Ladies: overnight flights and makeup?
 

Ladies, this is probably a very stupid question but for those of you who wear makeup, how do you handle overnight flights?
I have an overnight from JFK to Paris in a few weeks. with any luck I'll sleep most of the way but I have nightmares about waking up and having most of my "face" on my travel pillow. LOL. I thought about going "sans" but then have visions of arriving in France puffy eyed and pasty faced swim in my head and I can't see going totally "au natural"
I know in the grand scheme of things this is probably minor but hey, it's not often I wake up with 300 perfect strangers looking at me.

TIA
Eliza

Those 300 perfect strangers will likely have many other things on their mind besides looking at you.

I'll put in a request that you refrain from comandeering the lavatory for a lengthy makeup session about the time everyone is waking up and needing to relieve themselves.

You can always wait until you reach the restroom of your arrival airport when you'll have more time and space for your morning makeup routine.

Good luck and sweet dreams on the plane.

Wear your makeup but bring along a disposable cloth to remove it.

Or try just wearing a good moisturizer and a bit of mascara on the plane. Sounds like you're thinking of foundation, perhaps you can add a little (stress little) foundation to your moisturizer and put it on in the morning for a little color. I'd skip the foundation, personally. As for the puffy eyes, make sure you remove your mascara and bring a small amount of eye cream. You'll be fine.

Reapply mascara in the morning.

The 300 strangers aren't looking at you, they are thinking about themselves. The really sad thing is- no one's really noticing you.

If 300 people are turning all eyes to you then you are either drop dead gorgeous and don't need to worry or you have a giant rainbow colored growth that makes your head twice as large. Get medical attention for that and don't worry about the other. :)

Because I wear light makeup anyways, I just do my normal routine. A little blush, eye shadow/liner, lipstick.

If you normally wear foundation, powder, etc. I'd skip that part, in favor of clean skin and carry a good moisturizer with you and use that often during the flight.

I always wear foundation and powder and never seem to have much of a problem. I don't sleep on planes but I do use the pillow and try to get comfy. It never seams to rub off. Of course I still don't look so good after a night of no sleep but I freshen up at the hotel.
I always wear light foundation and powder so I don't vary the routine when I fly.

Thanks all for your help. atravelyn, LOL I got your request.. believe me I don't plan on commandaring the restroom. Those things are so absolutely tiny any way I can't imagine trying to put make up on. I know, no one will be paying a whit of attention to me, it's probably just 40 years of always wearing foundation that had me wondering...

I think I'll the foundation and just go with some lipstick, blush and eye liner.

Thanks for the tip on the wipes. that should work well for quick touch ups.

When you wear foundation/powder on a plane, doesn't your skin get really dry? The humidity is so low in the cabin I'm always putting reapplying moisuritzer on overnight flights. My skin looks horrible if I don't do this during the flight. Sometimes I have even used those Evian spritzer deals which also help hydrate.

I wear tinted moisturizer, and use the self-contained face wash cloths to remove it, then re-apply.

I wear tinted moisturizer, and use the self-contained face wash cloths to remove it, then re-apply.

I have worn make up on an overnight flight and it doesn't look good upon waking anyway, so I go fresh faced.

Don't wear any.. Take some with you and apply on the plane before landing.

Looking shitty is the charm of traveling!!

Anyway, less make up is ALWAYS better...

I'm traveling to London in June and never leave my house without makeup, not even to get the mail. I don't want to sound stuck up or anything, I'm not like that at all. I've always worn makeup since I was a teenager, I feel naked without it. I have a connecting flight from Orlando to D.C. to London. I don't plan on removing any makeup on the flight, I always carry lipstick/lipgloss and eyeliner and powder in my carry-on and do touch ups before landing. Also I use a replenishing treatment mist from Wen. Wen is a brand of great hair care products from QVC. This "mist" is great to spritz on your face(won't ruin makeup)to add some moisture, or on your body for that matter. You can also spray some in your hair to freshen it up. I hate that gross feeling of arriving somewhere after flying for so long. I'm bringing my Wen in my carry-on as well. Definitely check out the Wen products by Chaz Dean on QVC, you won't be disappointed.

JFK to Paris isn't that long of a flight-just redo your makeup lightly at your seat and do a total makeover after you land and get through customs.
Trust me when I say that with only 4/5 bathrooms in a cabin of 200 plus people it means alot of people will be honked if you are doing a "routine" before landing.

I"m flying from Sydney to LA and then on to JFK next Thursday (yay!!). I do plan on wearing my usual everyday routine to the airport (foundation, a dusting of loose powder, blusher and mascara and lipstick). Given that we'll be hanging around the airport for 3 hours or so before the flight I don't fancy having no make up on, especially in front of those immaculately groomed flight attendants. Once on the plane, I'll use a make up remover wipe to remove the foundation and then top up the moisturiser. I also like the 'mist' sprays and a good lip balm. I'll use a mineral foundation before we 'deplane' at LAX.

Can I put in a request for ladies reading this not to top up their perfume on the plane? I can't work out why some women feel the need to drench us all in their favourite fragrance. I wear fragrance every day, but wouldn't do that to my fellow flyers.

