Rain, hail and glow

I WENT to Body& Soul in Westmeath a few weeks ago. It was a mud-fest, but great fun. There was nothing I wanted for (apart from a comfy bed and central heating).

I packed with a keen sense of what I might need. What did I need? Not much. Festivals are about letting go — you don’t have to give a rat’s ass how you look.

It’s cool your hair being unwashed and having last night’s eyeliner smudged around your eyes. Everyone looks like that at a festival, but I arrived back in the big smoke feeling like a mud-splattered Bear Grylls in skinny jeans, wellies and a parka. The look worked in festival-land; in the city, not so much.

The number-one must-bring is baby wipes. Baby wipes are essential for everything from wiping mud off your face to cleaning your hands after portaloo visits. They’re also handy for taking your make-up off. But I am partial to a good cleanser and cotton wool. I didn’t take my make-up off before bed — too much hassle in the dark — but, in the morning, I was relieved to clean my face with a quality product, plus it gave my skin a good start for another day of suncream and mud. Baby wipes are also good for your armpits.

Make-up at festivals isn’t my thing; I prefer a fake tan for the face (it perks up your skin after a late night), a radiance booster if I’m in the need of luxury (mine was Clarins beauty flash balm, €35) and an SPF. I can look drawn and exhausted without blusher, so my Jelly Pong Pong jelly flush, €14.93, was essential.

Lipstick looks fake amongst all the mud (unless you’re going OTT with the rest of your face), so it’s best to go for a slightly tinted lip balm, or just keep it natural with a neutral balm. I have a soft spot for black or dark-brown eyeliners at festivals, though. It seems to sit well with a rock-chick vibe. Love it. My essential was Estee Lauder’s double wear stay-in-place eye pencil duo, €27 in onyx/coffee. A water-proof mascara is a must, especially for those post-10pm gigs when you’ve moved beyond caring that it’s raining solidly. Try Rimmel’s day2night waterproof, €9.95. It gives good lash length and volume and stays put.

Unless you’re an experienced camper who doesn’t mind traipsing around to search for showers of a morning, don’t bother with shampoo. Instead, opt for a dry shampoo if you’ve oily hair, or if, like me, you’ve dry hair that goes frizzy, then take a multi-tasking product, such as Arden’s eight-hour cream, €19 or Lucas’s papaw, €5.95 — rub a teeny, tiny bit between your palms and smooth over you hair and it should keep you good for 24 hours or so. Plus, you can use it on your lips or on any patches of dry skin, too (it’d even be good for a moisturiser on the face, but go easy, it’s very rich).

And my biggest tip? Wear nail varnish — a dark shade. By day two, you don’t want to have to confront the fact that half the field seems to be lodged underneath your nails. If you wear a bright or pale shade, like I did (orange), it’ll all show up and make you feel grim as can be.

Go for dark purples, black or deep olives. And let the dirt be faced when you get home. Believe me, a shower never felt so good.