I always underestimate the stress of the entire month of December, and then I’m kind of blown away by how overwhelmed I am the entire month. A large part of the holidays means traveling, and for me, that means “travel skin.” Which is just THE WORST. Is it just me, or does traveling induce some kind of super grease-ball action in anyone else? It’s this horrible combination of getting super dry on airplanes, having my skin start to scale off, and then just looking like a shiny beast for the remainder of my stay. I think my skin overcompensates for the dry plane air by producing more oil than usual, mixed with getting used to the air, water and climate in whatever new city I happen to be in. So I get this really awesome combination of dry, flaky skin mixed with an oily complexion. Great. And believe me, I took all the preventative measures you’re supposed to take when you travel, like drinking tons of water and moisturizing.
I flew to Los Angeles to see my family over Thanksgiving, and despite the fact that I wore a sheet mask on the plane because I have no shame, I still landed with my skin completely out of balance. Then it began its routine of getting a bit scaly and shiny simultaneously, so after a decent face scrubbing, I reached for some finishing powder. Setting my makeup with Banila Co Prime Primer Finish Powder gave me some security that my makeup stayed put and I didn’t look like a lightbulb in twenty minutes. I love its light, sheer coverage that doesn’t affect the tint or texture of my makeup. Since it’s so light, so I could still see my highlighter through it, but it kept me from greasing up or my makeup from sliding down. It comes with its own little powder puff, but I found that applying it with a brush led to a sheer and more even coverage.
Between Christmas and the New Year, BF and I took an 11-hour train ride from NYC to Montreal—a first for me—though I knew I’d be in a tight seating arrangements and didn’t want to be reapplying makeup and powder the entire train ride. So I slipped some TonyMoly Oil-Blotting Paper in my backpack to see if it actually made more of a difference than my go-to, toilet seat covers (my life is so glamorous). These little guys have a thin profile, so they don’t take up any space in my bag, which is a must. When I started feeling myself getting oily, I blotted my entire T-Zone with just one sheet, which was surprisingly effective. I definitely thought I would need more than one go at it. It didn’t disturb any of the makeup on my face either, which was pleasant and appreciated. I kept them in my bag for the entire trip, and they came in handy on several occasions when I needed to quickly look presentable and didn’t have the time/energy to re-apply a face full of makeup and powder.
New Years however is a whole other ball game. There’s no time to be fixing makeup errors in the bathroom as the clock ticks down to midnight. I knew my makeup needed to stay the hell on no matter what went down, so for that I turned to Peripera Oil Capture Pact. I had already decided that I was gonna rock a more vintage/baby goth look for the night: big cat eye, red lip, and a Wednesday Addams dress, so some classic pressed powder was just the thing to get an even, pale complexion that stayed on all night and was easy to re-apply. The compact itself is adorable and reminds me of the ones my grandma used in the 40’s. It fits in my purse, and has a cute little powder puff that makes it easy to apply even in the darkest of dingy New Year’s Eve party bathrooms. It also has a really pleasant, powdery smell that isn’t overwhelming but makes me feel like a fancy lady from the olden days who always looks put together and doesn’t even have greasy skin situations!
I know these will all come in handy when the true winter winds start roaring as well, and not just during travel time. I got a taste of what’s to come up in Montreal, and as freaky as this unseasonably warm holiday has been, I’m in no rush to be in below-freezing temperatures any time soon. Though, I did have an excellent excuse to buy some new boots in Canada, because I “forgot” to bring proper footwear with me. I hope you all had beautiful holiday seasons and are ready to fiercely tackle the year underway!
