Winter Skin Essentials

You may remember a couple months back I told you about my Autumn Skin Essentials. Those dealt more specifically with my face, as that's really all that was being affected by the change in weather, but now that it's been cold pretty much every single day, the rest of my body is feeling it as well. I've still got a couple masks and such to share because I'm such a skincare junkie, but I thought it was necessary to include some body care as well.

Exfoliants | Once the season of dry skin rolls around, I find it super important to always keep up with exfoliating my skin, or else I find it can get really dull and congested. For my face, I've got both a heavy duty and a gentle option. When my skin is really needing a good ol' sloughing, I look no further than the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel. I have the sensitive version, but it still gets the job done. It's a thin watery fluid that I like to paint on my face with a flat foundation brush and leave to dry for about 10 minutes. When I wash the mask off it leaves my skin feeling amazingly smooth and cleared up. When I'm wanting a more gentle exfoliation, I go for the Mizon Special Care Apple Smoothie Peeling Gel. This is a super intriguing product - it's got a bit of a gel-like consistency that you apply to your face and leave for about a minute. After that minute is up, you start massaging it over your face, and it starts to ball up - as it's balling up, it's actually taking away all the dirt and dead skin with it! This one would be great for more sensitive-skinned people as it doesn't have any scrubby bits or strong acids in it. For my body, I like a more abrasive scrub. My favorite is the Lush Ocean Salt Scrub - the salt makes it a little more hardcore than your typical sugar scrubs, and it's got avocado butter and coconut oil in it to hydrate and soothe the skin afterwards.

Hydrating Masks | Like I mentioned in my autumn skin essentials, in the cold weather it's really important to keep the skin hydrated. My skin is typically dehydrated and dry anyway, so the cold can make it start to feel a bit unbearable. I love hydrating masks that aim to both nourish and soothe. My favorites are the Fresh Rose Face Mask (review) and the Belif First Aid Anti-Hangover Soothing Mask (review). They both actually feel similar, with very cooling, jelly-like textures. Although you'd think a cooling sensation wouldn't be welcomed when it's cold, I love it as my skin gets quite flushed from the heating being turned on. Both leave my skin feeling so much better, and I definitely know I wouldn't be able to handle the winter without them.

Lip Balms | I'm completely addicted to lip balm year-round, but it's most important in the winter. If I'm not careful my lips can get so chapped that I'll end up with a hideous and painful rash all around my mouth. I love slathering on the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask every night - it's so thick and rich that you can really feel it nourishing your lips, and it sticks around till morning. During the day I like to layer on the Glossier Balm Dotcom. This one has more of a slippy Vaseline-like texture, but it's actually full of good ingredients that will help your lips, like lanolin, beeswax, and castor seed oil. I've now got multiples of it in different bags and purses so I will never get stuck without it.

Hand Creams | I mentioned in my November Favorites my newfound love of the Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm. I get the worst dry and cracked hands during the winter, so I'm really taking steps now to hopefully prevent it this year. This has been the best hand cream I've tried, as it really makes the skin soft but sinks in quickly and doesn't leave a greasy film behind. Plus it smells divine, which is always a win.

Body Butters | I'm not the best at keeping on top of body moisturization, but if I get too lax with it my skin certainly starts letting me know. I love the body butters from The Body Shop, particularly the Olive one (I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but I have the giant tub of it). These feel so rich and really beneficial to the skin, and they keep on moisturizing for a full day. Please let me know in the comments if you have a favorite Body Shop Body Butter, because I pretty much can't stray from the olive one!

What are your winter skin essentials?