As the nights draw in and the weather gets colder and colder, it wreaks havoc on my skin. I’m sure a lot of you are in the same boat so I thought I’d share some of my saviour products that help me keep the dry patches away.
First up (and I’m going to make it brief cos I’ve been raving about this for a good few weeks now!) is Melvita’s Rose Extraordinary Water. It’s half way between a toner and a serum, and really helps to give my skin that little extra boost of moisture that it needs, leaving it supple and soft. (£12, from Melvita)
Second is another fabulous product from Melvita: their Apicosma Nourishing Body Balm. The formulation of this really unique and lovely. It’s ultra light for a balm, and surprisingly non-greasy. It is almost like a super light, condensed body butter (if that even makes sense?!) It’s not quickly absorbed into the skin, but if you can take the time to massage it in, it will leave your skin feeling ultra-nourished. I’ve been using this for the past month or so and am absolutely in love with it. It smells delicious too… quite fruity (even though it’s based on honey) and almost smells like apricot to me. (£20, from Melvita)
One of the most common places to suffer from dry skin in the winter is your hands, and I’ve found Burt’s Bees’ Beeswax & Banana Hand Cream to be the best solution. It’s super thick and super greasy, so if you hate greasy hand cream (like I do!) then this is best applied at night. It smells simply divine (just like banana milkshake!) and you’ll wake up with baby-soft mitts! (£8.50 from Feelunique.com)
Clockwise from top: Melvita Apicosma Body Balm, Burt’s Bees Hand Cream, Carmex Moisture Plus, Elizabeth Arden 8hr Lip Protectant, Jo Malone Vitamin E Gel, Melvita Extraordinary Water
Jo Malone’s Vitamin E Gel is a product that has been a staple winter skin saviour of mine for four years now. It’s a very strange gel-oil consistency. It is greasy, it doesn’t smell nice, and it’s really expensive… but it works and lasts forever. A tiny bit goes a very long way and it works wonders on elbows, knees, heels, noses… wherever you need it! I also love to use this as an intense facial moisturiser at night. It leaves you with a scary-looking greasy face, but your cheeks with be as smooth as a baby’s when you wake up! This is great if you suffer from very dry patches and want a quick fix. (£62 from Jo Malone)
Moving on to lip products… Elizabeth Arden’s 8 Hour Lip Protectant has been a recent discovery of mine, but one that I now can’t live without! It’s incredible for dry, chapped lips but also works fantastically well as a base for lipstick. I like to wear darker colours in the winter, and combined with dry lips, that can often be a disaster combination! This helps to smooth everything out, and I swear it makes my lips look a little plumper too… could just be my imagination though! (£16.15 from Feelunique.com)
Last but not least is ‘Moisture Plus’ the new tinted lip balm from Carmex. I’ve used carmex for ages and it’s fantastic for dry lips, so I was really excited to see they had launched a tinted version. It’s perfect if you’re on the go and comes in Pink (above), Peach and Clear. (£4.49 from Boots)
Hope this helps some of you who also suffer from dry skin in the winter… and I’d love to hear about any of your recommendations!