What's in my handbag - the carnival edition

This weekend I'm paying a visit to the annual Notting Hill Carnival, where I'm planning to soak up the atmosphere and check out the amazing costumes, performers and food. It's been a few years since I last went, so I'm really excited to be heading down. The Carnival is usually heaving with people, so I'm planning to travel light and pack my bag full of essentials for the day.

Top of my list is my camera! There are so many amazing things to take photos of at the carnival (in between eating the food) but I'm leaving my DSLR at home this time so I can use a much smaller handbag. Instead, I'll be relying on my LG G3 phone* to capture memories of the day - it's got a great camera and battery life, so I'm hoping it will do me proud.

I'll also be taking plenty of tissues and hand sanitzer. Not exactly the most glam of items, but Carnival is a bit like festivals - it's best to go prepared! My Body Shop Grapefruit Hand Sanitizer* smells amazing and is a good size to pop in your bag for emergencies.

A bold lippie is a must when it comes to carnival - I know it won't be much competition against some of the costumes, but it will definitely add a bit of colour to my overall look. I'll be using MAC's Happy Go Lucky, which is really long lasting, meaning I won't need to reapply too often throughout the day.

I'm hoping the weather will be good, so I'm taking my sunglasses with me. I bought these Dior glasses at Bicester Designer Outlet a few months ago for my birthday and I haven't worn any others since! I'm just hoping I won't need a rain poncho instead...

Last but not least is cash! I'm looking forward to sampling lots of street food during the day, so will need to make sure I'm armed with cash as most places don't take cards.

I'll be sharing some photos from the carnival after the weekend and if you're heading down there, let me know, it would be great to see you!

What are your carnival/festival handbag essentials?

*PR samples