Beach Beauty Essentials: Everything You Need for Summer
The edited beach bag — five categories, no excess, designed to survive sun, salt and the long walk back to the car.
By Sophie Lindqvist · May 19, 2026 · 6 min read
A beach bag is a self-portrait. The woman who brings six lipsticks is not the woman who brings one tinted balm and a wide-brimmed hat. We have always been firmly in the second camp.
These are the five categories that earn their place in our editors' raffia totes, in Capri, Comporta, Mallorca and the Hamptons alike.
1. Sun protection, plural
One sunscreen is rarely enough. A lightweight SPF 50 for the face, a body formula that doesn't feel like glue, and a stick for touch-ups across the nose and the part in your hair — the three places that always catch first.
2. Lip protection
Lips have no melanin and no oil glands worth mentioning. An SPF lip balm is the smallest, most under-rated investment in your beach bag.
3. Hair protection
Salt water and chlorine are both unkind to coloured hair. A pre-swim rinse with fresh water and a leave-in oil — almond, coconut, or any UV-filtering formula — buys you days of softness.
4. Lightweight makeup
Foundation is for the city. At the beach, a tinted SPF, a cream blush in a single warm tone, a touch of mascara and a lip balm with a hint of pigment is the entire repertoire. Anything more will end up on your towel.
- Tinted mineral SPF instead of foundation
- Cream blush in coral, terracotta or peach
- Tubing or waterproof mascara
- A tinted lip balm with SPF
5. Skincare essentials
A hydrating mist, a small jar of after-sun balm, and a clean cotton handkerchief. That is the entire skincare side of the beach bag. Anything else can wait for the bathroom.
Pack the way you would dress for a long lunch in Saint-Tropez: a handful of considered pieces, all of which do their job beautifully. Leave the rest at home.
