Top Five: Winter Skin Hacks

Winter can play havoc with your skin. Changable weather and central heating can cause their fair share of troubles but add in a pesky winter bug or two, the likelihood of increased alcohol consumption around Christmas and new year, topped off with a few too many late nights and your skin may well be looking a little worse for wear…

Winter ravaged skin is certainly no suitable base for a make-up and so it’s important you pay particular attention to your skin prep through the colder months. By giving your skin a little TLC over the winter months, you can be sure it will thank you.

Here are my top five winter skin hacks…

Dry skin means dull, lifeless looking skin so make sure you exfoliate regularly. A couple of times a week should suffice however don’t use one that is too aggressive; you simply want to gently buff away the loose cells on the surface, not take off layers! Exfoliating cleansers tend to be a little more forgiving than stand alone products, Cleanse & Smooth Face Balm from Balance Me (£20.00) and Lush’s Angels On Bare Skin (£7.25) are a couple of my favourites.

Slather on a mask! Treat your skin to a regular mask application and it will thank you. My new favourite is Pai Rosehip Bioregenerate Rapid Radiance Mask (£30.00), leave on for 10 minutes and it will give an instant hydrating hit; removing fine lines. If you feel your skin needs a deep hydration session then Amala Hydrating Yogurt Mask (£59.00) is a great leave-on option. Don’t forget your lips either; the Agave Lip mask from Bite Beauty (£26.00) is there perfect tonic to chapped, flakey lips.

Making slight adjustments to your make-up routine can have a big impact. Try using an illuminating primer prior to applying your foundation (there is a post coming up on these in the next couple of weeks), alternatively mix liquid highlighter such as Nourish Illuminating Face Shimmer (£16.00) into your moisturiser to brighten your skin.

Cream products are a lot more forgiving on dry, dehydrated skins so try swapping your regular products for cream based formulations. Liquid or cream foundation such as W3ll People Narcissist (£24.00) and Vapour Beauty Atmosphere Soft Focus (£43.00) can be used in place of powder or mineral bases whilst powder blush can be exchanged for myriad of creamy options. Tata Harper Lip & Cheek Tint (£29.00) and the Cream Blush from Juice Beauty are worth a look.

Be it for combating those pesky dry patches, relieving sore noses, soothing chapped lips or taming scraggy cuticles, Multipurpose balms are your friend at this time of year. With their multitude of uses, these balms are the best way to keep on top of things and something you shouldn’t leave home without. Odylique’s Calendula Balm (£7/£14.00) is my absolute favourite (read why here), however if this doesn’t take your fancy then I also recommend Rose Balm from The Organic Pharmacy (£25.95) or the Rescue Balm from Herbfarmacy (£15.00).

Do you have any winter skin hacks?

Images: (1) Quinn Dabrowski; (2) & (3) OMUA – LJS