A few hours in on my flight I was served "dinner." I won't waste these last few hours of daylight describing the sad excuse for nutrients that sat on my tray, but picture your saddest in-flight meal, double its blah-factor and that's what I had. I stared glumly at the little pile of lettuce shavings and at the two random cucumber slices that sat on top of it and thought to myself: Cucumbers. Who eats those things anyway? It's like biting into a Jello-shot of old Vitamin Water. The only thing they are good for is... And that's when it came to me: cucumber slices like these were not meant to be digested but to soothe and de-puff eyes!
Check out more eye-related skin advice from the experts at Glamour.com.
Yes, that's right ladies. Somewhere over the Atlantic in the pressurized air cabin, I decided that it would be a good idea to put down my plastic fork, pick up the two cucumber slices and pop them right on my eyelids. Did I think I looked a little nutso? Yeah. Did this stop me at all? Not really. And you know what? It was pretty awesome--as awesome as you can get when you're zipping over the ocean in a stuffy cabin that smells a little like feet--but still, awesome.
Why do people insist on going barefoot on flights?!
I left them on for about ten minutes and I really do think they helped. I usually get dry and itchy skin/eyes/hands when I fly but this time my eyes seemed to freak out a little less. Plus, doing a spa-like routine on the plane made everything seem the whole experience a little more zen. And I was especially chipper because I knew that I'd be able to share this strange little beauty tale with you lovely ladies, but then I read Sarah Jio's (over at Vitamin G) story about how she got an eye infection from putting a germy cuke on her lids. (Eeek! So far I'm not experiencing anything strange like she did--phew!)
I thought this beauty brainstorm was pretty good--an ingenious way to save something that would have otherwise been ditched--but now I'm also a little grossed out. I mean there are tons of germs on planes--but shrink-wrapped food is fairly safe right? I'll probably face the same wimpy salad on the way home: should I do the whole cuke thing again or skip the veggies (and the meal) entirely? Any lovers or haters of the whole cucumber on the eyelid thing--when you're on firm ground? Got any other tips on how to make a long plane flight a little more bearable? Would love your tips!
Related: What do you wear when you travel?
by Susan Cernek
Even more from The Girls in the Beauty Department:
- What's your skincare goal right now?
- Skipping mascara might be the big thing for Spring!
- Would you ever change your hair color for a guy?
- 3 ways to get loose (waves without a curling iron)
