Celia Walden’s high-flying tips

How to see your skin through a long-haul flight

Forget people watching; on planes, it’s all about product watching. So palpable is a woman’ s fear as she hunkers down for a 12-plus-hour flight (otherwise known as a 360- degree assault on beauty) that she’ll bring out the big guns – right there in public view. these are the gems that would otherwise stay hidden in bathroom cabinets the world over. they can be wonderful and weird (i’ve seen a woman slather herself with snail saliva on a flight to Martinique, and another smear orangeblossom honey on her lips pre-take-off), or some basic unguent you’ve walked past in Boots a gazillion times, but because they’re being relied upon to combat Flight Fright Face, they proba- bly deliver. which is why the one exception to my ‘never make conversation on planes’ rule is: ‘what is that? and what will it do for me?’

it ’s t hanks to t his st rateg y t hat i discovered Kate Somerville’s DermalQuench liquid lif t (removed from a dozen céline totes every time i take off from la X), Mother Brown’s remedy (its melatonin supplement is a favourite wit h t he fashion set), Dr hauschka’s plain, unscented and r ut hlessly eff icient hand crea m, avène’s Soot hing eye contour cream (which won’t block the pores around your eyes and comes in a flight-friendly 10 ml tube) and lancôme’ sab so lu el’ extra it Mist, which smells like fresh air, rose gardens and liberty–all of w hi chi crave when trapped in a metal canister redolent of overboiled Brussels sprouts.

it has taken me years to source that lot, but i’m always adding to my trusty team. with a host of new products and treatments out there to get you through t his summer’s long-haul f light s, you can start putting together your own.