Face of Flying

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: This is going to be an extremely female-oriented topic, so I apologize in advance to our many male readers. As anyone can tell after hanging around here for even a short period of time, the Reds are travelers.  I probably fly the least of anyone - not having had a book out in mumble mumble years, and I still easily average four or five round trip flights annually, between conferences and family visits. 

In the past several years, travel has come to intersect with my increasing, shall we say, dedication to skin care. I was blessed with good genes, and didn’t have to bother with much more than scrubbing away make-up and slapping on sunscreen - and even that wasn’t until moisturizers with SPF became common in the early 90s. (I remember getting my first 30 SPF face cream as a gift from a friend - they were expensive back then!)

However, time marches on, and I’ve discovered that since menopause, my face has a tendency to resemble ancient animal skin parchment unless fed a steady diet of retinol, vitamin C, Niacinamide, moisturizer, etc., etc. And flying tends to exacerbate every issue, right? First off, it’s stressful. Crowds, security, standing in line for Starbucks, wrestling your luggage into the bathroom stall. If you’re on business or book tour, you inevitable have to get up at 5am after a not-so-great night’s sleep. Maybe you’re wearing a mask because who knows what germs are traveling alongside you? Then it’s two or four or six hours in a tube with a humidity level as low as 10%. The average humidity level in the Atacama Desert of Chile, widely considered the driest place on earth? 15-40%. Uh huh.

So I’m trying to follow the suggestions of flight attendants I’ve read. Drink two bottles of water per hour of flight time? That’s easy, especially with a collapsible travel bottle. Mist your face? Okay. Go without makeup? That’s a no from me, especially when traveling on business. Avoid alcohol? No problem, I don’t like to drink on flights anyway. Avoid caffeine? Oooo. That’s going to be a REAL hard one for me.

I did like the idea of thoroughly washing your face and putting on a fifteen minute mask (or masque) once you’ve reached your hotel. I LOVE those Korean face masks.

How about you, Reds? What’s your go-to skin care when traveling, generally, or flying specifically? 

RHYS BOWEN:  Flying without makeup, especially when I’m on book tour and I’m going to be met by a driver then at a fancy hotel? Not going to happen. I do drink water but not so much that I’m up and down to the bathroom. I mist my face. But I also accept that welcome Prosecco when I board. I like to relax. 

As for the perfect skin care routine, my skin has become so sensitive recently that most products aggravate it. So it’s the most simple moisturizer and occasional mask. I have been given lovely sets of Lancôme and Clinique but hardly dare to use them

HALLIE EPHRON: “Welcome Prosecco”??? What? Where? How did I miss that?? 

My “skin care routine” is usually one step, flying or not: I wash my face once a day. When it’s super dry inside I use a moisturizer because it feels good. Vaseline on my lips. Sun block if I’m going to be in the sun. 

Beyond that, my go-to skin-care solution involves trying not to look in the mirror. Time marches. 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I use Dove sensitive skin soap, morning and night, without fail,  and sometimes a bare trace of Vaseline for moisturizer on my eyelids and face if it’s a little dry. I have not put a mask on my face in my entire life. My face has not been in the sun without massive sunscreen for 30 years. No makeup on the plane? Ah.Yikes. Nope. Not unless I am on the way home and no one will see me. (And wearing a mask is such a boon in those circumstances.)

I rarely drink on a plane, but will never (crossing fingers) give up caffeine. (Except I will not drink airplane coffee. Yuck.) And in hotels,  I try to sleep on my back so the decoratively piped hotel pillows don’t leave welts on my face. (And I burst out laughing about wrestling the luggage into the bathroom stall. EVERY time. My suitcase is like..one  impossible inch too big.)

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Weirdly, I never thought too much about my face being dry on planes. It’s my eyes, the inside of my nose, and my lips that really suffer. Lots of dry-eye drops, and lip balm, always. I wear my usual make-up, a tinted moisturizer. 

Should I admit that I don’t normally wash my face? I have to use a foaming eye cleanser morning and night, so my face gets warm water then, and if I’ve worn more makeup than usual I’ll take it off with a bit of that. I also use loads of Clinque humectant face care stuff; a spray mist, a gel moisturizer, and either a sunscreen moisturizer or a night one, all in layers. Absolutely no soap!

I cannot imagine how anyone can drink two bottles of water per hour on a flight unless they intend to barricade themselves in the plane toilet for the duration!

 

LUCY BURDETTE: I don’t think too much about skin and planes either, though I don’t drink alcohol or caffeine while flying and do try to hydrate. Skin care: I use an enzyme wash, then Olay with SPF 30 in the morning and my favorite Alaskan lavender skin moisturizer at night (Alpenglow.) I bought some of that at a farmer’s market in Homer, AK years ago and have been ordering it ever since. I’m very lazy about makeup, but if someone would tell me how to remove mascara efficiently, I promise I’ll try harder!

JENN McKINLAY: I’m like Debs - it’s my lips, nose, and eyes that get dry when I fly. So, Aquaphor (a Beiersdorf product) as lip balm, for sure. It’s like Vaseline but has a healing agent in it. Saline nasal spray and eye drops as needed (my seatmates love me - lol). I do drink water and airplane coffee but no alcohol. I don’t wear makeup except for mascara when I travel, and for my skin I apply Eucerin Q10 (another Beiersdorf product) which is my daily moisturizer. Overall, I’m pretty low maintenance. 

 
JULIA: How about you, dear readers? Any go-to tips for putting your best face forward? Or, if that's not your thing, share what you use to make travel more comfortable for you.

 

Photo of woman in plane by Pexels (freerangestock.com)

What's Written on YOUR Thighs?

