Beauty in the Skies

For me, staying fresh and looking neat during my travels has been an acquired skill.
Beauty in the Skies
Make your flight comfortable and arrive beautifully. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)
7/9/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/98808252-beauty_tips.jpg" alt="Make your flight comfortable and arrive beautifully. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Make your flight comfortable and arrive beautifully. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1817573"/></a>
Make your flight comfortable and arrive beautifully. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)
This year (so far) has been a typical one for me in terms of business travel and adventure—including a four-hour stopover at Charles de Gaulle while trying to get to Warsaw, Poland. For me, staying fresh and looking neat during my travels has been an acquired skill! Experience has made me wiser, and I have a few tips that you might like to try on your next trip.

Wear cotton next to your skin from head to toe: Cotton fabrics absorb perspiration and let your skin breathe. This is especially important in the dry, filtered air of an airplane cabin. Synthetic fabrics may leave you feeling sticky. Look for pure cotton tees and socks.

Bring a change of undergarments: After about eight hours into a flight, it is really hard to feel fresh no matter what you do. But you would be so surprised by how changing your undergarments can make you feel like a million bucks!

Pack a complete change of undergarments in a plastic bag into your carry-on, and when the moment is right, go ahead and freshen up. There are a number of new undergarment fabrics on the market that promise to “whisk” away moisture. I recently tried one brand and found that it did help reduce moisture. If you Google the search term “Moisture wicking underwear,” tons of products will come up. Give one a try.

Pack magazine perfume samples in your purse: I consider this one of my best little secrets. I am a magazine junkie, and I end up with millions of those paper perfume samples (which I rip out and stash in a shoe box at home).

When I am up for a trip, I grab several of them and throw them into my handbag to get me through my air travels. There are no clunky bottles, no 3 oz. airport liquid restrictions to deal with. When feeling less than fresh during your flight, apply it to your skin. I do this right before landing, and instantly I feel like a fresh flower!

Keep makeup to a bare minimum: Nothing feels more uncomfortable on your face than liquid foundation and heavy eye makeup caked into your flesh in the midst of dry cabin air. When I travel, I use a mineral powder foundation, a touch of mineral blush, some waterproof mascara, and lip balm only.

Since carry-on liquids are not allowed into the cabin (we all know about the strict rules of liquids and gels these days), you can easily pack these items in your carry-on and reapply just before landing.

Just say no to caffeine and alcohol: Drinking plenty of water and non-caffeinated herbal tea is the key to staying well-hydrated. Caffeine and alcohol dehydrate you. Watch out, because some airlines don’t carry herbal tea, so pick up a mini tin from your local grocery store before leaving. Your nasal passages can get really dried out during your flight, and the steam from a hot cup of tea can also help open them up!


Resist the urge to put hot towels on your face, but do use them on your seat buttons: I am lucky enough to travel mostly in business class for work. With that upgrade comes some definite perks, including the well-meaning hot towel, which is passed out before dinner and then usually again before landing.

I say well-meaning because it is such a nice and cozy comfort to be given an opportunity to wash away the stress of the day with a steaming little hand towel, but when I have put that steaming puppy on my exhausted face (like about 80 percent of people do), it dried me up like a prune almost instantly.

I now wipe only the inner corner of my eyes with it. I use cool water on a paper towel in the bathroom to wipe my face down instead. But what I do find the hot towel useful for, after wiping my hands, is to pass it over the buttons on my seat and any remote control for the on-demand entertainment system.

Most people I know and travel with get sick after a flight. I figure that the things I will touch the most during my long flights (and thus provide me with the highest chance of grabbing a germ or two) are my seat buttons and my remote—who knows the last time they were wiped down! Sure, my seat mates usually look at me with a strange eye when I do it, but who cares! Knock on wood, I have been cold-free for all of 2010!

Ear plugs—don’t leave home without them: I can’t tell you how many times I have had a lawnmower impersonator (aka the snoring cabin mate) sitting near me. Sleep, or at least a few beauty cat naps, is essential to being alert and fresh when you land. Earplugs are a great way to block out any surrounding noise that might keep you from getting some shut-eye.

If things are REALLY noisy, put your earphones on top of your ear plugs and play soft music to drown out any sound. This has rescued my rest and nerves countless times!

Hide hair issues under a hat: My hair is ultrafine and can get greasy very quickly. After a long flight, my bangs don’t always look squeaky clean, so having a hat (baseball cap or the like) to slip on right before landing keeps things neat and under control.

Just don’t wear your baseball cap prior to getting on the plane, as airport security may make you take it off at their inspection points. And nothing is more embarrassing than unveiling a mass of mangled, messed-up hair piled on top of your head in front of hundreds of people waiting in line.

Here’s to beautifully happy travels. Bon voyage!