Whether you’re airborne for hours on end or planning a short weekend getaway, there are certain travel beauty must-haves you need. Take a look at our beauty editor’s beauty kits and some top travel tips you need this summer.

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Your ‘In-Flight’ Beauty Kit

Always make sure your skin is hydrated prior to flying. The atmosphere shifts from 70% humidity to as low as 15% (which is drier than the desert) from the airport to the cabin and back down again.

Beauty must-haves to keep handy

A travel-friendly face oil

Mini Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules Eye Serum, R710 for 60 capsules, can be used all over the face. Smooth the residue over the ends of your hair, too.

Hand cream

A favourite new travel companion, Mixa Anti-Dryness Hand Cream, R59 for 100ml, contains anti-fungal coriander oil so you can worry less about germs while on your journey.

Relaxing oil

Elemis Life Elixirs Calm Perfume Oil, R675 for 8,5ml, with rosewood, clary sage and lavandin to soothe, will make your flight more pleasurable.

ALSO SEE: Your 10-Minute Summer Beauty Routine

In-Flight Travel Tip

Opt for herbal tea over the minibar mid-flight, as alcohol and caffeine stimulants on a long-haul trip can mess with your body clock and, in turn, your skin’s ability to repair itself. Always pack ginger tea in your hand luggage to calm your tummy on a lengthy journey.

If you take just one thing…

Make it a moisturising sheet mask. Choose one that is packed with super hydration, like Filorga Hydra-Filler Mask, R180 for one, with hyaluronic acid. Pop into the bathroom, splash your face with water (or pack a tiny Avene Eau Thermal Spring Water spray, R74,95 for 50ml), to quickly plump up skin cells, dash back to your seat, then place the mask over your face to help trap the moisture close to your skin.

The weekender & the city-tourist pack

Try these beauty must-haves to make a short stay a streamlined pampering treat.

A brightening regime

Pack this fab mini ‘facial in a bottle’, Kiehl’s Nightly Refining Micro-Peel Concentrate, R820 for 30ml. It’s a DIY treatment that’s as close to a spa microdermabrasion peel as it gets. Apply at night after cleansing and toning, but before moisturising to minimise rough-textured skin.

All-over oil

Inoar Kalice Multi-functional Oil, R860 for 100ml, is a beautifully fragrant, top-to-toe smoother for face, body and hair. It helps calm frizz, can be massaged into the skin to make it gleam, and is perfect a refresher after a busy day of sightseeing.

One universal palette

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Glow Instant Look in a Palette, R1 650, is pocket-sized make-up that creates a complete step-by-step look, so you needn’t travel with a bagful.

Words: Jo Glanville-Blackburn. Additional words: Martinique Stevens