This year my honey and I headed to Cozumel for his biggest race the year. If you didn’t already know, my man is a triathlete, and a damn good one I might add. You can check him out along with all of his bad-assery on his blog. When it comes to racing in particularly awesome places (hello, Mexico), we like to make sure to do it right and leave some room to have a little fun, as opposed to the usual drive in, race, and peace-out.
Not this time! We booked a week-long getaway so that we could soak up the sun and get a break from the chilly Dallas weather, and the everyday hustle of our lives. We both keep up with full time jobs and each maintain pretty high-maintenance side-hustles that really cut into our “us” time. Not to mention, do you ever just need to give your brain a break??
My brain really needed a break for sure… as evidenced by the fact that I somehow managed to lose my most important of travel essentials (my passport) less than a week before our trip. How does one manage to do that? Mental exhaustion. That’s how. If you’re following me on Instagram already, you know the whole story, and if you’re not following my insta, then you missed out on my week-long panic attack (how will you ever live on)!
The point is, this trip for me is all about giving my brain a much-needed break from “work-mode” and focusing on rest, relaxation, and consuming allll the mojitos, sun, and tacos I can while watching my babe chase his dreams (literally) and making them come true at the same time.
That said, being able to relax to the max requires certain essentials that make it all that much better. Try relaxing with a sunburn… pretty uncomfortable. Here are my must-have items for a week at the beach!
Speaking of sunburns, while I am all for some fun in the sun, I am MORE for taking care of my skin. In addition to keeping up with my usual skincare routine, which you can read more about here, I HAVE to have a great sunscreen specifically for my face. My face is really sensitive and so the body sunscreens can make me breakout. That’s why this one’s a must-have and if I don’t have it, it can really put a damper on my whole vibe. It protects my face, doesn’t leave a white film like a lot of the others do, has zero fragrance, and doesn’t feel oily, making it an MVP on my beach vacations.
I’ve tried so many different sunscreens and this one is simply my fave. For starters, I love the spray on sunscreens because they’re just easy. Secondly, I love the fresh beachy smell. Third, it’s water resistant for up to 80 minutes which is pretty good considering how natural the formula is. Lastly, I don’t feel like I’m putting junk all over my skin because it’s vegan, paraben free, oil/PABA free, hypoallergenic, cruelty free, gluten free, oxybenzone free, non-comedogenic, retinyl palmitate free, and pretty much everything a skincare-conscious person could ask for while still being effective.
Now, taking care of my skin doesn’t mean I don’t like to get some color! This product layers on top of my sunscreen to accelerate the “browning” process and contains a bunch of moisturizing ingredients to keep my skin hydrated while I’m working on my tan. It’s all natural, which I love, and I definitely can tell that it helps me get a deeper/browner color when I use it versus when I don’t, making it a definite beach must-have.
I’m a sucker for a big floppy beach hat. My BCBG Maxazria straw hat was a Nordstrom Rack find from a few years ago and it’s one of my favorite finds ever. The rim is lined with wire so that I can bend and manipulate the hat to block the sun however I want. The big hat comes in clutch when you need to block the sun out of your face. It’s another protective layer when I want to give my face a break and most importantly, it just looks freaking fabulous. Here’s one similar that I found!
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This TOPSHOP one-piece is my favorite suit right now for multiple reasons. First of all, I got it on sale at Nordstrom for like $6. Yes, you read that correctly. It was $6, so naturally it holds a special place in my heart. But what I love even more is the quality and detail. I love the side crisscross detail, I love the low scooped back, and the embroidery on the front? SO CUTE. It’s super simple but the details make it a timeless swimsuit that has just enough pop. Plus, it’s a one-piece so it’s hella comfortable.
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A beach book for me is an absolute necessity. I’m really bad about making time to read in my everyday life, so I usually make it a point to take one book and set a mission to finish it while I’m on vacation. I’m not really big on fiction so I tend to pick something in the personal development category so that I can really use the R&R time to do a true reset of my mind, body, and spirit. Personal development books are perfect for a good mindset reset.
Gotta have a good waterproof mascara for a week by the water! I don’t like to wear a lot of makeup when I’m spending the day at the beach, but I don’t like to look dead either. 
A good coat of mascara really opens up my eyes and I love this one because the waterproof formula absolutely does not budge and the sumptuous formula makes for some dramatic lashes which I love given I’m foregoing the rest of my eye makeup.
Give me these 7 beach essentials and I am a happy camper. Happy skin to show my body some love, a stylin-profilin’ outfit to boost my soul (lol), and an awesome book to feed my mind what it needs. Now just throw in a frozen drink with an umbrella in it and a hot triathlete husband by my side, and I am in a slam-dunk situation with everything I need to fully indulge in a week by the ocean. Now time to start planning next year’s Hawaii trip! Share in the comments your most important travel essentials. I can’t wait to read what your oceanside must-haves are!