Passport and boarding pass? Check. But have you packed your flight skincare essentials? The right skincare routine before, during and after your flight – whether it’s one hour or 10 – will help you arrive refreshed at your destination. 

Before: flight skincare essentials 

Yes, you can nourish and nurture your skin before you take off. In fact, what you eat and drink before your flight matters as much as it does while you’re in the air. Be sure to drink a lot of water and avoid salty, heavy foods before you fly.  

To prepare for your in-flight skincare routine, remove your makeup before you fly. While oil or cream-based makeup sounds like it will keep your skin moisturized, it’s best to remove makeup entirely. A heavy made-up face will clog your pores. So, do a double cleanse by using a cleansing balm to remove your makeup followed by a gentle cleanser. If you choose to remove your makeup on the plane, use TSA-approved makeup remover wipes.  

During: flight skincare essentials   

Once you’re settled into your seat, begin your skincare routine. First, remember that even though you’re snug in your seat, the sun’s rays can still reach you, especially if you’re in the window seat. In fact, UV rays are more intense at higher altitudes and twice as high at 30,000 feet. So, take a moment to apply your favorite sunscreen. 

Why moisturize? 

Because cabin air is pressurized and has less humidity than outside, your skin will dry out faster. Without moisture, your skin may be dry and irritated even after you land. As a result, your skin may respond by producing more oil. The best way to combat dryness and oiliness is to apply serum and moisturizer. 

Serum and moisturizer 

Applying a serum skincare product after cleansing and before moisturizing will nourish your skin with a high concentration of powerful ingredients. Choose a serum with a high concentration of hyaluronic acid, an ingredient that helps to retain moisture. This will draw water from the air and lock in moisture before you apply your moisturizer. Applying a serum layer before an additional moisturizing layer will give you extra hydration, especially for those long-haul flights to dream destinations. When you select your moisturizer, you’ll also want to look for one that contains hyaluronic acid. 

Face masks 

A sheet mask or a clear, hydrating gel mask is the next best step to seal in your serum and moisturizer. If you choose a gel mask, apply it in layers to minimize any gloopiness. Look for bio-cellulose masks that can replenish your skin with nourishing ingredients. Once you’ve applied the mask of your choice, this is a great time to sleep and let those powerful ingredients work their magic. Make your skincare extra indulgent by applying a heavy-duty lip mask as a lip balm.  

Face oil 

If you opt not to use a gel mask, or feel self-conscious about wearing a sheet mask on your flight, use a nourishing face oil to moisturize your face, neck and lips. Oils including geranium, jojoba, or frankincense, contain omega fatty acids and vitamins that protect your skin from dehydration. Then, enhance the effects and give yourself a bit of self-care with a muscle-awakening facial massage. Use small circular movements and gently massage upwards. 

Extra flight skincare essentials 

Skin care doesn’t stop with what moisturizers you apply to your face. What you rest your head upon for a long, in-flight nap is just as important. Instead of leaning your head against the window or headrest (which can acquire bacteria), bring your own pillow. Airport gift shops usually carry U-shaped pillows in case you forget yours.  

Food and drink 

What you eat and drink is also just as important for your skin as what you put on it. Continue to hydrate with water and skip the alcohol to combat the dry cabin air. Plane food can be laden with salt and preservatives so you’re best to pack your own replenishing snacks. 

After you land: flight skincare essentials 

Keep up your excellent skin care after your flight to feel extra refreshed for your travels. When you arrive, wash your face and shower with lukewarm water, not hot water that can further dry out the skin. Then, apply moisturizer packed with hydrating ingredients like shea or cocoa butter on your face and body. 

Extra skincare and self-care 

Your skin care need not stop once you arrive at your destination. While you’ve surely packed your favorite products, Many Luxury Gold accommodations include an onsite spa for decadent and replenishing treatments. For example, Kallpa Spa at Tambo Del Inka in the Sacred Valley of Peru offers massages and facials based on traditional, healing Inca ingredients. Or, enjoy their heated indoor and outdoor pool or hydromassage pools.  Check out our six favorite spas around the world and where you can unwind with Luxury Gold. 

Where will you pamper yourself with Luxury Gold? 

Esteemed Peruvian artist Victor Delfin has been inspired by the unique heritage and people of his native Peru. From large scale sculptures to graphic, vibrant paintings, Delfin captures the events and emotions of Peruvians. We are fortunate that he opens his home and workshop to Luxury Gold guests as one of our VIP Experiences on our Grand South America and Treasures of the Incas tours.  

