Winter Skin Survival Guide

Hi Everyone! How are you all? I'm really excited to write this post as I've been planning it for a while as it's pretty long but I hope it will be helpful to some of you and maybe give you some ideas of products to check out! Today, because now we are firmly into December, I'm going to be doing a head to toe guide of how to keep your whole body hydrated during the long, cold Winter months. I've broken into down into sections and hopefully I have covered everything!

LIPS

Exfoliation: I love Lush lip scrubs (£5.50), in fact I have three! These are great if your lips are feeling extra dry as they remove all the dead skin making your lips very smooth, not to mention they all smell and taste great! You can also make a DIY lip scrub using some kitchen ingredients but there will be a post coming on that soon... 

Balms: OK, so I actually don't have many heavy duty balms but I've put a few down on my Christmas list so for the time being I am using Carmex Strawberry Tube (£2.69) and Blistex Relief Cream (£2.59) if my lips need rescuing. For day to day top ups my favourite is EOS Strawberry Sorbet (£5.99) as it doesn't make my lips feel slippery or greasy as it's quite a 'hard' balm if that makes sense? It's fairly moisturising and protects my lips when I'm out and about.

HANDS AND FEET

Cuticles: Keeping your cuticles moisturised is often over looked but even though you may not be able to feel them feeling dry, they do definitely look it! It's also important if you are a nail polish addict like me haha. Two favourites are Lush Lemony Flutter (£6) which is a thick balm which can also be used on elbows, knees etc so a good all rounder. Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Butter (£6) is not as thick as the previous balm so sinks in quicker and is more of a quick fix.

Hand Cream: I have quite a few hand creams however the two pictures are Balance Me Super Moisturising Hand Cream (£6) which definitely is 'super moisturising' this is the most heavy duty one I own and would be great if your suffer with dry hands. TBS Almond Hand & Nail Cream (£5) has a nice scent and is lighter so sinks in quicker but is still hydrating, a good in between if you don't want dry hands but you don't have awfully cracked and dry hands. Special mention to OPI Avojuice (£2.10) because they all smell delicious and make your hands so soft, the little bottles are perfect to carry around and I love mine in 'Vanilla Snowflake'!

Foot Cream: Of course, most just use a body cream to put on their feet but if you like specific foot creams, a good one (well, it must be as it's the only one I have!) is Soap and Glory Heel Genius (£5.50) which when put on before bed leaves me with silky soft feet.

Shower Gel

All three pictured are my most moisturising shower gels so perfect for keeping you extra hydrated. Philosophy Christmas Cookie (£14) is not available in this huge bottle this year but there are plenty of other scents, Philosophy shower gels have my favourite formula, they are super creamy and luxurious feeling so leave you moisturised before you've moisturised! A more budget friendly option is TBS Shea Shower Cream (£4) which containing lots of shea butter is as you can imagine, very beneficial for winter skin! It's a little thin but still works great. Finally, a shower butter in the form of Soap and Glory Whipped Clean (£8) which has a delicious pistachio, almond and vanilla scent. It's thick and looks like a body lotion and you only need a tiny amount.

Body Scrubs & Lotions

Scrub: Only one to show here, which is Soap and Glory The Breakfast Scrub (£9) which smells delicious - just like maple syrup. It's a thick grainy scrub which is one of the best at buffing away dry skin all over, just remember not to eat it! I also like Soap and Glory Pulp Friction (£7) for more regular use or if you want something not as hardcore. Lush do great ones two called 'body butters' such as Buffy and You Snap the Whip which are messy but great if your a lush fan (YSTW smells like black currant too!)

Moisturiser: Ahh, the penultimate point in any winter skin survival guide - BODY LOTION/CREAM! My two current favourites are Soap and Glory Smoothie Star (£10) which again, smells just edible, it sinks in really quickly and well, I couldn't be without it. Next, Bath and Body Works Be Enchanted Triple Moisture Body Cream (£12) wow what a mouthful but seriously, I love this stuff! The scent is divine and this has got to be the most long lasting body lotion ever I can smell it 24 hours later! You can buy this from *HERE* if your in the UK.

 Well done if you've made it this far! I hope you enjoyed reading it and you may have noticed there is no mention of facial skincare, fear not I have a separate post coming up on it! Make sure to let me know in the comments what your Winter must haves are!

Jessica

xox