Mile High Beauty

Mon, 14 December 2009 4:11PM

Without fail, every time I travel, I end up facing some sort of beauty crisis. Then, only after furious search attempts in my cavernous bag I discover that the desired weapon of choice is still sitting merrily in my cupboard at home. Tweezers. Nail file. Bandaids. MISSING-IN-ACTION. And for me, a broken nail at the beginning of a long haul flight is pure torture as I try to resist the temptation to rip the nail off in a fit of frustration.

It’s times like these when I am grateful for my smug looking co-passengers with their mini travel bags containing the entire contents of their bathroom only shrunk down to a size resembling an Ooompa Loompa. Because I can borrow things. I’ve realised after spending way too much time in airplanes and not enough time on the ground that I don’t want to carry that much shit in my handbag. So, I have whittled it down to a few ABSOLUTE essentials. And because the law says we can’t take more than 100ml of liquid on the plane. Alcohol doesn’t count. Hurrah!

Essentials for long haul flights:
- Nail file. And not the metal kind. And no, you can’t hide it in your shoe. Metal detectors.
- Lip Balm. I cannot tell you enough how hideous it is to have cracked lips for an entire flight.
- Toothpaste and foldy toothbrush. You will need this if your baggage gets lost. This can be difficult to order in a foreign language. And sign language makes you look like an idiot. Trust me.
- Hand sanitiser. A really small bottle. You don’t want to use up your liquid quota on hand wash. There is handwash in the bathroom. And get an isle seat. Or you will be doing you own on flight version of ‘its a knockout’ obstacle course en route to the toilets.
- Minimal makeup. Try to only wear a tinted moisturiser or light mineral makeup. The air pressure really pushes that dirt into your pores. My skin misbehaves for days after a flight.
- Face Spritz. To relieve dryness. And counteract the Sav Blancs you have been throwing down while watching the safety intro.
- Deodorant. VERY IMPORTANT. And not just for you. I have a little stick of lemon essential oil that doubles as a headache calmer (rubbed on my temples) and eradicator of minging smells around me.
- Bandaids & Pain killers. Why do I always forget this?
- Hair grips. My hair ends up looking like Attila the Hun on Acid at the end of a long haul flight so I always take a mini brush and tie it back during the flight.
- Breath mints. Again, not just for you.
- Samples of cleansers, moisturisers. Fortunately I have never had my baggage go missing, but I have had my favourite cleanser leak EVERYWHERE in my bag. So nipped down to Sephora. Ok, Ok one of the perks.

That’s all. A short haul flight is usually a completely different story because you have to look ACE at the other end. Bit of powder, blush, gloss. You know it.

I should also mention that hotel body wash, shampoo and conditioner is seriously BAD so it really is worth buying the mini travel ones and popping them in your stowed luggage. If you can’t get the miniatures then you can buy empty containers and pour your usual wash in it. Then you can be that smug person I turn to in the midst of my beauty crisis. Be my best friend?

What on flight beauty tips do you have?

Yvette Lee Fell
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Posted by: Yvette Lee Fell

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Tags: beauty, flight, on-board