***First: winners!  The winner of the arc of WHAT YOU SEE is Margie Bunting.      The winner of WOOF is vwright. The winner of  Murder on Amsterdam Avenue is  Betty Jo English.   Email me your address via my website! And YAY! ***

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Today—a post from dear pal Wendy Tyson that brought tears to my eyes. You’ve seen that Dove soap ad that asks people to run like a girl? If you haven’t, please look for it. It’s amazing.

But first read today’s blog, because Wendy wants to know:

What’s written on your thighs?

By WendyTyson

A while ago, I attended a fundraising event benefitting an organization that helps at-risk girls develop leadership skills.  In an award acceptance speech, one of the speakers shared a story about her ten-year-old daughter.  One night, she said, she noticed bold slashes of black permanent marker on her daughter's thighs.  Alarmed, she asked her daughter why, exactly, she was writing on her legs.  Her daughter calmly explained that she had been playing lacrosse with her older brothers.  Frustrated and tired of losing, she'd gone inside and written "Unstoppable!" on one thigh and "Fearless!" on the other.  Then she went back outside to play.  Every time her brothers were beating her or she felt discouraged, she'd slap her legs, allowing those secret messages to buoy her confidence.

Pretty fantastic, right?

I think about this wise little girl when I’m creating my characters.  In her own way, she hit upon the crux of character development: the designation of a fatal flaw and the development of traits that will eventually bring about change and growth.  This young girl viewed herself as having a fatal failing—her inability to beat her brothers at lacrosse no matter how hard she tried, a maddening shortcoming indeed.  She then found a path that would help her overcome this flaw.  She would be unstoppable.  She would be fearless. 

As authors, we know that a character’s fatal flaw often represents the opposite value of the theme of the story.  In my Campbell mysteries, the theme is image, change and showing one’s true nature.  My main character, many of my characters, actually, are insecure, afraid to let the world see their real selves, and terrified of true change.  To reach their ultimate goal—progress in these areas, progress that will transcend their fatal flaws—they must develop certain positive character traits (e.g., courage, confidence, determination) over the course of the series.  If only it was as simple as writing those positive traits on my characters’ thighs.

Sheesh, forget my characters.  I wish it were that simple for me as well. 

When I craft female protagonists, I want them to be strong and gutsy and able to make all the decisions I'd like to think I'd make in life.  They beat up the bad guys, look out for the underdog, solve the seemingly unsolvable, and do it all with tight abs, great hair and rock solid conviction.  But that's not real life.

In real life, hosiery runs when we have an important meeting.  The dog throws up on the carpet, children fail in school, babies contort abdominal muscles in ways we thought only possible in the movie Alien.  And sometimes the only bad guy we come in contact with is the asshole on the turnpike who cuts us off (but wow, do we scream at him from the safety of our cars—he never sees it coming). 

But that doesn't mean we can't tap our inner warriors.  

My writing journey has been long and bumpy.  Some days, I think I have "Unworthy!" and "Inadequate!" written on my thighs.  At any given moment, I’m juggling three kids, a husband, three dogs, a full-time job, a writing career and the countless other things that go with a busy lifestyle.  I worry that I can’t do it all, at least not well.  I worry that I’m failing someone.  I worry that my writing is not good enough, that I don’t have what it takes to be an author.  I worry.

Maybe it doesn’t have to be that way, not if I apply the simple logic of that little girl.

There is an old Chinese proverb that says "When sleeping women wake, mountains move."  Think about that.  Our characters are not the only ones capable of great things.
The mother of the fearless and unstoppable little girl is herself quite accomplished.  Business woman, philanthropist, member of multiple boards—and the mother of five children.  And she's out there making a difference with other people's kids.  Moving mountains.  And teaching her own child that she, too, can topple obstacles.  Because in the end, isn't that what it's all about?  Having a vision, whether it's as big as writing a novel, running a business, cleaning up the environment or ending hunger in your community, or as small (but impactful) as helping your own kid—and pursuing that vision with a loud rallying cry, obstacles (including our own demons) be damned.  And in pursuit of our dreams—whatever those dreams may be—letting go of our own preconceived notions of what we can and cannot accomplish.  

I think it’s time to rewrite what's written on my own flesh, to trade my insecurities—my fatal flaws—for the ballsy determination of that ten-year-old.  But what to write?  No more "Tired!" and "Frustrated!" or “Afraid!”  Maybe my new mantras will be "Fearless!” and "Confident!"  Or how about “Creative!” and “Strong!”?  Better yet, I think I’ll write “Determined!” and “Grateful!” because the longer I am on this writing journey the more I realize that it takes both determination and gratitude to stay on course.  Determination to keep writing, to write more skillfully, to fight the inner critic, to overcome personal fears and the skepticism of others, to maintain balance in one’s life, to give back.  And gratitude for the opportunity to be part of something bigger than oneself, no matter where it leads.

HANK: Have you seen the TED talk about “getting big”? I think of it all the time. I have two carved rocks on my desk that say: “Patience” and “Imagine.”  I still believe in patience and perseverance—but I think that’s power!

Reds, what would you write on your thighs?

*************

Wendy Tyson is an author, lawyer and former therapist whose background has inspired her mysteries and thrillers.  

Wendy has written four published crime novels, including Dying Brand, the third novel in the Allison Campbell Mystery Series, which was released on May 5, 2015.  The first in the Campbell series, Killer Image, was named a best mystery for book clubs in 2014 by Examiner.com. 

 Wendy is also the author of the Greenhouse Mystery Series, the first of which, A Muddied Murder, is due to be released just in time for spring 2016.  Wendy is a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers and she is a contributing editor for The Big Thrill, International Thriller Writers’ online magazine.  Wendy lives on a micro-farm just outside of Philadelphia with her husband, three sons and three dogs.  Visit Wendy on Facebook or at: www.WATyson.com.