Essential festival survival guide:
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Cram cash, keys, phone and tickets into a cross-body bag.
- 2
Grab a hat, sunscreen, rain jacket and sunglasses.
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Take a bottle of water.
- 4
Don’t forget your gumboots.
The summer festival season means spending time with friends and having as much fun as possible. With these pointers, you can focus on enjoying yourself, and less on the mess.
Choose biodegradable glitter that is non-toxic and sourced sustainably to look fabulous and be eco-friendly. Blend it with hair gel and apply with a brush for glittering style.
Getting organised
It’s time to shine and get the glitter out, but you don’t want it on the carpet, on the walls or on pets.
Body glitter and gems:
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Spread petroleum jelly across your skin (Vaseline is good to use) and then press on the glitter and gems carefully.
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Stand in the bathroom or even the shower to keep all the glitter in one easily cleaned area. Wash down the tiles with water if there is any glitter residue.
Glitter roots:
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Mix hair gel and glitter in a dish.
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Part your hair with a comb and smooth the hair on each side of the parting.
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Apply the glitter mixture with a foundation brush or a hair dye brush along the edges of the parting.
Glitter lips:
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Apply a cream lipstick and then press glitter onto it.
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Do this over the sink to catch falling glitter.
Back home, and getting mud out of clothes
It’s essential to deal with muddy, glittery clothing and shoes as soon as possible, because you need to bounce back fast and be ready for the next festival.
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Soak them in a solution of 2 litres of cool water, 1 teaspoon of laundry detergent and 1 tablespoon of vinegar for half an hour.
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Rinse.
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For stains that appear persistent, choose the appropriate laundry detergent.
Getting mud off takkies:
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Let the mud dry.
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Remove the laces and any inserts.
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Use a blunt knife or a stiff scrubbing brush to remove as much mud as possible.
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Apply Handy Andy Cream with a toothbrush for a deep clean.
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Rinse with clear water and blot dry with paper towels or a clean cloth.
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Stuff the takkies with paper towels to absorb moisture and help the takkies keep their shape. Let them dry in a well ventilated area.
If you want to put your takkies in the washing machine, check the care instructions to make sure that this is OK. Remove the laces and put them together with the trainers in a mesh bag (or pillowcase) then wash as normal.
Removing glitter from clothes:
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Wash clothes covered with glitter in the machine with any other glitter-covered clothes to prevent glitter spreading to other garments. Dry as normal.
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Use a strip of duct tape to remove remaining glitter by pressing the sticky side into the garment. Do this as often as required.
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Wipe out the drums of the washing machine and dryer with a microfibre cloth to gather any lingering glitter that might stick to other clothes.
Removing glitter from hair
The glitter looked amazing, but picking it out of your roots bit by bit will take years. Instead:
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Spray kitchen towel with hairspray and quickly blot the roots while the hairspray is sticky.
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Work oil into your hair, let it soak in for 10 minutes, and then wash out with shampoo. Olive or coconut oils are good for your hair too.
Removing face paint from skin
Paint should come off your face and body with soap and water. Choose face paint that is water-based, non-toxic and safe for the skin.
Removing face paint from clothes:
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Dilute 1 tablespoon of liquid laundry detergent with 2 cups of tepid water to make a cleaning solution. Sponge the stain gently.
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Soak up the solution with a clean cloth.
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Apply solution and blot up until stain disappears.
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Finish by sponging gently with plain water to rinse and blot dry.
Removing spray-on hair dye
Those black and pink streaks were a great idea at the time, but it’s not a Monday morning, office meeting look. If washing hair with your preferred shampoo hasn’t worked, try this.
Stubborn hair dye:
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Mix bicarbonate of soda with shampoo to form a paste and apply it to the hair.
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Let it set. The paste should open the hair cuticle and allow the colour to come out.
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Rinse off and condition well, as this mixture is drying for hair.
Soap and water should remove dye from skin. For clothing, apply a cleaning solution made of laundry detergent diluted in water. If stains are hard to remove, try applying a tablespoon of white vinegar mixed with half a cup of water. Rinse afterwards with fresh water and blot dry.
Removing holi dye from skin and hair:
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Applying coconut or olive oil to your skin first will make holi colours easier to remove later.
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First wash holi colours with soap and water.
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Apply lemon juice for persistent stains, then rinse off.
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Use shampoo to remove colours from hair.
From clothes:
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Soak them in 2 or 3 litres of water with half a cup of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of laundry detergent.
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Soak white clothes in hot water containing some non-chlorine bleach.