This is what I use when I want to look fresh no matter how long the flight is or no sleep for the day. When I was in my 20’s, I have always admired my 40+ boss for her ALWAYS radiance look, no matter what hell back-to-back travel she went through. Eventually, I realised that her secret was actually very simple and very few products were involved. Essentially, there are only 8 products (skincare + makeup)!

I am not recommending a particular brand; it is more about why I pick these type of items. The products mentioned are the items that are in my hand luggage. With just these 8 products, I manage to look good for business meetings (or at least in my opinion lol).

Outbound (Guadeloupe, Caribbeans))

Inbound (Paris, France)

Due to having experienced mulitple “lost” or late luggage incidents, my outbound carry-on tends to be a bit more heavy than my inbound 😉

In-flight skin care

1. Cleanser – Use the kind that requires water. Wipes will not do the job. The splash of water really helps to freshen up
2. Moisturiser
3. Sunscreen SPF50 or higher, must have UVA protection AND apply over 1.25ml to the face to be as effective as indicated
4. Self heating eye mask** – This is NOT an essential product, it is a nice to have. This is a dry product and does not leave any residuals.

With the exception of sunscreen, I usually only take sachet with me if I have them. I always hustle the salesman to offer me sachets when I make my purchases. I don’t fly anywhere without at least 15ml of sunscreen in my carry-on. It is my “desert island” sort of product.

Make up

1. Complexion product – sheer to light coverage to even out the skin tone. DO NOT go for full coverage product, stay luminous and let the skin showing through looks more fresh.
2. Concealer – spot cover where required
3. Luminous finish or dewy finish blush – radiance complexion
4. Eye brow product (if you have blond eye lashes, mascara is a better option)
5. Lipstick or lip gloss that is NOT matte

My pick?

Consideration: bad lighting, no mirror, minimal tools required, light weight

1. Etude House Any Cushion foundation
2. KATE (kanebo) the base zero stick concealer
3. Clinique chubby stick blush in robust rubarb ** double up as eye shadow
4. Majolica Majorca (shiseido) eyebrow pencil sword shape
5. Dior lip glow 001

No additional sponge or brushes are involved in this routine 😉

For more 5 products only makeup ideas, click here. I have been pushing this less is more idea for a while haha.

I am quite happy walking around bare faced (as long as it is washed and has a ton of sunscreen). So this routine is probably a bit too lazy for most people, but hey, this is what I do 😉

Bought everything was bought in brick and mortar store with my own money. Links are to the official brand site for reference. For the Etude House cushion foundation, I am not sure if they’ve changed the packaging or the formula, so that’s why I haven’t linked it.

What bag is this?

This see-though bag is from Acte Nation. I won this in a lucky draw in Jan 2019. The exterior is made of Italian calf leather and the interior is polyurethane  (so no worries if anything spills). You’ve probably seen it a few times on my inflight / carry on IG story. It is surprisingly hardy to my rough handling LOL

Shortly after I published this post, I realised that my packaging habits haven’t changed that much over the year; throw back 2016 post on 10 must pack items for long haul flight.