Memorial Day Must-Haves For Your Beach Bags!

Memorial Day Weekend is the official start of summer (so take that Summer Solstice!) and with summer comes more time outdoors and more often than not, a trip to the beach, lake, or local swimming pool! Get your beach bags ready with our top picks for Memorial Day must-haves!

Let’s be clear – no beach bag is complete without an ample supply of SPF! There are no excuses for leaving your face unprotected thanks to many brands who have created great face-specific moisturizers plus SPF 30 or more. One I love is Juice Beauty’s SPF 30 Mineral Moisturizer in Sheer; $29 (it comes in various tinted shades as well!). The moisturizer uses apple, grape, and aloe juices, all packed with antioxidants. Plus it has vegetable hyaluronic acid, so it plumps up your skin and helps prevent the signs of aging, making it an amazing option for everyday use! Best of all, Juice Beauty is all-natural so you can feel great about putting it on your skin!

Another great all-natural SPF that I am obsessed with right now is COOLA’s Sport SPF 50 Sunscreen Spray; $32. Long gone are my days of baking in the sun without a second thought, now SPF 50 is my go-to, especially when I’m traveling to tropical climates where the sun can be truly intense! I love that this is an unscented option with a continuous spray so I don’t need help rubbing lotion in hard-to-reach places with the chance of missing a spot! The water-resistant (up to 80-minutes of swim-time or sweat-time) uses skin-soothing certified organic ingredients like cucumber, algae, and strawberry extracts.

It’s no secret that I have a love affair with hair and in the summer I like to give my naturally curly locks a break (since, let’s be honest, ironing out the locks in frizzy conditions is a huge, hot waste of time!). At the moment to keep my curls under control I love CHIA Hair Smoothing Oil by Trissola; sold in salons. Using powerful chia seed proteins, vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids, this anti-aging hair treatment oil is perfect for keeping hair hydrated all summer long! I just use a few drops and comb it through damp, clean hair with my fingers and let it air dry or I diffuse it with the blow dryer if I’m in a rush!

Spending more time outdoors can lead to a less than fresh feeling – I like to carry around Boots Botanics Organic Rosewater Toning Spritz; $8.59, for a quick refresher on-the-go or when I’m hanging at the beach. I love that it’s such a multi-tasker since it can be used to give you a quick boost of radiance, tighten your pores, and even help remove makeup. Plus, with a price point under $10, it can’t be beat!

Since we’re on the topic of less than fresh – let’s talk sweat. It’s an unfortunate part of summer and certainly inevitable at the beach… unless you’re using Amala’s Purify line! Summer hasn’t even started and I already can’t go without the Gel Moisturizer; $68. Using fair-trade wild-crafted blue lotus from India, the Purify line helps to restore your skin’s balance and clarity while battling excess oil production and breakouts!

After a brutal winter my hands, knees, and especially my lips, had been in a permanent state of dry, until I started using SpaRitual’s new multipurpose Moisture Balm; $25. Made with fair-trade certified organic shea butter and cocoa seed butter, this travel-friendly (literally, I take it everywhere) balm has been my savior for dry skin. I love how naturally healing the balm is, even beyond dry skin, I’ve used it to help heal small cuts and burns and it’s helped my skin heal and look better than ever!

Last, but certainly not least, summer means swimsuit weather and many of us (my hand is held high in the air on this one) suffer from pesky, annoying, often times embarrassing, cellulite. I have tried so many creams, gels, and tricks over the years and lately the one I’m reaching for is Firm Me Up by Up Beauty; $89. The proof is in the before-and-after photos, this 30 day system WORKS, and as you can tell from the photo above, I use it religiously! After just a week or so of using the cream morning and night (which seriously heats up when applied post shower!) you will find your former problem areas are smoother and the cellulite is less noticeable, making it a total beach bag must-have!

What are some of your go-to products for Memorial Day?