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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!

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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?

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Want your powder eyeshadow to, um, I don’t know – do what it actually promises and stay on for a little longer than an hour? Yeah, me too.

This week’s beauty tip is a “3-in-1″ tip on how to make your eyeshadow stay on longer, since I heard a few of these different methods and I just had to share:

• Method 1 is simple; which is applying a thin layer of eyeshadow primer underneath your eyeshadow. (Urban Decay and Benefit makes some good ones.) If you don’t have specifically an eyeshadow primer, applying your concealer on your lids will help greatly. (If you do apply concealer, top it off with a layer of loose powder before your eyeshadow).
• Method 2 requires some water: Take your eyeshadow brush, wet it, and apply your eyeshadow. Wet eyeshadow not only allows the eyeshadow to stay put longer, but also makes the color more intense and brighter.
• Method 3 is to apply cream eyeshadow first, then your regular powder eyeshadow. Bonus points if the cream eyeshadow is almost exactly like the powder eyeshadow color, as it will also help intensify the color.

… In other words, if you’ve seen a similarity between all methods, it’s that having a cream-like product underneath your powder eyeshadow is the way to go.

Personally, I’ve found the concealer method to work, only because I haven’t tried an eyeshadow primer and the wet method just yet; but I am sure they work just as well. Also, for eyeshadows that last a little longer than normal without these methods in my experience, M.A.C. and Bobbi Brown seem to be the best.

What do you do to keep your eyeshadow staying on longer? I’d love to hear your tips that we can add here – of all the makeup ‘peeves’ I have, this must be #1!

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OK. I really need to stop getting girl crushes… But I can’t help looking at their amazing hair and makeup styles. First Alexa Chung’s style, Kristen Stewart’s eye makeup, and now Hayley Williams’ (of Paramore) hair and makeup – all great girls who have amazing style that I admire (OK, am totally jealous of).

I’ve loved Paramore for some time now and was really impressed with their new album, Brand New Eyes, and when I saw the music video for my fave song, Ignorance, I gasped. I love Hayley’s bright red hair and strong eye makeup, so I had to post. Also, let’s just be honest – the girl is beautiful.

Skin

Hayley did a guest blog post on Seventeen.com all about her beauty secrets, and she especially wrote about her skin and hair. For her skincare regime, she uses the La Roche Posay skin care line and Elta SPF 45 sunscreen everyday. She says though these products are costly, they are worth it because her skin has never felt better – it got really bad from the stress and lifestyle of touring. Plus, she adds, “I’m obsessed with skin.”

Hair

Hayley has sported various hair colors such as red hair, blonde hair, orange, black… and looks amazing with all of them.

Personally I love red the best,(thanks for asking) but whatever color you are planning to dye your hair to, here are some tips; especially because it’s such a bright color:

• First and foremost, I know it’s boring, but read the instructions on the box. With subtle colors you can afford to make mistakes, but not with bright reds and oranges! Read the instructions carefully and be informed on all the steps.
• Start off by applying Vaseline all around your hairline to keep it from running down your skin.
• Apply the haircolor gel with a comb carefully, making sure you don’t miss out any bits.
• Wrap your hair in a cap for however long the hair color box advises.

For those with darker hair colors, I’m afraid the dreaded bleach will be needed. If that’s the case, I highly advise taht you go to a hairsalon and get it done properly instead of at home. Ask your stylist for tips on how to keep the color bright, and how to ‘update’ your roots at home.

Hayley advises that the way she gets at least 3 weeks of solid bright color is to “try to part from the shower a few days…liberate yourself. Use Johnson’s baby powder or Bumble and Bumble’s hair powder (which comes in a few different colors) in the roots to keep your hair looking full and (sorta) clean between washes.” She then washes her hair with color-safe shampoo in freezing cold water.

To style her hair, Hayley uses Redken wax and to keep her hair in good condition, she uses Redken Extreme Anti-Snap leave-in conditioner. (Good choice too, I love it and highly recommend it as well!)

As for her haircut, it seems to have remained the same for a few years. Ask your stylist for a mid-length cut (just above your chest), long, choppy layers, and a side-swept bang … et voila! Rock and roll! Now on to my favorite topic …

Make up

Hayley does a variety of different makeup looks and colors so it’s quite hard for me to pinpoint down a ‘signature’ look to talk about! However, Hayley shared a photo of her makeup bag on Twitter (full pic here) that I find really useful.

From what I can tell, a few of her products are:

• MAC mineralize powders
• Benefit Bad Gal Lash
• Make Up Forever Mat Velvet Foundation
• Urban Decay eye shadow
• MAC eye shadows
• Urban Decay eye liner
• Aveeno Positively Smooth Shave gel
• LA girl flare nail polishes
• i.d. Bare Minerals makeup brush
• St. Ives body lotion
• Lorac tinted moisturizer
• Stila Smudge pot
• Bare Escentuals eyeliner sealer

In other words, lots of great, bright eyeshadows and nail polishes. Find what brands work for you, then just get bright colors.

What do you think of Hayley’s makeup and hairstyles… isn’t she daring? I love it!

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This week’s beauty tip comes from my mom and said she read this in a magazine a few years ago and it worked for her “quite well.”

If you’re running about your day and noticing your hair is getting a little but frizzy, don’t fret. Take some of your hand cream that you carry around in your bag, rub it throughly through your palms, and finger comb it through your hair. This helps to “settle” the frizz until you get home and takes exactly 2 seconds to do.

So simple! Thanks, Mama. Has anyone tried this tip?

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