I love the idea of a boujee in-flight skincare routine. I’m flying long-haul this week, and the beauty editor in me has been making a mental check list of all the masks, serums, and creams I can jam into one TGA-approved Ziplock bag for weeks now. It’s instinctual to pack my Chanel and my Rodin, place them neatly on the tray table and slather myself at hourly intervals until I’m so greasy I leave marks all over the in-flight entertainment system.
But the truth is that I’ve travelled many times before and this just doesn’t work. My booking class is not business and I lack the confidence required to wear a sheet mask at 40,000 feet. There’s also a strong chance I won’t want to haul myself out of my seat and into the overhead locker every ten minutes to rummage through five hand cream superlatives. But airline cabins are both dehydrating and bacterial breeding grounds, so it would be brash of me to slather on moisturiser before take-off and call it a day. Also, I’d have seventeen new blemishes and skin like a raison come touchdown.
Instead, I have mastered a somewhat simple routine that is discreet enough to apply in confined spaces, and accessible enough so as to not cost more than the flight itself. Non-negotiables like toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen and hand sanitiser don’t count here, obviously. Bon voyage indeed!
LANOLIPS 101 OINTMENT
My lips are dry even when it’s humid out, so flying is high-stress. Lanolips 101 Ointment is the only one I trust for the job. Lanolin is the oil from sheep’s wool, and because it’s semi-permeable and partly occlusive, it will hydrate the skin’s inner layers – not just superficially. Use it on cuticles and to tame your brows, too.
SPOT MEDIC PIMPLE PATCHES
Is it just me, or do planes solicit dormant pimples to all come out of hiding at once? Hydrocolloid bandages are my favourite short-term blemish treatment both on the ground and in the air for multiple reasons. They’re traditionally used as medical dressings because they absorb fluid (think blisters or burns) but the healing effect is much the same for whiteheads. They absorb fluid, reduce swelling, and because they cover the blemish, there’s no room for picking or touching – especially useful on a germy flight. They’re relatively undetectable, and work within hours. Spot Medic are some of the best I’ve tried in Australia.
BIODERMA SENSIBIO MICELLAR WATER
Unless you have a death wish by way of sticking your head in the airline bathroom sink, pack a waterless cleanser. Bioderma’s cult micellar is one of the best. Soft and non-irritating, it will remove gunk and dirt every few hours. Pack a few cotton rounds to go with it. Read more…