Alicia, that's a funny comment about looking shitty when travelling. I think it's a necessary requirement of those of us in cattle class.

I like the toss away facecloths then touch up with blush, mascara, lipgloss. I have a harder time with contact lenses, but I bring hand sanitized and small bottles of lens solution and take care of it at my seat/ tray table.

I too go without makeup on overnights and put on some tinted moisturizer (I always carry my makeup in tote), blush, mascara & lipstick before landing and wear my eyeglasses instead of my contacts so they do not dry out. Always use a black eye mask too. There is room to do makeup in seat with my 5X little magnifying mirror (I never leave home without it). Refreshing to use Makeup Removal Wipe before landing too and always carry WetOnes too.

aliced, is there any reason why you use a "black" eye mask?

@sparkle422, I don't think stuck up is the right word for always have to wear make up.


@cathies Better be a person who travels in cattle class than being some stuck up superficial person. And pretty funny you asume I never fly in business class.

I go without makeup and put on lots of moisturizer, then spritz myself and re-moisturize numerous times during the flight. It's a desert up there! But I do wear a cheery lipstick in the airport so I don't look near death.

Alicia, Well, normally I'm a 'better person' but I dream about being a stuck up superficial person who travels business class. Tomorrow I'm getting on a 21 hour flight from Sydney - NYC and I'd love to be a stuck up superficial person for those 21 hours. Alas, unless we get REALLY lucky at the airport tomorrow morning, it's not going to happen. :(

@Cathies, Sorry I misread your comment. Was reading to fast and thought you were being sarcastic. Think I look like the ass now :P

LSky, this one 'happens' to be black, well padded, and has a spot to enclose earplugs too. Those thin masks that I have had from airlines just are not comfortable-- this one has velcro back too! It is just the best. Pleasant dreams!

I like the eye masks with the domes over the eyes - sort of looks like a little padded bra come to think of it -lol. But they are definitely more comfy than the flat ones.

No matter what class I travel in, and no matter what make up I put on, I still look really tired after a long haul 10 plus hours flight so I don't bother too much what I look like. A recent trip was a total of nearly 30 hours flying time and stopovers. I don't care what I look like to strangers - most folks look tired and a bit worse for wear after getting off a plane - well except for supermodels who prob have their pic airbrushed! I may put a bit of foundation on and I make sure my mascara is waterproof but I don't re-apply it during the trip.

Since most of my long haul flights are 28 hours plus (last one was almost 40 hours travel time) I never wear makeup - can't stand the feel of caked on muck. And the thing is, everyone else looks at their worst at the end of a long flight too, so I don't worry about it. I take along toothbrush and paste, hairbrush, face cloth and a bit of moisturiser. I also can't stand those tiny airplane toilets with no room to move, so normally wash my face and do teeth while in transit. I don't normally care what my face looks like upon landing (pasty faced, tired etc) as I'm going straight to hotel anyway, and its not like I'm going to bump into anyone I know either.

I also don't want to encourage the pimples/blocked pores with wearing foundation for so long, so that is another reason I go without when flying overnights.

Eliza61: no need to be deterred from wearing makeup if that's how you feel your best.

Most of my flights are overnight and many of them are 20+ hours. I am one of those women who always wears makeup. My skin is blotchy and about the farthest I go without makeup is to fetch the morning paper.

I keep a touchup bag in my roll-aboard. In addition to my toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, wipes, Qtips (for eyeliner that smudges when sleeping), I also have a compact travel makeup kit from Estee Lauder (all the major brands have them and I picked up mine in a duty free store). The kit has a sponge for the powder foundation and a brush for blush. If I need more than just a touchup, I have a tiny jar in which I keep a small amount (maybe a tea spoon full) of my own foundation. Touch up the areas where my face has touched my pillow, a touch of face powder, a little fresh blush and lipstick and that will get me to my connecting flight and generally my destination.

Generally all of this takes no more than 5 minutes. I have done this in the plane lavatory if there is plenty of time before landing and if no one is waiting. Otherwise I wait until I get inside the airport where there's more space, more time, better lighting, counter space, etc.

Many times I do not have the luxury of going straight to my hotel and if I have business or am meeting people, I want to feel as fresh as I can. For me a quick touchup (and a shower if you're lucky enough to have one in the airport) helps me feel better and able to look my best till evening or when I can get to the hotel.

I want to know how Alicia and cathies got the word $hitty past the editors.....

Tinted moisterizer,permanent eye-liner and waterproof mascara was my answer, although I'm sure I am less than attractive when I stagger off the plane.

I have used moisturizing masks on red-eyes, and my Kiehl's lip balm, and looked pretty good when it was time to refresh in the airport restroom.
I also advocate a facial mister, like the Vitamin C or E from the Body Shop, and using a light eye cream, also on neck. No need to look.. chitty.

light make up but NO mascara. I find the mascara is the thing that gets ugly

Looks like you've got enough suggestions above. Whatever you decide, DON'T use a product on the flight (like wipes) that you haven't used several times before.

It would be terrible to have an allergic reaction and arrive with sealed shut eyes or worse, have breathing problems.

Oh, and I agree with the no perfume/after-shave/colgone suggestion...again for those who are allergic to that sort of thing, if not for those of us who just can't stand the smell.