Post flight face pampering

I just got back from a 3 week trip to the USA (I love the USA!) so I thought I’d start with a post flight skincare routine now that it’s still fresh in my mind.

I’m afraid I’m not a brave person when it comes to skincare on a plane.  There are tons of blogpost on the net on inflight skincare routines but seriously, who does that?  „I take of my makeup, I put on a facial mask, I put this or that product in my hair” … really??  When I’m on a long haul flight the only makeup I put on is mascara, I wear my glasses instead of my contacts and I make sure I’ve put on my moisturizer.  That’s it.  I do have some samples of facial creams with me and when I feel the need I might put some on during the flight. That’s as brave as I get.  I don’t pull out a gazillion products which is a shame really.  Because there is nothing to do on a plane but read, sleep, watch a movie … it makes sense to use that time to create your own little spa up in the air.  But not me, I’d get self-conscious and wonder what people would think (which is ridiculous I know, just look up the passenger shaming account on instagram and you’ll see what I mean). 

So my face might not agree that what I do after a flight is pampering, it would probably consider it more a ‚feed me, rescue me’ kind of routine.  

First off I’ll start with a gentle facial scrub, there are many out there but two of my favorites are the Clinique 7 day scrub cream or Roc Gommage doux lissant (which I received as a gift by an order of Roc facial cream on the Belgian webshop iu).  I somehow always feel ‚dirty’ after a long flight so this helps me get rid of that feeling and of the old skin cells on my face.

Next up is moisturizing and I love using the hydraluron moisture boosting sheet mask by Indeed labs for that.  Now, you don’t want to put one on when you’re in the same room with someone you hardly know but then again, why would you have someone you hardly know in your room??  It looks kind of freaky and the first time I put one on my man laughed so hard he almost choked.  Needless to say I never put one on again in his presence for a while.  But all that changed when we were on a holiday and he burned his face a little.  He was a bit hesitant at first but his skin just sucked up all the product and all that was left was a sheet and I mean a real dry sheet, the same texture as the one you put in a printer.  He’s been a fan since and that’s a good thing because now we share.  I put on the mask and after my 15 minutes, he’ll put the other side on his face.  There’s enough product on there to do so and most sheet masks aren’t cheap so it makes sense to get as much product as you can out of it.  Another great one is the Dr.Jart+ water replenishment cotton sheet mask, which I got in Sephora during my last trip to the USA.

It takes my skin a few days to recover from a long flight so the next days I’ll put on a normal moisturizing mask.  A real favorite is Kiehl’s Ultrafacial overnight hydrating masque.  I love this!!  But don’t let the name fool you, you do not (and I repeat do not) want to put this on overnight.  I did because well, that’s what it says right?  I was afraid to move and slept on my back all night.  The stuff is sticky, the kind of sticky that when you would turn around you’d have your pillow stuck to your face.  So, overnight mask?  Not really, but a great moisturizing mask nonetheless.

Where to buy:

• Clinique: at your local beauty store

• Roc: at your local pharmacy 

• Hydraluron moisture boosting mask, indeed labs 19.99£: boots.com (shipping is 9.99£ but they have special offers all the time that can make up for the shipping costs, or you can order together with your bestie and share)

• Dr Jart+: beautybay.com or boots.com although neither of them sells the sheet masks

• Kiehl’s ultrafacial overnight hydrating mask: kiehls.be (or your local Kiehls online shop)