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Sleeping Beauty

Martha Stewart Mocked for Her ‘Out of Touch’ Skincare Secret

The lifestyle mogul’s tip for glowing skin got attention for all the wrong reasons.

Cailey PetschHealth and Beauty Intern

PublishedApr 24, 2026, 5:48 PM EDT

UpdatedApr 24, 2026, 5:48 PM EDT

Updated Apr 24, 2026, 5:48 PM EDTPublished Apr 24, 2026, 5:48 PM EDT

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Martha Stewart faced joking jabs from fans after sharing a post revealing her very expensive nighttime skincare “secret.“

“I will admit this is what I look like at 35,000 feet,” Stewart wrote in the caption of her April 23 Instagram post, which featured the legendary lifestyle entrepreneur sleeping with a pillow and a blanket on a flight to Italy.

“The secret to good skin when you travel is not the flat bed. I always pack my @elmbiosciences Biosciences Night Cream,” she continued, referencing Elm Biosciences, the skincare brand she launched in 2025. “Always. It is simply non-negotiable at this point.”

She wrote, “As a long-time traveler, I will tell you airplane cabins are absolutely ruthless on the skin. You don’t want to start or end a trip worrying about redness or wrinkles. With Elm, I wake up and my skin is calm and hydrated, even after hours of sleeping in recirculated air.

​Following her post, viewers were quick to critique Stewart’s message.

Fans teased Stewart for her less-than-low-key appearance, insinuating that her rested look was far from natural. One user wrote, “Martha, we love you, but this is a full face of makeup.”

​Another asked, “Do you put the night cream over the full face of makeup?”

​While Stewart called the image a “real sneaky photo” taken by her friend, public relations executive Susan Magrino, while the homemaking mogul was “fast asleep,” commenters weren’t buying it as a candid shot—a harmless, and certainly not uncommon, social media sin.

Beyond questioning the photo’s authenticity, people online also took shots at the caption’s out-of-touch tone, shifting their criticism from the image itself to Stewart’s messaging.

​One commenter expressed that they felt the post was disingenuous. “The secret is really just being rich,” they wrote, though the user also expressed admiration for the famed chef and media personality. “I love you, Martha, but the secret to good skin when you travel is being rich.”

The “non-negotiable” night cream Stewart mentioned in the caption is $165 on the Elm Biosciences website. This is $66.30 more than the average weekly food cost for a family of four in the U.S. at home.

Another comment simply stated, “All I see and hear is rich, rich, rich, rich, rich.” ​

“A little tone deaf in the current economy,” one user wrote. “Yes, love you, but realize most of us don’t worry about moisturizer in a private plane. ✈️"

Still, while some users criticized Stewart’s post and her product’s cost, others supported the TV personality’s in-flight skincare routine.

​Home design and lifestyle influencer Lindsay Stewart wrote, “ I am 👏LOVING👏 my @elmbiosciences 🤝💛📣” Another friend wrote, “Queen in our hearts no matter what.”

Cailey PetschHealth and Beauty Intern

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