A REALISTIC IN-FLIGHT BEAUTY ROUTINE

So many in-flight beauty routines seem super long and, if I’m being honest, completely OTT.

Taking care of your skin in flight is one thing but carrying out a full skin care routine? To me, that seems kind of inconsiderate to whoever gets stuck sitting next to you – for me there’s nothing worse that being sat next to someone who fidgets around for hours on a flight.

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Maybe if you’re flying in first and have masses of room or you’re travelling with someone you know won’t mind your endless moving around from one lotion and potion to the next throughout the flight this isn’t a problem but, for most of us in the real world, a cramped airplane seat really isn’t the place for a full on pamper session.

That being said, I do like to take a few steps to try to minimise the damage of long haul flights on my skin. So here’s my realistic in-flight beauty routine. 

PRE-FLIGHT

I’m not someone who will travel without wearing make up. I’ve spoken a lot about my less than perfect skin so I won’t bore you with that again but, suffice to say, whilst I wish I was confident enough to head to an airport and sit on a flight without make up, I’m not and I don’t intend to make myself feel self conscious when I don’t have to so… I travel in make up and keep it on during the flight.

My only concession is that I don’t apply any make up around my eyes for a flight (apart from a bit of mascara) and I try to only apply makeup to the areas that really need it, namely my cheeks. I then make sure it’s all well blended in and add a little bit of MAC’s Face & Body Foundation to the rest of my face just to balance out my skin tone.

IN-FLIGHT

1. EYE CREAM – I get SUPER dry skin under my eyes so I always take an intensive eye cream with me and apply that. Once before take off and once or twice throughout the flight depending on the length of the flight and if I sleep or not. I’m currently using the Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream, which has been doing a pretty good job of dealing with the dry patches I have.
2. DERMALOGICA TONER – I don’t take my make-up off during the flight but I do take a travel size of this Dermalogica toner with me to spritz on my face. I don’t think this really does anything to hydrate my skin as it has make-up on but it’s nice and refreshing for when you’re starting to feel a bit travel weary. It’s also a great little pick me up if you’ve flown on a night flight and want something to help wake you up before landing.
3. LIP BALM – I adore the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream and this handy lip balm is perfect for keeping lips hydrated. Slap it on liberally throughout the flight.
4. HAND CREAM – To be honest, I adore the scent of this particular hand cream which is mainly why I always take it on flights.
5. WATER – As I said, I wear make-up to fly in and nothing anyone said would ever stop me from doing that. I really wouldn’t feel comfortable showing my bare face to the world (if you do that’s great but, if like me, you don’t – don’t let people give you a hard time about it. Each to their own, and I’m a firm believer that people should do whatever makes them feel the most comfortable!)
   I do always make sure I grab a bottle of water before I board and try and drink as much water on the flight as possible. I honestly believe this helps with minimising your skin drying out just as much as slapping on a load of moisturiser would.

I do always carry a little travel pack of face wipes and a facial moisturiser with me. I’ve always thought that if my skin seemed to be feeling super dried out, I could then remove any make-up on the areas of my skin that I’m happy not to cover with make-up and moisturise those but honestly, I’ve been doing that for about five years now on flights ranging from five hours to fourteen hours and I’ve never used them in-flight yet. I’ve found that the five steps above have always been enough to stave off the worst effects of flying on my skin.

BEFORE LANDING

Because I do apply eye cream throughout a flight, I always travel with MAYBELLINE UNDER EYE CONCEALER and a Beauty Blender and apply that under my eyes before I land so I look a bit brighter and more refreshed!

A quick squirt of deodorant, a swirl of powder to blot any shininess, a slick of mascara and a dash more lip balm and I’m ready to head off on my adventures looking vaguely presentable!

FINALLY…

If you’re travelling with quite a few liquids (I always carry as much of my make up as possible in my hand luggage because, if my suitcase got lost or delayed, it’s about the only thing I’d feel like I couldn’t manage without), I’d definitely recommend taking an extra little clear bag and once you’re through security just put the items that you want to use throughout the flight in that and pop it in the seat pocket in front of you. That way you’re not the annoying person constantly getting your bag out throughout the flight and you also won’t mislay anything if it’s all loose in the seat pocket.

Do you have an in-flight beauty routine? Any essentials that you always do?