturizer instantaneously to even out your skin tone and provide you with light coverage. It's a win win. Available at Sephora.

I love me some Burt's Bees and their After Sun Soother may be their best product. If you get too much sun or a nasty sunburn, this product will fix you up in a snap. I've used it for years on myself and my husband and I swear within an hour you can seen your sunburn fading and by morning it's pretty much gone and turns into a tan for most people. Totally takes the sting and pain out of a sunburn too. Nothing compares. You can purchase this at Wal-Mart and many drug stores.  

Bite Beauty's Agave Lip Mask. I cannot live without this. It comes in a few colours now so you can have it look like coloured lip gloss if you prefer, but the clear one still gives you nice, shiny lips. I prefer the clear personally. It will save you from windburn, not sure about sunburn though. Completely moisturizing and soothing. I get prune city after being in the water and I want comfortable lips. Available at Sephora.

Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion is fantastic. When my hair is frizzy or dull and lifeless, I reach for this. Keeps your hair soft and gives it natural looking waves. This is perfect for the beach or poolside. Works great on wet hair while it's air drying. It's like coiffed hair to go. This product is so much better than its predecessor, Bumble and Bumble's Surf Spray. That left my hair dried out and crunchy. You can get it at Sephora and many fine beauty salons.

Mascara. My holy grail, no fail, won't smudge, run or bleed is the Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara. You need this for the beach. End of story. You can pick it up at Sephora and most department stores.  

Last, but certainly not least, if you like to do bronzer for the beach, my favourite bronzer is the tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess. If you haven't tried this, you don't know what you are missing. It is so easy to use and looks amazing. Sold at Sephora and Ulta.

There it is, my Beach Day Must Haves in a nutshell. What are your Beach Day Must Haves? #BeachDayMusts