In-The-Air Skincare

Not to be that person, but I was doing sheet masks on planes before it was mainstream. The year: 2016. Place: the second leg of an American Airlines flight. Occasion: a family trip to Cabo San Lucas. My older sister, seated next to me, watched in horror as I peeled open a Sephora Collection mask (of the rose variety, obviously, for its moisturizing properties) and applied it my visage mid-flight.

The online beauty community, in all of its openness and its frontiersman spirit, has over the past year or two normalized the ritual on mid-flight beauty routines. I’m also convinced the miniatures lined up at the Sephora checkout section was staged in partnership with some major air travel conglomerate. However, the perils of drying airplane air on one’s complexion is no conspiracy, so in the spirit of the busiest travel season of the year, I’ve rounded up our favorite travel-friendly beauty products. Bonus: they’re all available in travel size so they won’t get confiscated by TSA.

1. Flaunt by Lauren Napier cleansing wipes

These wipes are individually packaged and will take up amazingly little space inside your carry-on cosmetics case. They’re packed with nourishing fruit extracts tailored to prevent the havoc extended travel can wreak on your complexion. I can also attest to their ability to remove light face and eye makeup!

2. Herbivore Botanicals Rose Hibiscus Hydrating Facial Mist

Imagine the stuffy smell of stagnant airplane cabin air. Now, imagine luxuriating in a decadent cloud of hydrating rose and coconut water. Not only does this all-natural mist smell lovely (and not overpowering, might I add), it also preps clean skin for the moisturizer that follows.

3. FIRST AID BEAUTY Ultra Repair® Cream Intense Hydration Mini

This whipped cream moisturizer layers beautifully with oil and serums even when you’re not cruising at an altitude of 3000 feet. It’s formulated specifically for stressed out skin, so it’s instantly soothing and it absorbs quickly for a no-mess, no-fuss application.

4. Herbivore Botanicals Mini Facial Oil Trio

If you, like myself, prefer to look like oil slick prior to your nighty slumber, then these mini facial oil droppers come highly recommended. The dropper makes these easy to apply, so if you’re stuck in your seat because the stranger sitting in the aisle has fallen asleep and you’re too shy to wake him up, your skin won’t suffer.

5. Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

If you thought a standard lip balm was going to cut it, you thought wrong. This mask is meant to be worn overnight, but it also serves well as an intense lip treatment, even if you don’t catch some z’s on your trip.

I also hope you remembered to pick up one of those huge 1.5 liter European water bottles before you boarded you flight home, because those tiny little cups the flight attendants hand out aren’t going to cut it! Key learnings? Hydration, from the inside out, is the trick to make sure you return from your holiday travels looking as radiant on the surface as those days off make you feel on the inside.

Essentialist

Facine for Club Monaco Small Satchel, Anniel for Club Monaco Heeled Velvet Flats, both sold out

Fewer but better. This philosophy has all but permeated my social circles, both in real life an online (isn't it also crazy that we now need to differentiate the two?). I can't say I prescribe to this mantra completely and fully, not just yet anyway.  I have, however, learned the benefits of investing in two things: shoes and bags. After been burned one time too many by cheap pieces, I decided to make a change for the better. I've also, over the past year or so, become a small bag woman. I remember how I used to only carry satchels that would fit my DSLR, notebook, some snacks, and maybe even an extra pair of shoes if I was going to work. Now, my iPhone 7 has replaced my camera and lens, and I live in grandma heels that can seamlessly transition from work to play. This means my bags are smaller, easier to wield and hold only the essentials. I swear, I'm not complaining. If there ever were a burden to be lifted off my shoulders, this would be it.

On A Mission to Feed the World

FEED High Tide Pouch and FEED 10 Pouch

Lauren in the Peibi Top, Ryta Pant and carrying the FEED High Tide Pouch

FEED 1 Bag

Inside the Little Cupcake Bakeshop on Prince St.

Another February is coming to a close, and I have a feeling that conquering this last stretch of winter will be hard on all of us here in New York. Morale is low. Even on a good day, it can be hard to step outside of yourself, and hard to acknowledge the privilege you have, despite how ill-willed our nation's leadership may be. We have clean, running water; heat in the winter so overwhelming we actually have to open our windows to let some of that heat out in order to make our apartments bearable; fresh food and ripe product is on market stands around every corner. It's for this reason that I admire Lauren Bush and other women like her, women who are able to step outside of themselves and recognize that our privilege and freedom is better used to lift other up. She's on a mission to feed the world.

Photos by me for Club Monaco