@victordelfin92

Victor Delfin’s house 

You’ll find Delfin’s Tudor-style home perched on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean. Here, giant waves add a dramatic background to the setting. While Delfin maintains residency, his home is also a contemporary art museum, artist studio and bed and breakfast called Second Home Peru. 

@victordelfin92

Inside Delfin’s home

Approaching the home, gardens dotted with sculptures of angels, a bull, a horse tossing its mane and a lion creating a sense of wild movement and energy will impress you. Inside, Delfin’s home welcomes with warm wood trim, colorful stained glass and curio cabinets filled with sculptures. The second floor was once family rooms and galleries. Up one more level, a hidden spiral staircase leads to a tower studio overlooking the ocean where Delfin used to work. 

@victordelfin92

Delfin’s presence 

Delfin’s touch is everywhere. For example, you can view the wrought-iron wood burning stove, hand-shaped light fixtures, leather chairs and even chess pieces he designed as well as the numerus boldly colored paintings that adorn the walls. 

@victordelfin92

Over the years Delfin has expanded his property to include a new studio, cave gallery and a large swimming pool with a fountain shaped like a puma head. Before Delfin’s daughter converted the family rooms, gallery space, dark room and her father’s former studio into guest rooms in 2004, it was once a meeting place for Lima’s artists and activists.  

@victordelfin92

Community and legacy 

Victor Delfin’s house is in the Barranco neighborhood known for its cafes and murals. The neighborhood is also a hub of creativity among the local writers, poets, musicians, photographers and other artists. In addition, politically, Delfin’s house was also a gathering space for dissidents from “La Resistencia Democrática,” a group who opposed then-president Alberto Fujimori in the late 1990s. Delfin played a role in organizing the marches and protests. As a result, his involvement in political causes is just as strong a contribution to Peru as his art.  

Victor Delfin’s art 

However, Victor Delfin’s art is his legacy. The pre-Inca Paracas culture inspired Delfin. Thus, his art has a boldly colorful yet mysterious and magical quality reminiscent of this disappeared nation. He works with a range of materials including wood, metal, canvas, polychrome acrylics and aluminum. But, many know Delfin for his large metal sculptures of birds, horses and other animals. For example, Delfin’s famed “El Beso” (The Kiss) sculpture sits in Lima’s Parque del Amor (Love Park). It has become a popular spot for couples to pose with the sculpture on romantic occasions.  

We connected with Delfin to learn more about his artwork and influences in his own words.  

@victordelfin92

In Delfin’s words

Peru has certainly influenced my artwork. With roots as old as the Greek, Egyptian and African cultures, Peru has an exciting amount of history to discover and display. 

From its unique, pre-Columbian architecture to its music and folk crafts, it is full of surprises. Its natural beauty and heritage is inspirational, with the splendor of the Amazon, the powerful snow-capped mountains and, of course, the welcoming nature of its people. 

All my work is somehow based on my country, and I like to show this to Luxury Gold guests when they visit my workshop. My passion for creativity is kindled by my love for home. There’s little surprise that the place I feel most comfortable is right here (in a studio I designed, “my way,” to quote Sinatra). 

When Luxury Gold guests visit, they ask me about my favorite piece of artwork, and are surprised when I explain there is no favorite. As artists, everything we make, we make with a lot of enthusiasm and passion. We give the best of ourselves in the art that we create. 

Delfin’s passion

For artists, our creations are like our children, and we care for them with the same passion, whether one makes a painting, a sculpture or a jewel. 

I hope to pass along this passion for creativity, which nature gave me as a child and which was guided by the immense love of my parents, friends and mentors, and inspires me to take care of others. I feel obligated to be an activist for human rights, for the struggles of citizens to improve their quality of life. 

It’s my way of giving back to the people. After all, my inspiration is in the streets, in the towns, in the customs of the people and their ways of expressing themselves. 

What will you be inspired by in Peru?

Explore dining in Peru and our tours: Treasures of the Incas and Grand South America. 

When it comes to Pinot Noir, Courtney Kingston has deep roots—or rather, vines. As the Founder of Kingston Family Vineyards in Chile’s Casablanca Valley, Courtney carries on her family’s farming, winemaking and pioneering history with passion. We talked with Courtney about her enchanting winery, how to find your favorite Pinot and what makes “the heartbreak grape” so special.    

