My Winter Skincare Routine

Hey all! Today I'm sharing my winter skincare routine with you. I'm always interested to know products people use on a daily basis to keep their skin healthy and radiant so in case you were curious about what I'm using, I decided that I would make a blog post about it!

During the winter time, it gets very cold here in Quebec City (It can get as cold as -30 degrees celsius or -22 degrees fahrenheit) which means that my face, lips and body become quite dry. Also, the fact we have the heat on constantly in the house makes my skin even more dry.  Because of that, I need heavier products to help me keep my skin and lips from chapping, which is why I have a different skin care routine during the winter.

• For my body, I like to use the Coconut Body Butter from The Body Shop during the winter months. It's very thick and hydrating which means it's perfect to keep my skin in good shape throughout the colder weather. I use this whenever I feel like my skin needs it.
• I also like to use Massage Bars by Lush at the end of some of my showers. Hot water can dehydrate the skin so by applying this oily product to the skin at the end of my shower, it forms a layer of protection on the skin which keep the moisture from the skin from evaporating once you get out of the shower. I like to use this at night because it does leave the skin with an oily residue.
• Last, I use the Glysomed Hand Cream several times a day. It's my absolute favorite hand cream because it leaves my hands very silky, but not oily. My hands are so soft and nourished after this, I've never seen anything like it.

My face is the most prone to getting dry during the winter. I get dry patches on my nose and forehead (the flaky noticeable kind, yuck) and my under eyes get very dry. Because of this, I use much heavier moisturisers during the day and night time.

• For the day, I like to use the Avène Eau Thermale Tolérance Extrême Cream. It's quite thick and it definitely gives much needed hydration to the skin. It's also great for my sensitive skin which has a tendency to be more prone to eczema during the winter time. This moisturizer is specifically designed with eczema prone skin in mind which makes it a perfect choice for me.
• For the night, I use the Garnier Ultra-Lift Firming Night Cream. It's a nice thick cream which feels great on the skin. It does have a scent to it, which I'm not too fond of since my skin tends to be extra sensitive during the winter, but I'm almost done with this jar so I'll try something new next time.
• Eye cream is critical for me during the winter months because I sometimes get eczema around the eyes and dry patches on my lids. I like this Olay Eye Cream to help soften my eye area. It's a gel formula so it's not too oily for the delicate eye area.
• As far as my cleansing routine is concerned, it's the same year round. I do tend to exfoliate more often during the winter time because dry skin tends to make my skin look dull. I exfoliate about 2 to 3 times a week during the winter, while I may do it maybe only once a week during the summer. I've been using the St-Yves Apricot Scrub for years now and I like it.
• Last, I like to use the L'Oréal Go 360 Clean Facial Cleanser to wash my face at night. I like the scrub that it comes with and it feels fresh on the skin. I think it's a great cleanser for year round.

 Next, for my lips, I do pretty much the same thing year round because I get super chapped lips no matter how much water I drink and how often I apply lip balm. It's always been that way (and that's probably why I have an almost unhealthy obsession with lip balm, ahaha).

• In the morning and at night, before applying lip balm, I exfoliate my lips using the Popcorn Lip Scrub by Lush. It gets rid of any dead skin and helps smooth my chapped lips before I apply any lip product. It's definitely been my holy grail ever since I got it this past summer.
• Next, if it's morning, I will apply a light balm such as Maybelline Babylips or Softlips or something like that.
• At night, I prefer something heavier such as Blistex Lip Medex, Nivea Lip Butter or Vaseline Lip therapy.

Lastly, I thought I would mention the products that I use for makeup removal, which is, in my opinion, also a crucial step in any skin care routine. Efficient makeup removal is super important if you want healthy and clear skin.

• First, I remove my eye makeup using Equate Eye Makeup Remover. It's somewhat similar to the Neutrogena Oil Free Makeup remover, but I don't like it as much. The reason I use this one anyway is because I wanted to try it and now I have a full bottle of it which I'm trying to use up. Anyway, it does work to remove my makeup ok, so it does the job for now.
• Next I Remove the bulk of my face makeup using Equate Facial Cleansing Towelettes which I'm a very big fan of.
• Last, to make sure that all my makeup is removed and that there isn't any oily residue on my skin from the makeup remover, I use Bioderma on a cotton pad all over my face. This is a no-rinse face makeup remover that is very gentle on the skin. It sort of feels like putting water on your face, but you can see it remove all the rest of the makeup that all the other products couldn't get. If I'm going to wash my face soon, I may skip this step, but if I go let's say, a few hours before washing my face, I will always use Bioderma to end up my makeup removal routine.

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That's all I do to my skin on an everyday basis during the winter time to help keep it clear and healthy looking! I hope you find this helpful or interesting. :)

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