Inside My Beach Bag

Let’s take a look inside my beach bag…
For both of my beach bags, I have gone with local Hong Kong bag designers. First I use a MISCHA tote bag plus a Louella Odié tote pouch inside to keep important items separate yet more importantly out of sand’s way. I throw in my sequin sarong from Bali plus my initial “A” hat from Capital M in Beijing (they had a misprint of “A”s instead of “M”s). I also bring our beach mats from Thailand–they fold up nicely and do the trick. As you can see my beach accessories match the colors of the sea–it’s intentional!

If you were to dump out the contents to see what’s inside my beach bag, you’d see a plethora of drugstore goodies:

• To deodorize (cuz you never know when you may need to!) and refresh, I carry some body wipes.
• For my lips I’ll throw in a couple of balms: Baby Lips by Maybelline for a spot of color and Esos Sweet Mint for SPF.
• For sunscreen, I swear by this Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face & Body Stick in SPF 70. I found this product this summer, and it totally works! We travelled back to HK with 4 bars, and this is the last one. Yikes! I use it on my face, chest, shoulders, arms, and hands. For the rest of my body I slather on NO-AD 30. We have been using this sunscreen for years–like as long as Vincent’s been around. I think we started using it on our weekend trips to Margarita Island when he was just a babe. It’s cheap, it’s mildly scented, and most importantly it works. I’ve never been burned wearing this stuff. We’ve tried others and gotten fried–literally!
• Even though I use a SPF, that doesn’t mean I don’t wanna be tan: hence the tanner inside my beach bag. This was the first time I tried using Loreal’s Sublime Bronze, and I have to say, I like it. I’m usually either a Tan Towels or Jergens user, but I liked how I could actually see this one going on, and I anticipated some streaks, but I didn’t have any. After I use it a few more times, it might become my new favorite. We’ll see….
• Also, to look tan I love Beach Hut’s Instant Shimmer–which I have actually only found here in Boracay, so yes, I’ll be stocking up. It’s an oil with SPF of 10 which is hardly strong enough, so I put it on over the 70 and 30. It has these beautiful specks of gold in it hence the shimmer, and it totally works! I like how the gold specks last all day long. I could see almost using this product just to make my legs look more tan during a normal day. I’ll have to try it.
• Finally, for the hair, I have a lovely product that I found in Thailand that I just spritz on to my hair. If you ever see Pure Coconut hair treatments, stock up. They’re sooooo good. This spray is a perfect leave-in conditioner that protects the hair. Plus when my hair is all beach hair flipped out, a couple of sprays of this settle down my poof. (I could find some Pure Coconut products on Amazon.)

This tote pouch from Louella Odié is perfect for keeping a couple of things separate in my beach bag.

• Like my library book! I am very hesitant of even bringing a library book to the beach, but sometimes ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. I’m extremely careful–although that doesn’t always matter. (Yesterday I wrote about the beach reads I brought with me.)
• My notepad and pencil. I carry one with me everywhere. It’s a habit that I’m very happy to keep. A notebook’s a great place to jot down ideas or detail the day. My little notebook is like an adult security blanket for me.
• My phone should not even be on the beach, but….I still bring it anyway. I’m super, super careful–just like I am with my library books!
• Sunglasses in their case also fit well into this separate pouch–although with a case they’d be ok in the big bag too. (I love my hard proof leopard case from the Jim Thompson House–RIP. He’s got the best silks around!)

There you have it! All the products I bring with me to the beach. It might be a haul, but every item just adds to the luxury of being on the beach. Heck, I want to be inside my beach bag just so it could an eternal place to be. I do love the beach!