Let's Talk Blog Challenge - Aishling's Festival Survival Guide

So it's week 4 of the #LetsTalkBlogChallenge and if you don't know what that is here's a quick explanation in the words of creator @sarah_hamersley Sarah's Blog.

So this is going to be a 6 week challenge, with a different topic each week that we'll write and tweet about. The plan is to write and schedule our posts for Monday at 8pm and then tweet our posts on twitter at that time, using the hashtag #LetsTalkBlogChallenge. That way every Monday at 8pm all our posts are live and we're all online to interact and share our posts with each other. I'll be online from 8-9pm every Monday, reading and commenting on all the posts and chatting to you all, just so there is a sense of community and interaction.

The topic for this week is; Survival Guide! We had the option of choosing either a First Date Survival Guide, A Wedding Day Survival Guide, A Night Out Survival Guide or A Festival Survival Guide.

I'm going with a Festival Survival Guide because it fitted me best! I've been to the Oxegen music festival 3 years in a row and I have no interest in dating (I have my man), I've only ever been to one wedding in my life and I rarely ever go on a night out so festival was the best option!

I should note that we (Kerrie & I) never camped because I have no idea how the hell anyone can do that. We always booked a hotel which I can't recommend enough. Getting back to a nice shower and a soft comfy bed? Yes please! I do know some people love camping but it's just not for me. So if you're looking for a festival plus camping survival guide, this isn't it. This is more of a "Days of the Festival Survival Guide".

Festival Outfit by fluffyvolkswagen featuring stretch denim jeans

Green tee / Long tee, €11 / Hooded parka coat / ASOS stretch denim jeans, €42 / Green jewelry, €8,76 / Vintage pendant / Dr Martens 8 Tie / Leader of the Pack- Knife Embellished Cat Eye Sunglasses / N.Y.C. Liquid Eyeliner, 887A Black, €2,18

First up is an optional festival outfit! Comfort is key. I've seen so many people go to festivals dressed up to the nines and always wonder what the hell they're doing! So much mud and crap and not to forget the rain! Outfits and hair get destroyed as soon as you set foot on the sloppy, squishy, beer and piss covered grass. LMAO! But then it's totally up to you what you choose to wear. I still think you can be super comfortable and look great while going to a festival. 

A jacket or raincoat is super super important when going to a festival. Rain is more than likely going to happen, especially in Ireland. A raincoat would be best because if you're not wearing it I find it's easier to fold up and put in your bag. 

A comfy t-shirt or even an old one you don't mind getting all mud. I wore a Kurt Cobain tee one year (unfortunately not the one in the picture above) and it was great! Super comfy and I even got some compliments on it! But beware slogan t-shirts. I wore a Ramones tee another year with "Hey HO, Lets GO" on the back and after the millionth time of people shouting it at me, it got old fast. I still have that shirt though and love it to bits! I also included a spare t-shirt (The amazing X-Files one) which you should have in your bag incase you get too sweaty or muddy!

Some comfy jeans that you don't mind getting covered in mud.

The only makeup I included was eyeliner. I, to be honest, wouldn't recommend wearing makeup. You get sweaty and wet and muddy and I just would rather not have to think about how my makeup is looking or if it's melting off my face. I do think eyeliner is great though if you want to just add something to your face. This NYC eyeliner is so good and I've actually been to a gig recently, got all sweaty, and it never budged. A winner in my book. 

Sunglasses! Depending on where the stage is, the sun could be right beside it and you could be looking right at it. Do not forget your sunglasses or your eyes and head will hate you! I picked these amazing ones I found on Etsy! Cat-eye and so very pretty. 

Like makeup, I think any kind of jewelry gets in the way. I don't think I wore any jewelry when I went. But I'm really loving chokers recently. Remember those plastic tattoo chokers from the 90's we had as kids? They're back in fashion! Unlike a hanging necklace they're not likely to snag on anything or get in your way so I think they're perfect along with these eyeball stud earrings. Like necklaces, I wouldn't recommend hanging earrings so go for some eye catching stud earrings!

And lastly BOOTS! Boots are super super important. I have seen so many people wearing wellies, especially those ones with the designs which are the WORST because they're not made as wellies only a fashion accessory, get yourself some good fishing or farming wellies for comfort. Wellies also get stuck in the mud very easily and I've seen so many people come out of their wellies and then their socks go straight into the mud! Eeeewwww! Boots are more comfortable and if you get stuck it's easier to pull them out. I've put Doc Martens in this set only because I couldn't find any cheap hiking boots online anywhere. Usually in Lidl or Aldi they have hiking boots every now and then that are really good! I wore mine every year and they never failed me. I still have them and use them when I'm going on long walks. They're also waterproof, I never had wet feets and are super easy to clean. 

Festival/Gig - What's Inside Your Backpack by fluffyvolkswagen featuring coats

Coat / Shoulder bag / Face moisturizer / Beauty product / Garnier Mineral Clean Sensation Deodorant Roll-on / Kodak Single Use Flash Camera, €6,08 / kleenex / Pi Global redesigns Ballygowan water / Wet Ones® Singles Antibacterial Cleansing Wipes / Lids, Bottle Caps, Closures

Now on to your bag and what you should have inside it! 

I picked this bag from eBay but any comfy backpack will do. I recommend backpacks more than shoulder bags because you have more support with backpacks and you'll be on your feet most of the day so the weight of your bag on one shoulder wouldn't do anyone any good! 

Water is the most important. Whether it's sunny or raining you need to keep yourself hydrated and especially if you're drinking alcohol. If you drink as much water as you are of alcohol it can really help with your hangover too! 

Just as important as water is bottle caps. This may seem odd but when you're entering Oxegen, your bag is searched and any water bottles you have the bottle caps are taken off. They basically think 'how dare you bring water with you when you can buy our super expensive water at the festival.' I find this to be so so petty and highly irritating. But stick a few bottle caps in your pocket and when you get by security stick a new one on! Problem solved!

Tissues and wet wipes are a must especially when there is so much mud and those dreaded toilets. 

Sunscreen! Super important even if you think it's not going to be sunny you should be protecting your skin. I included Garnier's Dry Mist and their face sunscreen because I bought them recently! (which means the good weather will disappear :P)

Deodorant and wet wipes work very well together because if you're feeling super sweaty all you need to do is wipe and reapply your deodorant or simply, if you're smelling bad, reapply. 

Why do you need ponchos when you already have a raincoat, you ask? Well they're handy for two things, if you're too warm to wear your raincoat you can just slip one of these on especially if it's a sunny shower and you can use them to sit on. If you need to sit down at any point they're perfect at covering the muddy ground and if the ground is lumpy and uncomfortable put the poncho down and then your raincoat for extra padding and that way your raincoat doesn't get all mud! I recommend stocking up on them from eBay or online somewhere cheap because they do sell them at stupid prices at festivals. Or you could even bring bin bags! They're just as good and you can bring the roll with you.

And lastly a disposable camera! Now, when I went to Oxegen I did bring my phone and an oldish camera but my phone wasn't a super expensive one like my iPhone I have now. I would be terrified to bring my iPhone with me to be honest. So a disposable camera would be perfect! They have that great film look and you can get them developed after and have the photo prints. Something we don't really do anymore is print out our photos because everything goes online now. Even if you do bring your iPhone or some kind of camera, I still think it would be great to bring a disposable one for the fun!

And it is the end. I hope you enjoyed and got some tips! 

Don't forget to make sure and check out Kerrie's post for this week!

Can't wait to see what everyone else has done!

Let me know what you think :)

Thanks for reading!