My Coachella Weekend 2 Experience

My post-Coachella high has finally come down 2 weeks later. Although it was only my second time there, it was more fun and less stressful compared to my first. I was able to see more of the performers and stay for the whole weekend. I did spoil myself a bit by watching the Weekend 1 live streams, but it actually made me more excited for what I’d be seeing the following week. Plus it gave me an idea of who would and wouldn’t be worth watching. Heading down from the Bay Area on Thursday gave me a chance to decompress a bit and check out the local area before the next few days of madness. Thank goodness I booked a hotel that had a shuttle stop.

Most attendees love dressing up at Coachella, but knowing how hot the temperature would get in the coming days, I wanted to look nice, yet feel comfortable in what I wore. I brought 2 pairs of shoes and planned to alternate them between outfits, but ended up wearing my black Chuck Taylor lows for all 3 days since they would eventually get dirtied up. I couldn’t think about possibly messing up my lightly used Vans! But I also brought some cute strappy sandals to wear during the time before heading to the venue (e.g. while running errands or grabbing breakfast/brunch earlier in the the day). Unfortunately, I barely have any photos of myself in these outfits, so instead here’s layout of what I wore each day.

 

Day 1 – Top and shorts from Old Navy

I loved the detailing on the bottom of this off the shoulder top, so that was a no-brainer to bring on my trip. I’ve had the shorts for a few years. Luckily they still fit me (heheh).

 

Day 2 – Floral top from Forever 21, lace tube top from Nordstrom Rack, skirt from Charlotte Russe, necklace from Express

I actually wore the F21 top last year to a friend’s “Coachella” themed bridal shower, so I was glad to see it put to use for the real thing. Since it had a low neckline, the tube top peeked out nicely underneath it. Hard to tell with the skirt, but it has a slit on the side. I didn’t accessorize with my Day 1 outfit, so I added the necklace to this one. This was the most “dressed up” outfit I packed, and of course I decided to wear it on the hottest day of the festival. But no worries, it didn’t make me overheat!

 

Day 3 – Shirt from Kohl’s, bralette from Express, shorts from Old Navy

As the weekend wound down, I kept things a bit more casual for the last day. I didn’t button the shirt all the way up so the straps from the bralette could be seen. I’m not one to include much color with what I wear, so this was a fun outfit for me.

 

I’m glad I had made a post of Coachella essentials ahead of time. I followed most of my advice and brought a few things from the list everyday to the venue.

Hang Ten Classic Spray SPF 30 – This retails at over $10, but I lucked out and only got this for about $3 when it was on sale at Urban Outfitters. Aerosol sunscreens weren’t allowed inside the venue, but I applied this liberally before leaving the hotel. Never got sunburned. *pats self on back*

Inside my purse:

Eye drops – Came in handy when I was feeling tired and my eyes got a bit irritated from the flying dust.

Bandana – Covered my face with this, which saved my nose and throat from getting irritated from the occasional windy conditions. I actually brought a black one.

Purell wipes – Loved using these after eating, especially if a restroom wasn’t nearby to wash my hands.

Mini Chloe perfume spray – A little of this went a long way when applied to my pulse points.

Lipgloss – Luckily I wore long-wearing lip color. I just used this gloss to top it off and reapplied a few times after eating and drinking.

Mints – After crab fries, cold brew coffee, beer, and slices of Spicy Pie (not all at once, of course), these were a must to freshen my mouth up!

Downbeats – These ear plugs are more like acoustic filters. When I put them in, the sound wasn’t at all muffled. Instead, it lowered it by a few decibels, which made it more enjoyable to listen to. Plus I didn’t have that annoying ringing in the ears that people sometimes experience after being exposed to consistently loud music. I bought them from Amazon and plan on using them for future concerts/music festivals.

Everything fit nicely inside the mini cross body bag I got from Target, along with a small wallet. There was still enough room to put in my external battery and mini USB cord when I had to charge my phone.

I got to see some of the artists I watched on Coachella’s YouTube live stream the week before, plus some I didn’t expect to see. That’s pretty much the point. I even made a withdrawal playlist on Spotify with both the popular and new artists I discovered at Weekend 2.

Friday – Kungs, Big Gigantic, Bonobo, Crystal Castles, Glass Animals, Phantogram (YES, loved them.), Little Dragon (I think I have a woman crush on their singer. Her voice is so unique), and Empire of the Sun (the crowd was way larger than when they performed at the festival 2 years ago, but it was still a good set.).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RCubed (@lehea1212)

Saturday – Two Door Cinema Club, Future, Lady Gaga (she performed her latest single, which was still a bit new then).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RCubed (@lehea1212)

Sunday – Kaytranada, Hans Zimmer, Lorde, Justice, New Order, Kendrick Lamar.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RCubed (@lehea1212)

Coachella was also Foodchella for me, as I reunited with an old favorite (Spicy Pie, FTW) and picked up on some new ones too (Cold brew coffee and crab fries).

gget was the first stop every day. Their cold brew was too hard to resist!

Seriously, good stuff. Plus it helped me cool off a bit in the heat.

A friend recommended the crab fries, so it was a must try. No regrets here!

This is an event staple for me. Didn’t have this until the last night (and 2 slices). NOM.

 

Not sure yet if I’ll be back again next year. That would depend on if my friends want to go and if a possible Beyonce appearance will occur (please say yes). But I’d probably still go anyway if the lineup is a good one.