Beauty, sunshine and slow mornings at Wilderness festival

Last weekend, I retreated to the sunny Oxfordshire countryside for Wilderness festival. It had a really intimate feel, full of families and children, and it kind of felt like a big summer fair that happened to turn into a party when the sun set.

If a little potter about with no sense of urgency is your idea of a good time, Wilderness would be great for you. They host such a variety of activities with lakes to enjoy, fine dining experiences and old-fashioned delights like a helter skelter. In addition, their line up this year included the likes of a first ever UK festival set from the legendary Annie Lennox.

Everything I packed to feel put together

Part of the festival experience for me is having a few days to feel free. One thing I’ve learned through my many excursions is that hay fever will always hit me hard. Though I love nothing more than colourful eyeshadow and glitter, my eyes water so much that any makeup efforts have disintegrated by midday.

This in mind, here were five things I used that made me feel put together every day.

Half Magic Beauty gems

I knew my eyeshadow wouldn’t survive my allergies, so by day two I ditched it altogether and opted for a constellation of gems. Mixing iridescent stones and neon studs, I created a gem pattern over wash of glitter and they didn’t move all day. The adhesive on the Half Magic gems is so powerful. We were all covered in them by the end of the weekend, and part of the fun was finding them in bags and on shoelaces over the next few days.

Morphe lip liner

This was one of the few things I made a conscious effort to keep topped up and my photographs thanked me for it. I love lip liners; my lips are very pale and I love being able to chisel them. The Morphe lip liner formula is one of my favourites because it’s creamy to apply but it lasts. So often you have one thing or the other with lip liners; they’re creamy and bleed, or they’re lasting but drying. This one sits perfectly in the middle, it’s comfortable and long-wearing, and my favourite shade is Wifey.

Naked Sundays SPF, in particular the Cabana Milk and the Glow Mist

I’ve just had laser treatment for my rosacea and as a result I’ve been advised to be militant with mineral SPF. For a little while now I’ve been using the Cabana Milk under my makeup, a lovely buttery formula that melts in seamlessly. As an additional purchase for Wilderness, I got myself the SPF spray to go over my makeup. This is really lightweight and doesn’t leave an oily sheen over your makeup, and it was portable enough to keep in my bag and carry around for the day. I loved it. The texture of mineral SPF often gets on my nerves, but these feel light and easy to wear.

Biossance eye cream and face cream

From being in the sun all day to navigating my watery eyes, I always feel a bit more puffy when I go to a festival. I decided to keep things simple with a rich moisturiser for my face and a slightly more targeted tool for my eyes, both of which were from Biossance. Though I always opt for simple, gentle face creams, I loved having something slightly more buttery to take away with me to replenish lost moisture. The Squalane + Omega Repair Cream is that bit richer, meaning makeup sits well over it and your skin feels less tight after a long day.

Prior to working this in, I would take the Squalane + Niacinamide 5% Brightening Serum. As the name would suggest, this is designed to brighten dull eyes. The appeal for me, however, was the cool metal applicator. Using this to gently massage my eyes before bed was a simple and quick way to ease any discomfort from my watery eyes and restore the balance a little. If you suffer with watery eyes, you’ll know how congested they can make you in general. A gentle but firm massage can do wonders for clearing the airways again.

Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier sachets

I’ve used these for years now and swear by them. Though I started to take them intermittently whenever I was travelling or away on a trip like this, they’ve become something that my dad and I take regularly as a little pick-me-up. These sachets are designed to replenish essential salts and sugars, and dropping this formula into a glass of water always helps me to feel revitalised. I tend to take one before bed, but they’re a great reviver in the middle of a hot day also. Recently they introduced a sugar free variation and I gave those a try, but to be honest I much prefer and see more benefit from the originals. This was my first time trying the Passionfruit flavour and it’s one of the nicest I’ve tried of theirs.

