Winter Skin Essentials

Um okay WOW its cold, and my elbows are bleeding. I feel like I have dry skin by nature of living in Colorado, but this winter has been exceptionally brutal on my skin. If you’re like me, you may be looking for anything to stop the chapping, flaking, and cracking, everywhere. Have I found the ultimate solution? No. Have I found stuff that works well? Yes, and that is what I will be sharing with you today! My head-to-toe solutions for this arctic tundra we call winter.

Face oil

If you are looking to step your skin care up, look no further. Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate is a super nourishing replenishing elixir in oil form. After washing and toning my face at night, this is my next step. Adding a first layer of hydration and restoration to my skin after a full day of heat blasting on my face. This oil directly addresses any dry spots or irritation with immediate healing. This is a semi-dry oil, so I like to give this roughly 10 minutes to sink in before going in with my nighttime moisturizer.

Face Cream

This cream is not for the feint of heart. The Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream is an industrial strength moisturizer that has transformed not only my winter skin, but my skin overall. The complex formula behind this moisturizer soothes red and irritated skin, all while strengthening and protecting the skin’s barrier. Green-tinted with a cushy thickness and weight, this cream is a daily indulgence for me. I typically go through one of these a month, and I only use it at night.

Eye cream

The under-eyes are one of the most vulnerable areas of skin to winter’s wrath. Shiseido’s Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream is the comforting weighted blanket of eye creams. Equally as industrious as the face cream mention above, this eye cream is exquisite for suffering under eyes. Most eye creams don’t make it past the first layer of skin, but this eye cream immediately relieves the dryness and redness we get from wiping watering eyes in the cold. A true luxury.

body cream

The skin on my body is suffering horribly this winter, to the point where my already thick daily moisturizer doesn’t hold a candle to it. Knowing I needed something clinical strength, I took to Target and found what I desperately needed: D’Keeffe’s Soothing & Calming Body Cream. The second I put this cream on my cracked, burning, and bleeding elbows, it immediately stung. Not minding the burn because I figured it had to be working. It was. My extremely damaged skin was finally restoring beneath the lush cream, which didn’t feel heavy nor light. Needless to say, there is a god, and she wanted me to have this cream

Hand cream

Next to my elbows, my hands shrivel up and age 50 years in the winter. Unlike all of my previous suggestions, I have found an affordable solution. Leave it to Jergens to swing in and save the skin. Their Ultra Healing formula is just that, and in a perfect purse size. Non-greasy, yet perfectly plumping, this is the immediate step after washing my hands.

Lip mask

One of the best ways to stay ontop of dry winter lips is by using a lip mask at night. My undying favorite is the cult-favorite, Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask. I have easily gone through over a dozen of these adorable little pots, and for good reason. Every night without fail, I apply a thick layer of this mask to wake up with pillowy, conditioned, and restored lips. Oftentimes waking up with residual product still absorbing.

Lip Balm

Proactively applying a lip mask at one night is one thing, but surviving the day with dry lips is another. Laneige’s daytime adaptation of their lip mask is something I will turn around in traffic for if forgotten. This lip balm is all of the nourishing pillowy goodness of the Lip Sleeping Mask, but the lightness and comfort of a gloss. I often times wear this on top of a lip liner, lipstick, or even solo. When I do wear this alone just out of comfort and ambivalence, I constantly get complemented on my healthy looking lips.