We went to Coachella for the first time. Here are 7 items we're glad we brought and 5 things we regret not packing.

2022-05-14 13:10:11 By : Mr. Benhood Zhang

Insider's music team attended Coachella in Indio, California for the first time this weekend.

We rounded up seven items we're glad we brought, including a portable charger, lip balm, and bike shorts.

We regret not packing gel shoe inserts, ibuprofen, parasols, and more.

A portable phone charger is a festival staple.

When you're in the desert all day, bouncing around in-between stages and food vendors, your phone's battery is bound to take a beating — especially if you're taking lots of photos and videos, as people at Coachella are especially wont to do.

There are some charging stations sprinkled across the festival grounds, but it's much easier to have a portable charger on hand if you don't have the time (or the desire) to hang out next to an outlet.

Lip balm is always essential but especially at Coachella. Throughout the weekend, our lips became extremely chapped — presumably due to dry heat, dehydration, and sheer exhaustion.

Any hydrating chapstick or healing ointment would work, though Callie is partial to Glossier's Balm Dotcom. The $12 tube comes in a variety of tints and takes a surprisingly long time to run out.

Sunscreen is also a must-have, especially in small bottles that are easy to carry around.

This one may seem obvious, but the importance of sunscreen simply cannot be overstated. It's not enough to apply once before entering the festival grounds, so make sure you have small bottles to carry with you for reapplication.

If you have sensitive or dry skin, consider bringing one generic brand for your body and another specifically for your face. Callie recommends Protect + Glow by Tula Skincare, which has SPF 30. It feels super light to wear and adds a nice dewy effect.

Hand sanitizer was one of the things we used most.

Like sunscreen, this one should be pretty obvious. But there were so many instances where we used it — like before eating, or after using a bathroom that didn't have a working sink — that we cannot understate its importance.

Courteney loves the ones from Bath and Body Works. They're compact so they'll fit in any size bag or pocket, and they come in a variety of scents.

Mini deodorant can be a life-saver.

Needless to say, it gets very hot at Coachella, especially if you're watching artists perform in the direct sunlight.

Carrying a mini stick of deodorant can help you feel fresh, and if you're not wearing pants, it's also handy for preventing chafing in between your thighs.

Bike shorts, especially ones with pockets, make it easier and more practical to wear a dress.

Speaking of preventing thigh chafing, bike shorts are vital if you're planning on wearing a dress to the festival like many of weekend one's attendees — including me, Courteney.

On Sunday, I wore a pair of bike shorts from American Eagle that also had pockets. These were especially great because they provided somewhere to put my phone when it got too hot to hold in my hand.

A reusable water bottle is a necessity.

Coachella has free water stations placed throughout the grounds, making it easier to refill a water bottle and stay hydrated.

We recommend bringing one that's insulated, to prevent your drink from getting warm in the desert sun.

After the first day at the festival, we went to the store for portable fans.

Immediately upon arriving at the festival on Friday, we regretted not packing a cooling device.

Before returning on Saturday, we stopped at a local hardware store and picked up mini automatic fans for $4 a piece. It was a cheap expense and deeply useful throughout the rest of the weekend.

We also bought gel shoe inserts to help ease our sore feet.

Coachella is huge. Even discounting the grueling journey to and from the parking lot, there's a lot of walking involved just to get from stage to stage — and that's not even to mention all the dancing we did when Harry Styles arrived.

Despite wearing comfortable sneakers or broken-in Dr. Martens all weekend — unlike many trendier festivalgoers — our feet were still aching by the end of day one, and we had both developed painful blisters.

On Saturday morning, we picked up two pairs of gel shoe inserts from the grocery store, which helped ease the discomfort.

There were many times throughout the weekend when we wished we had ibuprofen.

Maybe it was just dehydration and sleep deprivation, or perhaps it had something to do with singing Carly Rae Jepsen songs at the top of our lungs, but we both weathered steady headaches throughout the weekend.

Pair that with our sore feet, and a little bottle of ibuprofen to carry around the festival would've been a godsend.

A parasol would've also been helpful.

Coachella forbids umbrellas, but parasols are allowed to help shield patrons from the brutal sunlight.

We hadn't thought that would be necessary, but every time we saw someone comfortably ensconced beneath a stylish circle of shade, we couldn't help but feel envious.

We regret not springing for preferred parking.

A preferred parking pass at Coachella costs $140 plus fees, so we decided not to purchase that extra luxury.

Looking back, however, it would've been worth the expense. Most of the daytime parking lots are quite far from the festival entrance and the walk felt extraordinarily long in both directions — due to the heat on the way in, and thanks to the dust and fatigue on the return trip.

Follow along with Insider's Coachella coverage here.

Read the original article on Insider

All you need is two products and a one minute massage.

As much as we love learning and reading about skincare, the abundance of products can feel a little overwhelming—not to mention expensive. Do you really need to spend hundreds of dollars on products that...

My favorite genre of picture: Celebs posing with the most random things so they can get them for free.View Entire Post ›

In a new TikTok video, beauty legend Bobbi Brown shares her go-to products for a quick and easy makeup routine that only involves three essential steps.

"Try 'em once," Downey urged his followers alongside a hilarious 15-second clip of him using the Friends star's new line

Image Source: Getty/ Patrick T. Fallon Selena Gomez's latest manicure is giving us the nail art crossover we didn't know we needed.

You're about to shine bright like a diamond.

The sale also included the 205-carat Red Cross diamond, with proceeds supporting the charity.

"I’ve literally started rubbing it (yes, my butt) in bed at night."

Beauty products that are good for our skin and the planet? Last year, Sephora began categorizing certain brands and products as “Clean + Planet Positive,” meaning that the brands focus on “climate commitments, sustainable sourcing, responsible packaging, and environmental giving,” Sephora explains on their website. Brands with the green and blue tag include Youth To The People, a “pro-grade vegan brand all about conscious sourcing, climate justice, and post-consumer and recyclable materials,” Sephora notes, and Tata Harper, a “high-tech, natural brand that supports Trees for the Future and uses eco-conscious materials, like 100% recyclable cartons.”

The 23-year-old former Miss Universe contestant announced the surprise news on Instagram on Thursday

Stay shaded & cool during during hot summer days

Image Source: Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris Two TikTok sensations have come together to make a collaboration so tasty, even Cardi B is on board. The new Native x Baked by Melissa Tie-Dye Vanilla Cupcake Body Wash ($9) has been making waves on the internet, and even Cardi B got ahold of it and loves the scent enough to post it on Instagram.

A good retinol alternative can be very hard to come by. There are many reasons out there to not want to work retinol into your skincare routine — maybe you’re pregnant, maybe you’ve got super sensitive skin or maybe you just don’t have to worry about the amount of hydration (and sunscreen) involved in using […]

Selener knew what she was doing when she came out wit the Soft Pinch Liquid Blush. The post The 8 best Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez products actually worth your money appeared first on In The Know.

It's like a cup of coffee for your skin.

Erin Ayanian Monroe told Insider that she wanted to make Fanning's makeup look like an "ordinary teenager" did it.

If you're wondering what beauty trends might be popular 10 years from now, our advice would be to pull up Kate Hudson's Instagram page and start taking notes. With everyone sourcing hair and makeup inspiration straight from the '90s and 2000s, the truth is that Hudson probably tried it all first.

The wildly popular shampoo has racked up over 12,000 five-star reviews.