The Flight Attendant With A 5 AM Takeoff

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The #ITGTopShelfie interview series focuses on the beauty routines of Into The Gloss' lovely, accomplished, and loyal community of readers. Submit your own on Instagram—post your Top Shelfie (tag us @intothegloss!) and include the hashtag #ITGTopShelfie for a chance to be featured on ITG.

"Hi! I’m Skya Eiland (@s.eiland) and I’m a flight attendant based at LAX, here in Los Angeles. I’m a pretty junior flight attendant on reserve, which just means that I’m always on call and have my bags packed and ready to go. Crew scheduling can call me as early as 5AM or as late as 11:59PM for a trip, and I can be gone for up to 6 days or fewer. In case you’re wondering why we carry so much luggage, one of them is always a giant lunch bag that carries enough food for a weeklong trip.

If I have a really early flight at the airport then I have no choice but to roll out of bed and get going. Morning rituals are so important for me or else I just feel out of place and grumpy. Lately I’ve been trying my best to drink a glass of lemon water paired with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and Canyon Coffee. I brew that while I head towards the bathroom to cleanse my face.

I’m a true believer in the Korean skincare routine. My mother is Korean and she’s the type to experiment with it and she literally has no pores or wrinkles. I like to start off using a Jade Facial Roller just to give myself a massage. And then I use Banila Co. Clean it Zero—I use it take off excess oil and wash off makeup. I follow that with Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanserand always pat dry my face because vigorously wiping your face can cause irritation and redness…that’s a tip from my mom.

My older sister is also another big beauty influencer in my life. She’s an aesthetician who suffered from cystic acne, and she’s made this mask that all my friends are hooked on. It’s called Unmask Calm and it's infused with honey, neem, cinnamon, turmeric and chamomile essential oil. It’s super hydrating and purifying, but I love it even more because I’ve seen the drive and hard work it took for her to make this skincare line on her own from the ground up.

After cleansing, I like to tone with Beauty Water by Son and Park, but in my suitcase I carry travel-sized Pixi Glow Peel Pads that I use on layovers. Both work really well for my oily T-zone and congested pores. I let my skin fully absorb it before I move onto my Missha Time Revolution Treatment Essence. For this product, I have to take the full size—I’ve gone through 3 bottles. The trick is to always also apply it on your neck in an upward motion and lightly dab with your fingertips on your face. I like end my AM routine with mixing Sunday Riley UFO Oil with Shiseido White Lucent All Day Brightener

Because I have oily skin, less is definitely more for me in terms of makeup. I like to wear Juice Beauty Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30 paired with either Glossier Cloud Paint or MAC Powder Blush in Peaches. I hate wearing mascara, so I only get eyelash extensions from this place called Stacy Lash off Beverly Blvd and Fairfax. If I’m not feeling lazy and want some extra bronzy glow on my face, I’ll apply Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Skin Liquid Lighting around my jaw, cheek bone and hairline. But, I do like to wear a little highlight and lately have been obsessed with Fenty Beauty’s Killawatt Highlighter in Trophy Wife and Ginger Binge. These highlighters are so creamy that it almost doubles as a moisturizer on my cheekbones–a little goes a long way. After, I’ll spritz my face with Avène Spring Water or La Roche Posay Eau Thermale.

In my job, we’re required to wear red or pink lipstick or lip gloss at all times and let me just say, there’s real frustration in finding the perfect red. My makeup artist friend put me onto the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils, thank God. Since my lips dry up in the sky, I like to make them less matte with Hourglass Lip Treatment Oil—I’m a gloss gal. I carry so many lip products in my work bag–currently, it’s Fenty Beauty's Gloss Bomb, this Japanese lip balm called Yu-Be, Dior Addict Lip Glow Pomade, and Glossier Rose Balm Dotcom. My absolute favorite gloss is the Duwop Venom Flash Gold because it brings out my natural lip color and plumps them.

My hair routine is pretty minimal. Since my hair is wavy, I like to let it air dry and later apply Oshimatsubaki Camellia Hair Care Oil to leave it silky and soft. For shampoo and conditioner, I LOVE Aveda’s Invati line. It’s perfect for when I have wear my hair in a sleek bun at work or when I do my usual half-up half-down pony as my go-to.

When I get back, I absolutely love taking baths with Dr.Singha’s Mustard Bath. I suffer backaches and this really just helps me unwind and it smells amazing to me. Since I was a kid, I’ve been using Korean body scrub mitts to exfoliate my body. Depending on my mood, I lather myself with Jeju Volcanic Body Soap, Nuxe Multi-Purpose Oil or Honeysuckle Aura Glow. Being in heels for up to 14 hours at a time really takes a toll on your feet by the end of the day. I get my hands on any type of Japanese foot mask I can find and moisturize with Egyptian Magic. For my face, it’s similar to my AM routine except I also use this Japanese product called Natural Aqua Gel Cure. It’s gross, but I love that it feels like a science experiment since you can physically see chunks of dead skin on your fingertips. After that, I’ll tone and exfoliate with NeoGen Bio-Peel Gauze Pads in Lemon. I’ll moisturize my face with Missha's Times Revolution Night Repair and Mizon Snail Eye Cream and I’ll go to sleep with Laneige's Lip Sleeping Mask on so I wake up with my lips feeling baby-booty soft.

Adjusting to this lifestyle has definitely caused me to be more aware of the changes to my skin—not just to my face but also to my body, spiritually and physically. I’m still learning, but some of the best tips I’ve learned so far is to drink plenty of water, take vitamin C and drink ginger tea every day to prevent yourself from getting sick. I always carry a mini face mist, hand sanitizer, sheet masks and rice blotting papers. Also, I’ve learned to heed every single beauty tip from all the 'senior mamas' that I’ve met or flown with. Some have flown for up to 40 years–they know what the heck they’re talking about."

—as told to ITG