Summer Essentials

Happy Friday! It's the most wonderful timeeeee of the yearrrrrrrrrrr. No, not Christmas, SUMMER. My absolute favorite season. I love the heat. I love the sun. I love being near the water. And I love being tan.

Now I know all too well the risks of skin cancer, trust me I am cautious, but you can't spend your life indoors or outside covered from head to toe. Sun exposure is going to happen so just be smart about it and always wear SPF! Especially on your face (hello, wrinkles) and sensitive ears. If you're completely anti-sun or fair skinned, worry not! I will be linking some self tanners as well.

Favorite Tanning Lotions

Maui Babe Browning Lotion $13
Banana Boat Deep Tanning Oil Spray Sunscreen, SPF 4 $9
Bain de Soleil Mega Tan Sunscreen with Self Tanner Lotion on sale for $8 right now
Hawaiian Tropic Lotion Sunscreen, SPF 8 $9

Some of the tanning lotions I'm linking have zero SPF so make sure you always add sunscreen!
I want to make a note about the Maui Babe Browning lotion. So this is one I found a few years ago at Target and tried it without knowing anything about it. It worked so good but then I couldn't find it anywhere and forgot about it. I ended up finding it at Ulta this summer and the reviews were so good. It's a thick, dark brown and WILL stain your bikini. However, it is literally the fastest working tanning lotion I have ever, EVER, used. I always warn my friends to be careful not to stay out in the sun too long wearing this because you will end up with a sunburn. I would not stay out any longer than an hour max. This is the lotion I will use if I just want to lay out and read by my apartment pool for a little while. That way I can shower immediately after. Do not use this if you are going to be exposed to the sun longer than an hour. I would also recommend applying a sunscreen in addition to this tanning lotion since it has no SPF.

Favorite Self Tanners

When using self tanners make sure you always shave and exfoliate before application. One thing you do not want to skip when applying a self tanner is using a mitt. OMG OMG OMG USE A MITT. Or you will end up with stained alien hands and looks like a fool. Trust me I have done it MANY times and you will get teased haha. I will never understand people who make fun of spray tans or self tanners. Sorry I want to look like a bronzed goddess but not damage my skin?? Loving Tan sells one and so does St. Tropez! I preferred the St. Tropez Mitt and it's a lot cheaper.

Hats are a must because nobody likes a sunburnt scalp!

I linked all my favorite sunhats from Target. All are less than $20!

I love faded baseball caps. Here are some I'm really digging from Riff Raff.

Sunglasses

Funky sunglasses are really big this summer! These are on my wishlist. I never thought I would want giant bug eyed sunglasses after the Paris Hilton phase died, but everything always makes a come back!

Floaties

My boyfriend probably thinks I have serious issues because I freaked out at every cool float we saw in Destin. I mean popsicles, pineapples, giant swans that can fit an entire adult? Where were these when we were kids?! Then again, as he pointed out, our parents would of never spent over $20 on a pool float and some of those bad boys run upwards of $70. Nevertheless, it's still fun to look at them! Here are my faves that are less pricey. Not to mention the baby flamingo floating cupholders are the cutest things I've ever seen! I linked the flamingos where I found them online, BUT if you live anywhere near a Five Below store try there first. That's where we found them on the way to Destin and the big float was only $5 and the babies came in packs of 3 for $3. Unfortunately, they don't sell online.