THE WINTER BEAUTY EDIT

 

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Today I'm sharing the beauty products that are getting me through the cold winter months, let’s dive in…

Starting with skincare, a creamy cleanser is obviously going to feature because I have dry skin at the best of times and cold weather only exacerbates the issue! This year I discovered and have really enjoyed using the Medik8 Cream Cleanse* | £22. This is non-foaming, skin-softening and has a lotion-cream texture for the gentlest cleanse possible; perfect for winter mornings when you want a fresh canvas but don’t want to strip away much-needed moisture. Ingredients like shea butter and glycerin help keep the skin hydrated through the cleansing process and gentle surfactants help keep parched winter skin in balance. For removing makeup, I of course use an oil-based cleanser to really lift everything off effectively. The Deviant Cleansing Concentrate with Blue Tansy* | £53 | is both luxurious and efficient at breaking down makeup and sunscreen so it can be emulsified with water and removed and it's also a gentle, moisturising formula. The addition of soothing blue tansy is also welcome for my dry winter skin.

I then enjoy following up my cleansing routine with the Dr Jart Ceramidin Skin Barrier Serum Toner* | £35. This has a really hydrating glycerin-rich base that gives it a slightly ‘gloopy’ quality that truly is more than a rich toner and closer to being a serum. It’s a wonderful extra layer of hydration and ceramides to help keep my skin barrier strong during the winter. I’ve been using this pretty much every day and night lately prior to applying any active serums and it’s just kept everything happy and hydrated, even through the havoc cold weather and central heating can wreak on my skin.

In terms of serums, of course I’m using my usual actives but I’m also throwing in the Ordinary’s Soothing & Barrier Support Serum* | £17.30 | whenever I feel my skin might need it. This serum  is formulated with B vitamins to condition the skin and increase ceramics production, skin-calming Centella Asiatica and bisabolol and also ginger extract, which acts as an anti-inflammatory. The finished emulsion-like formula calms redness and acts as a great counterbalance when you’re using a stronger active. If my skin is feeling a bit irritated and I don’t want to use my usual Vitamin C and retinoids then I reach for this instead.

Every winter I employ a tub of the Kate Somerville DeliKate Recovery Cream* | £69 | and this winter is no exception! Honestly, for my winter skin, I often use this AM and PM, but for more ‘normal’ skin it will be a night cream. It’s rich and luxurious-feeling but crammed full of the best ingredients for your skin barrier; if you want a sensory experience without any potentially-irritating fragrance then this is the product for you. It feels so good and nourishing on my skin and ensures I stay hydrated all day and wake up in the morning with skin that’s still soft and supple. It’s formulated with a blend of ceramides and healing peptides to keep the skin barrier strong in the face of intense actives or harsh weather conditions. It’s a product I trust even when my skin is feeling tender and sensitive. I love it and it’s probably one of my favourite moisturisers of all time. If I want that extra layer of nourishment and softness overnight then sometimes I’ll follow with a facial oil. A great one for this time of year is the Summer Fridays Heavenly Sixteen All-in-One Facial Oil | £55. It’s formulated with amazing non-fragrant plant oils that are rich in replenishing fatty content and also antioxidants to give the skin a boost as well as to leave it irresistibly soft, such as  rosehip, squalane, grape seed, watermelon and blackcurrant, alongside soothing oat extract and fat-soluble Vitamin E. It’s just beautiful!

Moving onto makeup, of course I’m reaching for my trusty Nars Pure Radiance Tinted Moisturiser (St Moritz) | £37. This is the perfect antidote for dry, dull winter skin; without being overly shiny of glossy, it does a great job of breathing some life back into m6 complexion at this time of year. It’s a true ‘your skin but better’ complexion product that lets your natural skin shine through whilst perfecting it and evening it out nicely. It also has brilliant longevity, making it a great ‘every single day’ base. Also to add a bit of glow to the skin on a surface level, I like to use my Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminiser in Outshine | £24 | swatch. This is a beautiful liquid highlight that comes in a range of shades to suit different skin tones. This particular tone is a light gold and the formula is wonderful; there's no chunky glitter, just a fresh, dewy, natural highlight that still does enough!

Winter is the perfect time to enjoy a bit of glitz and a red lip, so I have a few picks that cover this off too. A great way to wear glitter with minimal mess and effort is using something like the Victoria Beckham Beauty Lid Lustre in Honey | £33 | swatch. This is a kind of cream-micro-glitter hybrid formula that glides on smoothly without any fallout but gives a long-wearing glittery eye look. This warm, light gold is a lovely and wearable way to do a bit of festive glitz. My wearable red is the Nudestix Nudies Bloom in Rusty Rouge | £31.50 | swatch. This forgiving colour stick can be used on both the cheeks and lips for a pulled-together makeup look. It’s easy to apply, not overly pigmented and it’s not difficult at all to work with. I find it long-wearing without being patchy on my cheeks and when it fades with eating and drinking from my lips, it does so evenly. This is a sort of dark red with brownish undertones, so perfect if you - like me - find pillar box red a little intimidating!

An in-shower product I can’t put down is the Bath & Body Works Shower Gel in Vanilla Bean Noel* | £16. This is formulated with a moisturising base which offers a gentle cleansing experience for dry winter skin, but honestly: it’s the scent I’m really obsessed with! It’s not sickly but it has this gorgeous sugary vanilla cookie scent that’s so indulgent and honestly stays on my skin for hours after use. I follow my shower up with the Naturium Bio-Lipid Body Lotion* | £16.50. This is such a quick and easy product to reach for and slap onto your skin to lock in hydration without spending too much time rubbing in a thick, heavy formula. At the same time it contains amazing ingredients to counter winter dryness, such as glycerin, rosehip oil, shea butter, panthenol and more. It really helps to soften and smooth my skin when it’s at its driest.

I use this product all year round, but the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm | £23 | gets a special shoutout for being the antidote to dry, chapped, cracked winter lips. I absolutely notice a difference when I’ve accidentally left this at home whilst travelling, which just means I appreciate it now that bit more. This lip balm softens and smooths my lips with ingredients like shea butter and murumuru butter. And it’s transparent so can easily be used in the PM but also in the AM under any colour lip products you want to use. Another product saving my non-facial skin right now is the Aveeno Skin Relief Hand Cream* | £7.99. I will hold my hands (!) up and admit that I probably am a bit excessive with my hand washing. So this + winter + my skin already being quite dry often leads to very dry hands, especially beteeen my fingers. This hand cream has been a life-saver; it’s non-greasy and lotiony enough to be applied quickly on the go without giving me the dreaded ‘slippery hands’ that many richer, more oil-based creams to. At the same time, it really helps to soothe and heal hands that have taken a bit of a beating, with ingredients like oat, glycerin and shea butter. 

Last, but certainly not least, it’s winter so of course I’m wearing my signature scent for the season: Maison Margiela’s Replica By the Fireplace Eau de Toilette | £129. Just a couple of sprays of this fragrance keep the scent noticeable all day long and it’s a beautiful one with notes of chestnut, clove, wood, vanilla and more. It has this warm, spicy, smoky quality to it that completely gender neutral and I absolutely love wearing it at this time of year. 

What are your favourite beauty products this winter?

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