There's a lot of internet written about how to keep your skin under control while traveling by plane. There's sheet masking and exfoliating and misting and sanitizing...all hacks meant to keep the skin in balance amidst rampant dryness and an onslaught of other people's bacteria. Here are some tips. Here are some other tips. Read those tips if you'd like, but they all leave out one thing: what to do if a pimple does end up on your face after the flight. Obviously, you can pop it, but only in certain circumstances. Sometimes, you gotta live and let live.
This happened to me last week—two ways actually. I de-planed with a white head ready to pop—and it did, once I got to the hotel. I thought the whole ordeal was over, until a new friend started brewing not all that far away from the now-former pimple. It was painful, it was red, and it was not going anywhere anytime soon.
Concealer is the obvious solution here—particularly the Nars Soft Matte Concealer, because it's the closest thing I've found to my skintone that sticks to zits like there's no tomorrow. (Side note: I prefer a matte concealer for pimples so that they're less likely to reflect the light off my forehead.) But what I lacked, until now, was a particularly effective way to apply. Fingers work fine, but it's precisely when I have a zit that I realize I should probably stop using my grubby fingers on my face. Also, you'll never want to hand-apply makeup ever again once you get those hands on the Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Brush. It's dual-ended, full of firm, synthetic bristles, and for contouring but well-suited for any face makeup. I just dab the skinny, angled end into the concealer pot and dab the product on lightly where I need it. Keep dabbing (Jean Godfrey-June says so) until it's opaque over the redness. Then buff out the rest of the product with the wider, flat side. What you're left with: skin that's even and apparently blemish-free + a newfound respect for makeup brushes. Use 'em! They were invented for a reason.
—Emily Ferber
Charlotte Tilbury really does know what she's doing. For more, read here for her going-out beauty routine.
