W
hen I was younger, I never knew the importance of keeping your face moisturised and hydrated on a plane. I always wondered why my mum would keep some cream in her bag and why beauty bloggers were always talking about the perfect products to put in their beauty bag when travelling. But because I’ve been travelling so much this year, I realised that being on a plane dries out your skin more than usual!
Curating the best travel sized products for your face is essential to make sure your face doesn’t dry up and become dehydrated during your flight (especially if you’re travelling long haul!). Almost all airlines have a 100ml restriction for liquids and gels in your hand carry luggage, so the first step is to decide whether you want to buy travel sized products or put your existing products into clear jars. A lot of my products were already travel sized, but for the ones that weren’t (such as oils and creams), I bought some jars and labelled them so I know what they are. If you are to bring a travel beauty bag, a tip is to also put your items in a transparent zipped bag so custom officers can easily identify the liquids. Otherwise, you’ll have to individually pull out products from your bag and place them on the security tray!
I have a combination skin that is easily dry in winter and oily in the summer. To combat that, I make sure my airplane travel beauty bag has all essential items that will keep my face looking smooth and free of any dullness and dry skin.
After take off
Wearing makeup on a plane is one of the biggest mistakes you can do for skin up in the air especially since your skin needs all the moisture it can get at such a high altitude. When I’m catching a medium haul flight, I usually only wear BB cream and some eyeliner. After take off, I use ELF’s cleansing wipes to wipe off my makeup so my skin can breathe. I then apply a light layer of La Mer’s moisturising cream mixed in with some Dessert Essence Jojoba oil for extra hydration and moisturisation. These two products working together is a miracle as the oil helps to lock in the cream and keep it on your face for longer.
During the flight (especially before sleeping)
After a couple of hours, my skin will start to feel tight again, so I usually like to repeat the whole process of wiping off the old moisturiser and putting on a new layer. About this time, I’m about to get ready to sleep through the night so I like to mirror my at-home night time routine as best as possible. I start off with Estee Lauder’s Micro Essence as a toner base, built to strengthen your skin’s foundation. Then I follow up with my absolute favourite Estee Lauder Night Repair as a serum to work my skin as I sleep. I have never been able to go anywhere without my Night Repair as it does such a huge difference to my skin’s overall appearance. Lastly, I mix Jojoba oil with La Mer’s moisturizer again and finish it off with La Mer’s Eye Concentrate then head to sleep. If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll use either an eye mask or face mask (that I always keep in my travel bag, just in case) at the start of my night routine to ensure my skin gets some extra TLC!
Tip: If bright lights annoy you as you’re trying to catch some z’s, pack a sleeping mask on your travel beauty bag and say goodbye to all the airplane lighting!
Before Landing
Prior to landing is the right time to put a light touch of make up on before landing at your destination. This time around, I prefer to use just the La Mer moisturizer as a base, as I feel that adding the Jojoba oil will make my skin too oily for makeup. Coming off a flight I can be a bit more care-free with the amount of makeup I put on, but I still like to keep it light as my skin has just been through a lot being up in the air. On most days, I only like to wear my Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, as its known for being very light on the skin but having full coverage. I also touch up my dark eye circles and some blemishes with Bobbi Brown’s Instant Coverage Concealer and finish off with a light powder. Because my brows are micro bladed, I don’t need to fill in my brows, but if you’re after fuller makeup, then a light drawn brow and some blush is the way to go for a natural “I woke up like this” airplane look.
Final tip: Make sure to curate products that fit YOUR face and its components. What might work for someone might not work for you because everyone’s skin is different.
Take time to test products yourself and see its effect and I guarantee in no time, you will be building the perfect airplane travel beauty bag!