Today I’m sharing my favorite winter skin essentials with you. Although I love winter time, I definitely don’t love the negative effects that it has on my skin. When the weather is harsh, my skin tends to get very dry and, in the past, I’ve had to deal with very bad acne because of it. While I’m no skin or beauty expert, over the years I’ve developed a routine that keeps my skin healthy and looking its best when the weather is rough. Here are the products that have been keeping my skin looking great this winter:

Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream-Until recently, I only used regular lotion to moisturize my face, which wasn’t enough to keep my skin from peeling or getting dry during winter time. I purchased this moisturizer on a whim a couple of months ago because my skin was in a very bad state, and was surprised at how incredibly soft my skin was after only one day of using it. I also love that this moisturize can be used for day and night because it helps me keep my skin care routine simple, just the way I like it.

Yes to Cucumbers Daily Calming Moisturizer-One of the most important parts of my skin care routine, regardless of what time of year it is, is wearing sunscreen. I want to make sure that I’m doing as much as possible to protect my skin from UV rays in order to avoid sun spots and other types of skin damage. Although the name of this product suggests that it’s a moisturizer, I find that it works best when used just as a sunblock. I like it because I have sensitive skin and, unlike other sunblocks that I’ve used, this particular brand doesn’t look too shiny or feel heavy on my face. It’s also not sticky, which makes it easy for me to apply foundation over it.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Eye Cream–Now that I’m a bit older, I’ve started to notice that the skin around my eye area gets dry much more easily, especially when the weather is cold and rough. Although I’m ready to embrace most things about growing older, I’d like to keep wrinkles at bay for as long as possible, which is why it’s necessary to keep that area moisturized. This is another product that I’ve started using recently, and I really like it because it’s very light and doesn’t irritate my eyes like other eye creams do. And, I also like that a little bit of product goes a long way; I’ve had this tube for about 4 months and still haven’t used it all up.

Boots Extracts Vanilla Body Butter-During this time of year, I make the switch from using regular body lotion to using body butter. If you haven’t used it before, it’s basically just a very thick and intensive moisturizer, but it absorbs really easily and isn’t too heavy on the skin. My skin used to get very dry and red, especially my hands and elbows, but I haven’t really experienced that ever since I started using this regularly.

Trader Joe’s Vitamin E Oil-This time of year, I usually get these rough patches that just don’t go away no matter what I do. I’m talking about rough patches on my elbows and dry skin around my nose and lips. I’ve found that the best way treat these areas is to apply Vitamin E Oil on them before I go to bed. I only use Vitamin E Oil in case of emergencies, when my dry skin is not healing at all, because I’ve found that it can clog my pores if I use it too often. I also only use it at night because it’s very greasy, and I want to make sure that I can wash it off in the morning so that my skin doesn’t look and feel oily.

EOS Lip Balm (Not Pictured)-In order to avoid dry lips as a result of dry weather, I make sure to always carry around some sort of lip balm. EOS lip balm has become a favorite of mine because not only is it organic, the container is also impossible to lose. I can’t even tell you how many sticks of lip balm I’ve misplaced over the years. For me, lip balm works best when I exfoliate my lips, which I do by simply rubbing my fingers over them in a circular motion when I wash my face or when I’m in the shower.

xoxo,

Helen