Wendy Rowe's jet lag skin savers

Burberry Beauty’s artistic consultant Wendy Rowe , 47, flies across the pond as often as the rest of us catch the number nine bus. Yet even after a trip on the red-eye, she still manages to look like she’s just stepped out of the spa. Her job is to makes the likes of Sienna Miller, Suki Waterhouse and Victoria Beckham glow, but it's Wendy herself  who is the perfect embodiment of the naturally radiant aethetic that normally only products and artistry can create. As Cara Delevingne says, “Whatever Wendy does to look so incredible, we should all be taking notes." She’s the makeup artist behind the famous Burberry ads, which gave Cara her break in 2011 and have featured pretty much every A-lister on the planet from Naomi Campbell to Romeo Beckham.  She’s also credited with developing the fashion house’s much-lauded makeup range into the sell-out success it is today.

Wendy grew up in Waltham Abbey, Essex and went on to pioneer the ‘no makeup makeup' look. Today she’s bare-faced and newly arrived back home in London from New York where she also has a base. With her skin-punishing, body-clock confounding transatlantic commute, she should really be all eye bags and chafing. Not a bit of it. The secret is in her organic, seasonal diet which she happened upon 20 years ago while living and working in Paris. She fell into eating like the French, buying what was available at local markets and cooking from scratch. The weight dropped off and her breakouts vanished. It’s been her way of life ever since.

Having amassed so many health tips and honed her clean eating recipes over the years (although she's not averse to a party) she’s become known as the go-to skin guru for models, celebs, editors and crew. “I’m a big believer in nurturing not only the outer skin, but also what lies beneath – our organs, our intestines. What’s happening in our outer skin - the skin that we can see - is often a reflection of the health of our insides,” she says. Her philosophy, like her recipes, is honest and simple and by popular demand, she has now put it all her knowledge down in a book Eat Beautiful, Nourish Your Skin From The Inside Out  (Ebury Press £20)  with foreword by her pal Sienna Miller.

So with the holiday season in full swing, who better than Wendy to turn us into glow-getting jet-setters - or at least help us undo the damage from the inflight drinks trolley (those miniatures, so tempting) and the hours of mile-high aircon. We asked her for her inflight skin secrets as well as tips and recipes for hitting our holiday destination running.

GTG: You live between London and New York. What’s your flying schedule?

WR: How often I travel is very random. Sometimes it'll be once every two weeks, sometimes once a month and sometimes once every two months. I like to have a base in America, otherwise I'd be staying in hotels for work all the time. New York is one of the major fashion capitals but I have a lot of clients in the UK too. Plus, I was born here, so I use London as my European base and America for easy access to the South America and the Caribbean.

GTG: How do you look after your skin when you’re in the air?

WR: I use Joelle Ciocco's  Pure Botanical Oils Gel €380,  Skin Food  £9.95, by Weleda or Sarah Chapman Skinesis Dynamic Defence moisturiser , £44. I take  Pillow Spray  £16, by This Works.

GTG: How do you schedule in food and sleep in order to best reset your body clock when you arrive?

WR: I drink an MSM Vitamin C drink with magnesium as well as water with a slice of lemon, to balance acidity levels while in the air. I never drink alcohol when I fly. If I do eat, then I try to eat vegetables. I take raw bites, which I buy from Forages in New York, to snack on. I try to fly early evening if I can and I eat before I leave. Usually I'll watch films and then sleep. When you arrive, my advice is to go by the time zone of where you are and try to completely slot in. Massage really helps and I always exercise the next morning to get my body moving and to get into swing of things.

Photography by Jem Mitchell

GTG: You do the makeup for celebrities and models arriving off international flights. What's the most common mistake people make when it comes to wellbeing, skin and jet lag?

WR: Drinking alcohol on flights makes you very dehydrated. I recommend using a moisture mask before bed after flying, either  Sarah Chapman Skinesis 3D Moisture Infusion Mask  £35.50 for four, or SK-II  Facial Treatment Mask  £8.50 or Weleda's  Skin Food  £9.95 used as a balm mask is great too.

GTG: Is jet lag much worse flying one way around the world than the other?

WR: Yes I think so. It's harder when I come back to the UK from the States than it is going out. It's harder to get up in the morning and I think that's because the time zone throws out most people's usual working routines. Go to bed at a reasonable time and it'll really help!

GTG: Any recipes from your book that you would recommend pre- or post-flight or while you’re in the air?

WR: I have a recipe for some amazing energy bites made with dates (see below) - they make great snacks during a flight. On arrival, my stir fry is really good with vegetables, it's very light and fresh – soups, such as my kale soup (below) are always good options. I try to find whatever is fresh and seasonal locally from whichever region I'm in and I'll adapt recipes. On holiday I'll allow myself treats - you need to enjoy yourself!

Date energy bites

“These date bites are great when I have an early call time and don’t feel like eating breakfast straight away; they give me the quick hit of energy I need.”

MAKES 10 BALLS, 160 CALORIES PER BALL

Ingredients

120g pitted dates
120g dried apple rings
120g unsalted dry-roasted almonds
120g gluten-free rolled oats
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Handful of pistachios, finely chopped

Method

Cover the dates in hot water and leave to soak for 10 minutes to soften. Drain and squeeze out any water.

Place in a food processor with all the remaining ingredients except the pistachios, add 1 tablespoon of water and blend until the mixture turns into a paste with a sticky, dough-like consistency. Add another tablespoon of water to loosen further, if needed.

Scoop out tablespoons of the mixture and, between clean, wet hands, roll into ten balls. Tip the pistachios into a bowl and roll each ball in the nuts to coat.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Kale soup

"I’m not a huge fan of strict ‘detox’ diets, but I do know when it’s time to rein in any bad behaviour or over-consumption and ‘eat clean’ – and this soup really helps me to do that. I always make it during such times and the nutrient boost really helps me to feel like I’m back on track; it tastes amazing and filling and works to flush out the system, all the while feeding my skin and restoring a glow. This is a really easy meal."

SERVES 2, 185 CALORIES PER SERVING

Ingredients

1 large fennel bulb, roughly chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp raw coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder or 1 vegetable stock cube
10 kale leaves, large stems removed, roughly chopped
Handful of spinach
Sea salt and black pepper
1 tsp grated nutmeg to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.

Place the fennel and leek in a baking tray or roasting tin, add the olive oil and toss together. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Melt the coconut oil in a large saucepan over a low heat. Tip in the onion and garlic, place a lid on the pan and sweat for about 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent and softened.

Pour 1.2 litres of water into the pan and add the vegetable bouillon powder or stock cube. Tip in the roasted fennel and the leek, along with half the chopped-up kale leaves. Season with salt and pepper and give everything a stir.

Bring to the boil and leave to bubble away for 20 minutes. Add the remaining kale and all the spinach, then simmer over a medium-low heat for another 10 minutes.

Allow to cool down slightly, then purée until smooth in a stand-alone blender or using a stick blender. Reheat as needed and sprinkle with nutmeg to serve.

Recipes extracted from  Eat Beautiful, Nourish Your Skin From The Inside Out  by Wendy Rowe (Ebury Press £20) is out now. Follow Wendy on Twitter  @wendyrowemakeup  and us at  @GetTheGloss  and Victoria  @vwyoga