Travel Beauty Week: My In-Flight Essentials

Travel week on Beautyholics Anonymous has begun! For the next few days, I thought I’d show you my travel beauty essentials, what beauty products I brought with me on holiday, some travel tips and more beauty essentials from fellow bloggers as well. I hope you like it!

If there’s one thing I enjoy watching on YouTube, that’s videos on travelling tips. Before I left for my holiday, I was busy trawling YouTube for videos on how to pack more efficiently, what people brought with them on flights, what makeup the ladies carried with them, etc. It’s very interesting at how much (or even how little) people bring with them when they’re travelling!

Travel Beauty: My In-Flight Travel Essentials

I travel overseas at least once a year and while I’m not a jetsetter, I have done a fair amount of travelling the past 12 years and have since then come up with a list of in-flight essentials I need with me when I’m flying.

By the way, please excuse the photos if they’re not up to par. Even though I used my brother’s DSLR to snap the pictures, editing them on his laptop wasn’t easy because there’s this perpetual glare on the laptop that doesn’t allow me to view the images accurately. I edited the images the best I could and emailed those photos to myself so that I can check them with my phone and iPad to see if they look okay. Again, apologies if the colour, brightness and contrast are off for the photos of this post and the next few ones.

Okay, now that I’ve cleared that up, let’s begin! πŸ™‚

The clear 1qt bag

Airlines require that you carry any liquids, aerosols and/gels 100ml or less in a clear 1 quart bag. A number of beauty brands cashed in on this requirement and came up with their versions which obviously look better than the Glad sandwich bags or the ones you get for free at the airport. I got mine from Manicare, which also came with clear travel-sized bottles and jars for decanting.

  • Eye drops – essential for dry and tired eyes. I love the ones by Refresh.
  • Rubbing alcohol – for the toilet and any other surface I touch. Air Asia plane loos can be quite dirty. *shudder*
  • Hand sanitizer – I like having one on top of the rubbing alcohol for my hands. Plus the Aesop one smells good πŸ™‚
  • Hand cream – a must on any flights. My current favourite is the Sea Buckthorn by Weleda. Good for rubbing in the elbows too.
  • Cuticle oil – my cuticles get terribly dry when I’m flying and when they start peeling, they tend to bleed and it becomes very painful. My handy OPI one helps prevent dry cuticles and hangnail.
  • Moisturiser – for my parched skin. I brought along one of my favourite moisturisers for this trip and that’s the Uriage AquaPrΓ©cis Moisturising Refreshing Cream Gel.
  • Hydraluron – a hydrating serum to be used under my moisturiser. I originally wanted to use a facial sheet mask on this flight but decided against it at the last minute. For extra hydration, the Hydraluron works just swell. Also useful for the hands and elbows.

Travel Beauty: My In-Flight Travel Essentials

  • Hair velcro strips – perfect for holding my hair back when I apply face products.
  • Lip balm – My favourite for travelling (and any time, really) is the one by Uriage.
  • Hair brush – brush out those awful tangles and in the process, give my scalp a bit of a massage.
  • Toothbrush and toothpaste – a must when I’m flying especially on long flights. It doesn’t just keep my breath fresh, it keeps ME feeling fresh and not too grubby.
  • Mouthwash – Another essential to keep the breath zingy fresh.
  • Bioderma Crealine H2O – I use this in lieu of makeup wipes. My face feels cleaner with this plus how cute is that tiny bottle?
  • Deodorant – to keep my body smelling fresh without the travelled-for-hours-without-a-shower pong.
  • Sunscreen (not pictured) – I may or may not bring this on-board with me depending on my travel times and when I arrive. If I travel at night and arrive at night, I don’t need sunscreen. However, if I travel at night and arrive the next morning, then sunscreen is a must.

You’ll notice that I didn’t include any makeup in my clear bag. I don’t like wearing makeup when I’m flying and as long as I keep my face and breath fresh, brush my hair out and tidy up my clothing, I don’t have to look like something the cat dragged in when I land. If my itinerary tells me I’m to head straight to the hotel at night after I land, who’s going to see me? Plus, people don’t know me from Adam so I don’t really care if my skin tone isn’t very even. I’ll just wow them the next day when I finally put my game face on. πŸ˜›

Travel Beauty: My In-Flight Travel Essentials

Miscellaneous Items

The stuff that doesn’t go into the clear bag but are still essentials that I carry with me when I fly are:

  • Panty liners – can’t even begin to tell you how important this is. Can you imagine wearing the same pair of undies for hours on end? If you don’t carry an extra pair or two of knickers with you, at least wear and change panty liners frequently.
  • Snacks for the flight – Air Asia doesn’t allow outside food but most of the time, as long as you don’t bring smelly food on board, most of the air hostesses close an eye if you munch on your own small packet of nuts. I usually just bring breakfast bars with me.
  • Small bag of meds – paracetamol, ibuprofen, stuff for unsettled stomach, plasters and so on. You never know if you’ll need them.
  • An empty water bottle – non-budget flights allow you to refill your water bottle. You can also fill it with water at the water cooler at the gate (after you’ve gone through security checks and all that).
  • iPad and iPod – I never travel without these, even if the flight has complimentary entertainment. I can write or read on my iPad and listen to music I want on my iPod.
  • Noise-cancelling headphones – I finally acquired a pair of Bose QC15 that I’ve been lusting after for almost a year. It fits my ears perfectly and does an amazing job in shutting the noise out. Having said that, you don’t need Bose for noise-cancelling earphones as a lot of AV brands have them at cheaper prices too. These headphones were immediately put to the test when I was seated in front of two young children on both of my flights. Let’s just say, these were the best thing I’ve ever purchased via duty-free, and that includes all of the beauty products I’ve ever bought.
  • Neck pillow – I don’t like the inflatable ones so if possible, I travel with the ones with microbeads in them. They’re so much more comfortable to use.