Related Content: Wines of the world 

@kingstonvineyards

The vineyards and winery 

Kingston Family Vineyards offers private, reserved tastings at their winery perched on a hillside of the stunning Chilean coastline. The location alone is part of what makes this experience feel like you’ve come across a tucked away treasure. You’ll enter the winery turning onto a dirt road lined with palm trees planted by Courtney’s aunt. Your gaze follows down the grove of trees before “the world opens in front of you,” as Courtney describes. From there you’ll spot the salón, or tasting room, nestled within the hilltop vineyard and, on a clear day, perhaps Mount Aconcagua. As you enter the glass-walled tasting room, you’re treated to an open-air experience with a view of the Andes from the sprawling deck.  

@kingstonvineyards

The experience 

From a seat on the patio or cozied up near the fireplace, you’ll enjoy a tasting paired with local cheeses and chocolates. Courtney points out that Kingston is a winery offering culinary and wine experiences. They also work with a local cheesemaker for their pairings. Sample a local goat cheese with a Sauvignon Blanc. A cheese with depth paired with a Chardonnay. And chocolates paired with a Pinot Noir and a Syrah. During your tasting, your hosts will share the family legacy. “Everything is tailored to your experience,” Courtney points out. “It’s all in the bottle and in the experience.”   

@kingstonvineyards

The history 

Kingston Family Vineyards is unique not only in their pioneering vintages but in their family history. Their legacy began in the early 1900s when Carl John Kingston, Courtney’s great-grandfather, set out from Michigan in search of gold in Chile. Carl didn’t strike gold, but his quest did prompt him to establish a cattle ranch on the current site of the winery, just miles from the Pacific. Five generations later, the 350-acre vineyards have yielded bounty and opportunities to harness the Kingston’s pioneering spirit that Courtney and her family still embody. Since 1998, Kingston Family Vineyards has produced organic, artisan, hand-made wines that are enjoyed around the world. 

@kingstonvineyards

The “heartbreak grape” 

With a climate similar to the Mediterranean or the San Francisco Bay, when Courtney was deciding what types of grapes to grow on the family land, she asked herself, “What could we do that would speak of the farm?” Coming from an entrepreneurial family, she was looking for ways to help the farm and contribute to the community—and to do something a little different. So, she decided on Pinot Noir.  

“Pinot was new for Chile. Planting along the coast was new… Pinot is really hard to make. It’s called the heartbreak grape because it’s incredibly finicky and sensitive,” Courtney explains. “Not all grapes are created equal. Some are particular. Pinot Noir is one that always keeps you guessing and speaks of where it’s from.” Courtney compares harvesting Pinot to marathon running, another passion that runs deep in her family. “It’s not the shortest path but it’s well worth it.” Well worth it, indeed. Stanford Business School has since written two case studies on Kingston Family Winery and their entrepreneurial success. 

@kingstonvineyards

Kingston Family Vineyard’s Pinot Noir

Kingston Family Vineyards bottles five different Pinots made in different ways. Courtney explains that when you taste wines from different blocks (each block is about one to two acres) side-by-side it “brings home the concept of terroir… a rare experience.” Chile is the tenth largest wine making country in the world. And for a winery to make a small amount by hand as Kingston does presents guests with a real treat. Kingston also ships to your home—so you can continue and share your discoveries with family and friends. 

@kingstonvineyards

How to pick a Pinot Noir 

After your Grand South America tour, how can you find the best Pinot in your hometown? Courtney’s advice on how to choose Pinot Noir is to travel the world through Pinot. Experience the joy it brings. “When it’s made with intention and purity, that speaks to where it’s from.” Courtney suggests trying Pinots from New Zealand, France’s Burgundy region, Oregon’s Willamette Valley and the central coast of Santa Barbara. “Tasting side by side will help you taste the difference in Pinots from different regions,” she says. 

Courtney’s second tip for discovering top quality Pinot Noir is to find and get to know your local wine shop, or even your favorite restaurant. Your local sommelier will be eager to share their favorite wines and you’ll build a relationship that will serve you well as you learn which Pinots you like. 

@kingstonvineyards

Lastly, Courtney says, “Find a bottle with a story behind it.” Because Pinot is hard to make on a large scale, those unique bottles from small winemakers will showcase their labors of love. We couldn’t agree more. And with a story like Courtney and her family’s, we’ll be savoring every sip.  

Join us in Chile.