10 Summer Essentials for Under $10

Summer is here!  It’s what we’ve all been waiting for.  Long sunny days, the smell of suntan lotion, relaxing by the water…. these are just a few of my favorite things about summer.  In honor of it being the first official month of summer, I thought that I’d share some of my must-haves for summer.  The best thing about these items is that you can find them all for $10 or less!

1.) Sun Hat
I’m not really a hat person, but ever since I moved to Nevada, I’ve realized how important it is to keep my head covered.  Your head is always exposed to the sun, so if your planning to spend a decent amount of time outside, be sure to bring a sun hat.  I ended up finding a cute straw fedora, similar to the one above, in the dollar section at Target for $3.  It’s cute and perfect for the pool.

2.) Moisturizer with SPF
The sun can damage your skin so easily and cause wrinkles, sunspots or skin cancer.  Since your face is always exposed to the sun, you have to always be sure that you always have at least an SPF 15 on your face.  I use the Target up & up brand of daily moisturizer sunscreen lotion.  It’s compared to Cetaphil.  (I’m never afraid of the knock off store brand, especially when it’s cheaper than the name brand.)

3.) ChapStick
Just like your head and face, your lips need to be protected in the summer sun too.  My favorite brand of chapstick is Burts Bees.  I’ve been using this brand for years and I can’t find a better chapstick in that price range.  Something I’ve learned from living in a sunny place is that you don’t want to wear lip gloss in the sun.  According to an article on doctoroz.com, wearing lip gloss is the equivalent of sunbathing after putting on baby oil.  Using baby oil only concentrates the rays of the sun, making it much more likely to get burned skin.  It’s best to stick with a chapstick with SPF in it.

4.) SunGlasses
I feel like this one is kind of obvious, but I cannot survive without my sunglasses.  I literally start to sneeze the second I walk into the brightness of the sun if I don’t have my sunglasses.  I refuse to buy expensive sunglasses.  I have a $5 max on these for three major reasons…. I break them, lose them and scratch them up in my purse.  I have found great sunglasses at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, Five Below and most recently I was loving The Dollar Tree’s selection.

5.) Flip Flops
My mom used to call these thongs when I was a kid, that was until the “Thong Song” came out, now we just refer to them as flip flops.  I’m sure most of you have more than one pair of these.  Every summer I wait for the Old Navy flip flop sale and stock up, because what would summer be without flip flops at the pool or beach? 

I always have polish on my nails.  In the summer I love bright pink colors. As you may or may not know, I’m a big fan of Sinful Colors nail polish. They have a great selection of colors and only coast around $2.  My favorite color right now is called Bikini.

You have to have a beach bag in the summer.  Something to tote around when you’re at the beach, pool, lake, park… where ever your summer takes you.  A beach bag doesn’t have to be fancy.  Target’s dollar section has some cute ones and so does the Dollar Tree.  You can also use a reusable shopping bag.  Stores like TJ Maxx sell some really cute reusable shopping bags that are much cheaper than buying an actual beach bag.

I love my reusable cups!  I use mine for water, ice tea, ice coffee, smoothies, even beer.  What is summer without an ice cold beverage.  You can find some cute cups in the dollar section at Target right now.

I use make up remover wipes all year round, but they are a must in the summer.  They will quickly remove your eye makeup if your planning on swimming.  I also will use them for a quick touch up by wiping them under my eyes if my make up starts to run in the heat.  To get more use out of them, I cut them in half.  That way I don’t run out as fast. Some of my favorite brands are Target up & up or Kroger brand.  They have the best prices!

10.) Oil free sunscreen lotion
You have to use sunscreen in the summer, but sunscreen is expensive.  You go through it so fast, that it seems silly to spend a lot of money on it.  I always buy the store brand of sunscreen in at least a SPF of 30.  I still get a nice tan with 30.  It has to be an oil free sunscreen though.  I have pretty oily skin, so I can’t handle the greasy feel on my skin.