Chris and I love camping. I don’t consider myself a girly girl, but I do love makeup and beauty products. So I decided to put together a girl’s guide to camping! I know a lot of women that would panic if their boyfriend or husband asked them to go camping. And I want to show them that it is possible!
We just went camping for an entire week and I will say I was the only person applying makeup at our campsite. Hey, natural light is amazing for applying makeup! I was probably the only person there that shopped at Sephora, too.
Here is my list of what you will need for your glamping, I mean camping, trip:
Shower Flip Flops
Just buy a cheap pair that can get wet and will dry out quickly. Like the kind you had in the shower dorms in college.
Quick Dry Towels
These are like a ShamWow, but for your body. They are lightweight, soft, highly absorbent and quick drying. You want towels that will dry quickly – trust me! You might not have access to laundry and dry towels are a must. I have the REI brand ones – a large body towel and a small hand towel. These towels have a little clip on one corner so you can hook them on things and hang them to dry. Chris had REI ones, too. HAD. We were camping in New Hampshire many years ago and Chris wanted to dry all of his stuff (bathing suit, clothes, etc.) and he didn’t want to hang it. Our campground had laundry. So he put his quarters into the dryer and came back later. Only to find that the dryer was extremely hot and his REI towels had melted from the high heat and everything was a melted plastic mess. He had to buy new quick dry towels and a new bathing suit on that trip. He found the Sea to Summit brand quick dry towels on that road trip and those are great, too.
Turbie Twist
This is a bonus item. I use this at home and I bought a 2 pack from Amazon. So the 2nd one goes in my travel bag. It is also a quick dry towel and it has a shape that wraps around your head, twists your hair, and tucks into itself. It is nice because you can do makeup, brush your teeth, apply lotion, etc. and you don’t have to worry about your hair towel falling off. It stays wrapped up until you are ready to take it out.
Hanging Toiletry Bag
This is a MUST. Your hanging toiletry bag needs to have a hanging hook and I prefer large hooks that easily rotate. Most campground bathrooms have small hooks for hanging towels and bags. But the bonus with a big hanging hook is you can hang your bag on a bathroom stall door, bathroom stall wall or shower wall. Usually in campground showers they have one small hook in the shower stall and you can use that for your towels. Then your hanging toiletry bag can hang closer to where you shower. My hanging toiletry bag is so old but Eagle Creek makes a nice one (see this photo above) that you can find online or at REI.
Shampoo and Conditioner
I use LUSH shampoo bars. I buy the little tin that LUSH sells, too. It is the best way to travel with shampoo and not worry about heavy liquids or liquids spilling. LUSH says that one shampoo bar lasts for 80 washes! There is also a Basin store in downtown Disney and we used to buy those shampoo bars when we lived in Orlando. Chris uses the J.R. Liggett shampoo bar at home but he has a LUSH shampoo bar for when he travels. Then my conditioner goes into a GoToob container. The GoToob containers are pricey, but they are worth it! I used to have a cheap travel bottle and it was so hard to squeeze and eventually the plastic started to crack. Since I switched to GoToob I haven’t had any trouble squeezing out my conditioner.
Toilet Seat Covers
I bought these at REI. When you need to sit on the toilet these are great. I usually wipe the seat down twice with toilet paper, flush and then place one of these on the toilet seat.
Face Wash
When I travel I use the Olay 4 in 1 Face Wipe towelettes (but many other brands also make these). They are dry and you get them wet to use them. They remove makeup and you can also use them as a travel washcloth to wash the rest of your body. Then you throw it away after your shower. Easy!
Deodorant
I usually use hard core Secret deodorant at home but when I travel I like the smaller sized deodorants. I did have a salt stick I used for a while but lately I am loving the Milk makeup deodorant that Sephora now carries. It has a little bit of a masculine cologne smell to it but the smell doesn’t last.
Dry Shampoo
I have tried so many dry shampoos but I keep going back to the Batiste brand. Batiste makes a small travel sized dry shampoo spray. So if you don’t feel like washing your hair every day this works in between washes.
Moisturizer
I don’t travel without my Paula’s Choice moisturizer. There is nothing else like it! Depending on the time of the year, the formula I use changes. I’ve been feeling a little dry lately so I am using a heavier moisturizer. This is the Paula’s Choice Skin Recovery moisturizer. It is pictured with my travel Shu Uemura cleansing oil. I tend to use waterproof mascara when I camp so I need a good cleansing oil to remove the waterproof mascara.
Hair oil
I usually don’t bring any styling tools when I camp. I let my hair air dry and it looks pretty good. I love hair oil. I have this travel Kerastase Elixir Ultime bottle that I keep refilling with my current oil. So it is a bit of a mix. The last time I traveled I was using the Agave Oil Treatment from Sephora and I can still smell it in this bottle. And I am currently using the Show Beauty Treatment oil so that is mixed in there, too.
Body Moisturizer
I bought a set of mini moisturizers from Ulta just after Christmas. They are the Pacifica body moisturizers and they smell so good! I was putting some of this on my legs at the campground and Chris asked if I was putting on bug spray. Even he doesn’t know I am a girly girl and use moisturizer on my legs! Actually, I don’t think men really notice the work women put into looking nice every day. One of our friends wears a lot of makeup – more than any other woman I know. And one day I asked Chris if he thought this friend wore too much makeup. He thought about it and said “I don’t think she wears much makeup at all.” Wow!
Antibacterial Hand Wipes
I always travel with these. I like the Giovanni Recharge Towelettes from Whole Foods. They have an assortment of scents – lavender, grapefruit and peppermint. They are great for washing your hands and they are also great for wiping yourself down on a hot day.
Sunscreen
When I place my Paula’s Choice orders I always add in 3 sunscreen samples. Sometimes they are free (it depends on what samples are in the free set that day) and other times they are less than $1 for a sample. Then you aren’t taking a huge bottle of sunscreen when you travel. If I am only putting sunscreen on my face, neck and shoulders I have enough to use it a second day, too.