Beach/sun essentials

During my vacation I found a handful of things to be quite essential for a hot, tropical climate or as you temperate dwellers like to call it, summer time.

My 5 indispensables are:

1. A hat is necessary if you spend as much time in the sun as I do. Unfortunately I learned this the hard way at Easter time. Not wearing a hat will result in a face of three different colours, a blackened forehead, pale eyes from a lovely sunglasses tan and a nice tan/sunburn on the remainder of your face. My personal favourite? A whale hat. Just be warned that your friends ARE going to try and steal your enviable hat. I wish the neon ones were available when I bought mine because if it's not neon it shouldn't be on!
2. Board shorts are essential for me because sailing in wet pants is pretty uncomfortable. I like running short style ones if I'm wearing them all day. The Hurley Beach riders are my favourite because they're soft, comfy and satisfy my inner hippy as they are made of recycled polyester. They are a bit on the pricey side, but you can score them for $15 or less at Hurley outlets and discount stores like Marshal's.
3. Any athlete needs a tech shirt or two, or ten. I mean,a tshirt works fine but when that heat hits you, you want something to wick away sweat. Then, when a peer pours water (or dumps a cooler full of ice water) down your back you want to dry out quickly. I have only tried the Under Armor and the Patagonia tech shirts but I find them to be quite essential.
4. It's a rarity if you catch me with something neutral or ordinary on my nails. I love bright colours and this mint polish is simply perfection. It's colourful but not bright and can match with a lot of things. Essie's First timer is a necessity for anyone!
5. My final indispensable is sunblock. Sunblock  not designed for your face can run in your eyes and block pores causing breakouts. I like the Cetaphil moisturizer with 50 SPF since I spend all day in the sun. It moisturizes and protects without leaving me oily like the Neutrogena sport (which I still like because it does somewhat prevent tan.) I can't tell you if it stops tan because I've reached the point where no sunblock prevents tan for me, only reduces it.

I hope you enjoyed my sunny time essentials!