PERFECT DAY CREAMS FOR WINTER

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Today we're talking through my favourite daytime moisturisers for winter! I love a rich cream in the winter, but for daytime, it does need to be a little more cosmetically elegant, so these are the formulas that pack in the nourishment without being too heavy or 'shiny' looking, plus they work under your makeup and sunscreen. Let's get into my go-to formulas...

Let's start with the Zelens Emulsion D Fortifying Moisturiser* | £65 | which is our 'spendy' pick. I'm wearing this right now and when I'm travelling, I do actually also use this in the evening and it's still enough for my skin. The texture is just wonderful; it has this light but buttery quality to it, so it has a nourishing feel but melts into the skin nicely without leaving any sort of excess. It also never pills up with the other skincare and makeup I'm using. Plus, this is packed full of ingredients you usually see in a heavier moisturiser, that are perfect for winter skin. These include skin-softening phospholipids, Provitamin D3 to help improve skin barrier function (harsh weather conditions can impair this), prebiotics (which might also help create a healthier skin barrier), ceramides (this is a component of the skin's lipid barrier; applying them topically both tops up your natural stores and encourages your skin to produce more of its own ceramides), Vitamin F (rich in linoleic acid, which again helps the lipid barrier, and can also reduce water loss in the skin), glycerin is included to draw hydration into the skin and also occlusives, a kind of ingredient that seals everything in. It's just a wonderful moisturiser that feels amazing on the skin, works within my AM routine and packs in all the best ingredients for keeping my skin happy and healthy during the colder months.

I also really do love the Skin Fix Barrier + Triple Lipid Peptide Cream* | £52 | which is a cheaper alternative to the Skinceuticals moisturiser; given this is still over £50, that does kind of speak to how expensive the Skinceuticals is! But, if you like the sound of that product, but not the price, there are plenty of alternatives (I outlined a number of them here) and this is one of them. Ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids are the components of our skin's lipid barrier and this formula contains all three. You also have hyaluronic acid as your water-attracting humectant, and you have plenty in here to soften, smooth and nourish the skin, such as shea butter, jojoba esters, squalane and macadamia seed oil esters. There are also peptides in here which help plump and hydrate the skin, but can also promote skin healing. In terms of the texture, I have a little tip for you; if you're seeing a formula with ingredients like ceramides and shea butter that are great for dry skin, but it's in some form of pump packaging, that's a great sign that it's going to be a daytime-friendly winter moisturiser. This comes out of a reverse pump and it does have this lovely, fluffy quality to it that allows it to spread across the skin and absorb really effortlessly, which I love for a day cream. As a prerequisite for making it into this post, it of course works under makeup and vibes with all of my skincare products.

Finally, we have something more budget-friendly: the Byoma Moisturising Rich Cream* | £14.99. This is also a product formulated with ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids; which are the holy trinity for skin, especially during winter. This is probably the lightest, most lotiny texture of the lot, but it still nourishes my skin throughout the day and leaves it perfectly soft. It's also formulated with shea butter for that bit of richness, Vitamin E (as an oil-soluble antioxidant, protecting the skin from free radical damage), hydration-boosting glycerin and bakuchiol, which is great as an antioxidant and for helping with discolouration (it's often touted as a 'natural retinol alternative', though I think the jury is still out for the time being on that). It has a wonderful texture that works with everything else on my face, great ingredients, it's nothing suffocating but addresses everything you want a winter moisturiser to. It's a bargain buy I really recommend checking out.

 What are your favourite winter daytime moisturisers?

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