McWhat
Day 6 - Winter Skincare
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The cold weather takes a real toll on my skin, as I’m sure it does with plenty of other people and combined with spending so much time cooped up indoors with the heating on (RIP my gas bill), it’s really drying on the old face.

I’m wearing far less makeup right now, so I’m not double cleansing everyday – doing this makes me really dry around my nose particularly, so I have been using the Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm in the evening if I feel like I need an extra cleanse, otherwise I have recently fallen for the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Hydrating Cleanser, it’s so soft and milky and really feels super gentle on the skin.
These combined with a microfibre mitt leaves my face feeling clean and fresh without stripping it, if I feel that I need a manual exfoliator I always revert back to my trusty Clarins SOS Fresh Scrub. I’ve been using this for years and it’s never let me down – the matching mask is a lovely treat too!
The other products I’m totally relying on right now are Revolution Skincare’s Hyaluronic Acid, I use it at least once a day, sometimes twice depending on what I’m using on my face at night. Also from the Revolution Skincare range is their Salicylic Acid, I use this most nights after the HA, and then if I’m feeling particularly spotty or bumpy I’ll swipe some Lacura Glycolic Acid over my cheeks and chin – these are my worst areas. It’s difficult to recommend the Lacura products as they aren’t permanent fixtures in Aldi so it’s usually pretty hit or miss.
A brand I’ve been using more recently is Balance Me, I love their Congested Skin Serum – it’s one of the only things that will instantly clear my skin up, and their Vitamin C Serum is a nice product too – it’s not overly luxurious, but it isn’t pretending to be.
I’m always quite self conscious about my under eyes, I use eye-drops fairly regularly so feel as though I’ve wrinkled quite prematurely; I’ve been using the IT Cosmetics Eye Cream and I absolutely love the texture and brightening qualities of it.
My go to moisturisers of the moment are actually both Dr Jart+ products, I’m late to this party as I only picked the first one up from TK Maxx before finding the second on ASOS. The Ceramidin Cream is a lovely daytime product, it comes out slightly tinted, but blends in lovely and gives some real radiance to the skin. The other is the Calming Gel Cream which is just the most beautiful product, it’s great for sore or dry skin while it’s green tinge helps neutralise the complexion. However, if I’m not going out I often use my Boots Vitamin C moisturiser as it’s super affordable and thick, so I can slap on a good thick layer of this while at my desk or pottering around.
Through a recommendation from the Caroline Hirons Skincare Freaks page I ordered some samples from Jane Scrivner, not a brand I had heard of but after seeing so many rave reviews I decided to go ahead and order a handful of her samples (you can get 5ml pots or 2ml sprays for a couple of quid each) and so far I really love these! The products are so luxurious feeling and I love that each comes with an info card to tell you exactly where the product goes in your routine and outlines every ingredient. I imagine that I’ll get a full review of these products up at some point.
My last holy grail product is the Elizabeth 8 Hour Balm, I got a free sample and really didn’t like it initially due to the strong smell, however it’s totally grown on me and I use it for everything from dry patches on my face, sore lips and my eczema that plagues me. I now have three tubes on rotation and I think it would be one of my desert island objects!
Have you tried any of my winter go-to products? Let me know what you think of them.