Travel Beauty: My In-Flight Travel Essentials

Oh boy, this sure is a long post :P. There are more (depending on where I’m going) but in general, these are my in-flight essentials. I may not use all of them in every flight but I feel better having them with me when I travel.

What are your travel essentials like? Do you bring makeup along with you in your clear bag? Is there a special item you like to bring along with you when you travel?

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16 comments… add one
  1. Sunshine

    Omg I never knew you could use something other than the glad zip-lock bags to carry on board liquids *face-palm* haha!

    I pretty much carry the same things for when I travel. I also carry a toilet seat sanitizer called “holy seat” (I bought it in the Philippines so I’m not sure if it’s available in Oz) to sanitize the handles and flush buttons before I used them. I also carry hand sanitiser which I use with a tissue to wipe the tv screens and buttons I use. A little ocd behaviour thanks to my Nursing training lols.

    I wish I invested in noise cancelling headphones on my last trip. I always seem to be seated near crying children.

    For makeup I keep mine low key. I just fill in my brows and curl my lashes. Before landing I apply mascara, liner and red lipstick.

    Sorry for the mini essay hehe.
    Sunshine x.

    1. Tine

      Hahaha thanks for the mini essay Sunshine! I enjoyed reading it πŸ˜‰

      Not all countries allow you to use clear bags in lieu of ziplock bags for carry on though. When I was at Heathrow, they made me clear my LAGs out into their ziplock bags because they needed something resealable (hello, mine was a zipped bag. That’s resealable, no? :)) But other countries, I had no problems. I’ve used it in Australia, in Edinburgh, Paris, Rome, KL, Japan, etc without any issues.

      The best thing I invested in for the trip was the noise-cancelling earphones. What a lifesaver it was. If you have headphones (not earphones) that aren’t noise-cancelling, try wearing earplugs AND put the headphones on when you need to sleep. Works just as well πŸ™‚

  2. Victoria

    I love this kind of posts and also those about what is in your bag. LOL. Thanks for the review and hope you are having a great time back in Malaysia πŸ™‚

    1. Tine

      Thanks V. Had a great time πŸ˜‰

  3. Paris B

    You know, I don’t even use a clear bag to store my in-flight toiletries. So far, I’ve never been called out on it! πŸ˜› But I don’t carry very much. I will have my makeup with me because I don’t like putting them into check in luggage but I don’t use them. Usually on long haul flights, i’m too busy watching films or sleeping to really do any pampering but these are good tips on what to have on hand. I don’t do makeup either unless I have to have a decent face on when I arrive. Then, it’s a quick 5 minute base, blush, brows and lipstick at my seat πŸ™‚
    Paris B recently posted..Let the Dior Mystic Metallics Constellation eyeshadow palette leave you starry-eyedMy Profile

    1. Tine

      No way, really? Wow! I always take mine out to prevent the line from slowing down πŸ˜› I don’t even do base, blush and brows. Heck I only use lip balm! God forbid anyone I know pick me up at the airport and see my face πŸ˜›

  4. Ms Jelena

    I carry some moisturiser, wipes, liners, mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, deodorant, mouth wash, hand sanitiser and then some reading materials + iPad. I end up sleeping for majority of this time, so don’t need all that much πŸ˜€ x
    Ms Jelena recently posted..My Bloggy Turns TwoMy Profile

    1. Tine

      I feel like I’m carrying the kitchen sink onto the plane with me every time. I don’t use a lot of them but I feel better knowing I have the stuff with me, y’know, just in case I need it. No wonder my bag is so heavy! πŸ˜›

  5. Ting

    I am with you on most things minus the sleeping stuff. I guess I am the sort who could dooze off anywhere easily. :p

    And I am so glad you mentioned panty liners!!! That’s what I definitely bring with me on long hours travel (I’m talking about 14-hours drive or something like that!!!)!!! πŸ™‚

    1. Tine

      Oh panty liners … so so SO important! Also, I heard a good tip from, get this, a MAN, that thicker panty liners are fantastic to line the shoes if you have smelly feet. It’s crazy but a damn good idea! πŸ˜›

  6. Issa

    I always love posts like this! I probably add a face powder , hihihi…..

    1. Tine

      Thanks Issa! Good idea to have face powder when you’re about to leave the plane. Me, I leave with a blank face πŸ˜›

  7. Michelle Beh

    Hi Tine!! Nice reading your blog posts about the travel essentials ! Thanks for that as it helps me in doing my travel essentials as well~~!!

    1. Tine

      Thanks Michelle. So glad you enjoy the posts πŸ™‚ x

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