How to & Tips

One of the greatest skin rituals you can do for yourself is to thoroughly cleanse your face, morning and night. And though it seems simple enough – slap on some soap, then water – there are some tricks and tips to making the most out of your cleanser and to learn how to really clean your face for soft, beautiful skin!

• First, make sure the water you wash your face with is not too hot or too cold. Cold water makes your skin more prone to broken capillaries, and hot water … well, you know what hot water does. Luke warm water is the best.

• Lather up your cleanser in your palms, and start by applying the cleanser to your face with gentle circular motions. Start at your cheeks, then proceed to your t-zone, chin, and then another round all over your face. Allow the cleanser to be left on for at least 30 seconds (I once read an article that said 2 minutes is the recommended for all the ingredients to soak in properly, but that’s a bit long, so leave it on at least half a minute).

• If you have oily skin, apply another layer of cleanser, or if you have any oily areas (for me, it’s my cheeks!), cleanse on just that area one more time. (This is recommended for the warmer times of the year or if you live in a hot climate, though. If you’re in a cold climate and you over cleanse when it’s not needed you may dry out your skin too much.) (And if you don’t know what your skin type it, check out my post How to Find Your Skin Type to find out.)

• Gently allow water to run over your face and gently rub off your cleanser, massaging your face at the same time. After, take a few pieces of face tissue and pat your face dry – don’t rub your face because it’s too harsh for the skin.

Et voila, you are done. Apply your moisturizer and show off that pretty face. What do you think of these tips? How do you cleanse your face – do you have a ritual or is it a simple wash-and-go for you?

This week’s beauty tip came straight from a text from my good friend Nat in Sri Lanka – thanks for the tip, Nat!

Reality TV star Olivia Palermo from The City (isn’t she beautiful?) says that she has a great way to zap a zit. She cuts the sticky part of a Band Aid up into pieces and layer it 3 to 4 times over a pimple before bed, and in the morning the pimple is gone.

I have to admit, I love when I hear a beauty tip I’ve never heard before – and this is one of them. I can’t vouch if this works right now, but do tell me what you think – have you done this before, and does it work? I’ll have to wait for a gross zit to pop up before I can try this out myself!

Image: Unknown

I travel back to Denmark almost every Spring (I’m half Danish), and that is a long 14 hours flight from Singapore (and then back again!). As a kid I’d just wear my pajamas and slather on some hotel body lotion all over my face (don’t ever do that, by the way, unless you want serious breakouts) and head to the airport, not caring how disastrous I look. (Isn’t it great being a kid?)

Now that I’m older, though, I have to look somewhat more presentable, and heading to the hotel and sleeping for 12 hours after the flight is not an option anymore! Here are some beauty tips I’ve gathered over the years, especially if you have business to do after your flight.

Before Boarding

Moisturizing is key. With the dry, stuffy cabin air, skin can itch and worst of all, peel. First and foremost, moisturize your bare face before boarding a flight (I think it should be common sense that you’re not wearing makeup on a long flight, right?). What I like to do is double moisturize – that’s two layers of moisture on the face, and normally that is enough for the next 12 hours.

Next, while getting dressed for your flight, remember to moisturize your body as well. Moisturize your legs, collarbone, neck, and arms before flight. Soothing (and very thick) body lotions such as the famous body butters by The Body Shop can aid to calm and relax before your flight.

… Speaking of relaxing, I like relaxing on the plane now-a-days. In the past I used to sit in fear for 14 hours wondering when the plane was going to crash and I died, but now flights are relaxing. Soothing scents always work best: try spritzing on a lavender or vanilla scent to help calm you down. Close your eyes, breathe in the beautiful scent, and relax.

On Board

While on the plane, it’s also important to maintain moisturized skin. Of course, our first concern is the skin on our face! It’s vital to up the hydration on the flight. There are many facial moisturizer sprays available today that you can use to freshen up your face. The most popular one is Moisture Surge Face Spray by Clinique, which is AMAZING. My friend Christine and I are obsessed about it.

I would also recommend bringing a mini body lotion in your handbag. Hands get insanely dry and so do your legs, which make them dry and itchy, and have this very attractive scale-like appearance. Load up on lotion now and again to banish scaly looking skin when you get off the plane!

Next is definitely your lips. Our lips’ skin is very thin and delicate, and is one of the fastest to dry up and can get very, very dry and cracked in the cabin air. I can vouch that my lips get extremely chapped while in the air! It’s best to skip the lipgloss and lipsticks right now and instead go for a moisturizing lip balm. I recommend anything by Rosebud, I currently like the original flavor.

Something I’d also recommend but haven’t tried yet are sheet facial masks. I’ve seen a lot of women do this recently, and I’ll have to try it out too. When the lights go off, I’d be walking to the bathroom and see a pool of women before me with their masks on. Jealous! Just apply a sheet mask (in others words, the least messy type of mask) and it’s like heaven. Twenty minutes later, skin is refreshed and plump with moisture, not to mention it’s like having a mini spa experience in the air.

After The Flight

It’s best not to pile on makeup before leaving your flight because it hasn’t been washed in a while, and it will only cause clogged pores and breakouts. The best, really, if you’re concerned about how you look (but really, who gives a hoot – you were on a long flight!), just apply some lip color and slip on a pair of sunglasses and tie your hair up; you’ll look fresher instantly.

Last but not least, and probably pretty obvious, but after long flights I just feel gross… so it’s time for a good scrub! Take a good long shower and then (hopefully) go to bed and get all the rest you need. (Am I the only one who thinks flights, airports and traveling is extremely tiring?

I hope I’ve given you some useful tips for those going on flights! Do you have any beauty regimes while you’re on a flight? And do you even ‘care’ about beauty and your looks when you’re on a flight?