Given I run a travel blog, it’s no surprise I absolutely love to travel. As soon as you step off that plane and get your first feel of a new country, all the pain of the 14-hour plane flight to get there just melts away. The only evidence of the long-haul flight is your physical appearance, those tired, red eyes, hair that has become a dry, fluffy bird’s nest, oily, stressed-out skin and parched lips. But don’t worry, girlfriend, there are things you can do to make travel easier on your body. Here are my top 13 beauty tips for travelling, what are yours?
1. Pack eyedrops
Staring at a tiny television screen for 9 hours will leave you with red, watery, tired and sore eyes. Pack some eyedrops to lubricate and soothe your sore peepers, it’ll also make you feel a little more refreshed and awake when it’s time to hop off the plane.
2. Avoid lipstick
Avoid using long-lasting lipsticks as they dehydrate and parch your lips. Instead, use a lip stain for longer lasting colour and top it off with a clear, nourishing lip balm over the top. Reapply the lip balm during the flight for fresh lips.
3. Moisturise
The night before you fly, apply a good thick layer of heavy moisturiser. It will increase the skin’s hydration and is a pro-active way to battle your skin’s dehydration during a flight.
4. Smell good
Don’t be that jerk who sprays a litre of perfume on themselves before the flight lands. Instead, invest in a solid perfume stick like this one from Lush. Dab a little on your wrists and neck for a light fragrance without being offensive to other passengers.
5. Rehydrate your skin
Use a mineral mist to cleanse, soothe, tone refresh tired or irritated skin. My favourite is Avene Thermal Spring Water, it feels so good to give your face a spritz with this every couple of hours and I especially love it if I’m going somewhere humid, like Singapore.
6. Wipe away the grime
Carry cleansing wipes with you to give yourself an in-seat freshen up. You can cleanse your face quickly, have an in-seat shower or use them for dirty or sticky hands. They’re a must-have product for your handbag. Neutrogena do a great oil-free range which will help your skin fight extra in-flight grease.
7. Ice, ice baby
After you land, you can reduce under-eye puffiness by putting some crushed ice in a washcloth and applying under the eyes. It’s an automatic wake-up for your skin and will make you look and feel immediately fresher.
8. Nourish your hands
Keep a tube of your favourite hand cream in your bag and use it throughout your trip to keep your hands from drying out. Not only this, but it will create a barrier on your hands which will help prevent over-drying from commercial-grade soaps used in public toilets.
9. Flat-iron out the creases
If you don’t have access to an iron, but your clothes have come out of your luggage all crumpled, use your flat iron to smooth out your collar, sleeves and hemline. You’ll be amazed how well you can iron something with your hair straightener if you really need to.
10. Dry shampoo
Pack a hair powder, like a dry shampoo, to combat oily scalp or limp hair during a long-haul flight or if you’re somewhere remote, like camping in the Sahara desert.
11. Don’t touch
When we’re travelling our hands touch a lot of germy things, then we tend to touch our face and skin with those same germy hands which can cause breakouts. Make sure you avoid touching your skin while travelling and carry an all-natural hand sanitizer to disinfect your hands properly before touching your face.
12. Treat your tired eyes
Pre-moistened cucumber eye pads can be refrigerated or frozen prior to traveland then used mid-flight to refresh tired, puffy and sore eyes. Absolute genius, right!? You could almost turn your 19-hour flight into a spa day.
13. Protect your makeup
Add a cotton ball or cotton pad to your makeup to keep them from breaking when travelling, particularly relevant to pressed or compact powders. I’ve lost some of my favourite make-up items to an inflight breakage.
Best travel resources for your trip!
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