Indulging in the Secret Spa

Wilderness is known for being a festival full of home comforts. It’s not the kind of rough and ready experience you’re tumbling yourself into at Reading or Leeds, for example; they pride themselves on offering elevated experiences to make it more of a relaxing weekend.

This in mind, one of the experiences I made the most use of was the Secret Spa. Day to day, Secret Spa operates in London, Manchester and Brighton, giving people the chance to book services like hair, a manicure or a massage to the comfort of their homes.

At Wilderness, Secret Spa operated a full Pamper Parlour, open to all guests who had opted to use the Boutique camping facilities (complete with pre-erected tents, bathrooms and showers).

Being able to visit this space each morning just made the weekend feel like such a treat. By the time the sun is up at any summer festival, your tent feels a little bit like a greenhouse. Having a cool, airy space to sit and start the day really made the weekend all the more restorative.

There were a few ways you could work it. If you wanted to sit back and relax, they offered bookable services. You could have full makeup or hairstyling, or even a Biosculpture manicure or pedicure. If you simply wanted to unwind you could book a Dr. David Jack facial. But if you just wanted some me-time with your own stash, there were dressing tables at your disposal, complete with heated hair tools. It was a relaxing and social way to start the day, and if I’d gone by myself I think this would have massively made me feel safer for having a place to touch base each day.

My favourite faces of the festival

Last week, I wrote about my experiences at Tomorrowland festival in Belgium. One of the things I did there was capture photographs of people from all over the world that had travelled to this tiny town for an almighty rave. Here were three people I photographed at Wilderness, and between them I think they captured a little of the spirit of this English countryside escape.

Poorna, visiting from London

Substack natives will likely already love Poorna as much as I do. She’s a much-beloved writer and I attended her panel discussion about dating in the modern age. I loved the simplicity of her look, fresh skin, a big smile and a tailored but comfy outfit for the day.

Oliver, visiting from Hertfordshire

Oliver stopped me in my tracks because his look was genuinely effortless. Those tiny gems under his eyes and tendrils gently catching the breeze; this to me is the epitome of carefree festival beauty. I loved meeting his family and we all had a gorgeous chat in the sunshine before heading off on our own adventures.

Emma, visiting from Derbyshire

I saw Emma’s big smile and playful outfit and just had to take her photo. This was her mother’s dress and she showed me her beautiful country house in Derbyshire as we chatted away.

After sharing my Tomorrowland experience last week, I had someone tell me how lovely it was to see people their own age there. It’s something I’ve never really considered, but I think we sometimes see a skewed view of festivals online because they’re often filmed by people who grew up in a digital age. Gen Z, for example, are just used to documenting everything, and so you’d be forgiven for thinking that everyone at a particular place was in their early 20’s. In all of the places I’ve been to for festivals, from America to Spain or Scotland, there are people there of all ages. They’re probably just not as used to filming themselves all weekend like I tend to do. (It feels cringe at the time, but honestly I love it when I watch it back and would 10/10 recommend. I must have watched the video of going to Electric Picnic with my cousin about 100 times now.)

If you’ve never been to a festival before and you like the idea of a gentle entry point, Wilderness would be perfect. There’s something for everyone there, from wild swimming to morning yoga or a full-on forest rave if that’s what you’re looking for. We saw panel talks on all kinds of topics, watched a comedy set from Joel Dommett, caught a surprise set from Professor Green, had margaritas while Denise Van Outen hosted a DJ set. All of the spaces are quite small, so wherever you are you’re going to have a great view. And the capacity was relatively small in comparison to the space, so even the headliner stage felt accessible and close with no crowding.

Whether or not you want to engage your wild side, there will absolutely be something for you at Wilderness. In particular, if you’re taking your family, I think it’s well set up to support people of all generations.

We were guests of Live Nation this weekend, and I want to extend an enormous thank you to them for having us!

You can find lots more festival reviews right here on my Substack. Here are a few from Tomorrowland, Electric Picnic and Primavera to point you in the right direction.