Winter is upon us. It’s getting cold and with the drop in temperature our skin can become dehydrated and more sensitive than usual. This time of year it is important to modify our beauty ritual to protect ourselves from the cold, crisp elements that we suddenly find ourselves in the midst of.

Don’t Wash Your Face

Try using a face wash at night only. In fact, in the morning don’t use a cleanser at all. Face cleansers can be drying especially in the context of chilly weather. This time of year I use Heaven Skincare EllaJane Celebrity Skin Wipes. These babies exfoliate, cleanse, tone and keep blemishes at bay with apple pectin, honey and peppermint oil, all without drying out the skin! These are gentle enough for those in their teens and twenties as well.

Exfoliate

I also use Lavido Gentle Exfoliator Peeling Cream twice a week. It might sound counter intuitive but it is essential to exfoliate during the winter as dead skin cells accumulate faster during the colder months. This face scrub utilizes oyster shell powder and pomegranate peel grains to gently slough away dead cells and buildup.

Moisturize

When the temperature drops, I turn to one of my all time favorite skin care lines, Cosmetics 27. It is an apothecary style range tailor-made for YOUR skin. The idea is to mix the products together to produce a formula that is right for your skin today. The change in season, weather, pollution, stress levels and even physiological factors can alter the behavior of skin. Cosmetics 27 utilizes the Ayurvedic properties of Centella Asiatica to boost the skin’s ability to regenerate and heal itself. While experimenting and getting to know your skin requires a little more time and effort, you’re worth it and your skin will thank you. Cosmetics 27 Baume 27 is a rich, almost balm textured moisturizer packed with anti-aging skin healing nutrients. It contains a patented cocktail of all natural ingredients that feed the skin what it needs to work optimally and renew itself. Best of all you will see results. I am 40 and have sensitive, dry skin so Baume 27 is my savior this time of year. Apply while skin is still a bit damp and take at least a full minute to massage it into your skin.

Layer It On

Just like we begin to layer clothing as the temperatures drop, similarly, we need to layer on skin care to nourish and provide our skin with the extra protection it needs. I can’t stress enough how important it is, especially if you don’t all year round, to add a serum and even a face oil to your regimen. I mix Cosmetics 27 Essence 27 and Huile 27 with Baume 27 to give the moisturizer an extra added boost of nutrients. Essence 27 is an ultra fine hydrating, anti-aging emulsion that brightens the complexion and increases the skin’s density. If you don’t typically use a serum, this is an excellent entrée into the genre. Then there is Huile 27. This anti-aging elixir is a master multitasker that provides essential nutrients that help rebalance skin functions and restructure the epidermal tissue. A must for those with dry or more mature skin. I also use it as a lip balm, hair and cuticle oil.

Lips

During the winter my lips look so chapped, it appears as though a wild animal has been gnawing on them. I layer Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream and Cosmetics 27 Huile 27 under a Lancome Juicy Tube. It takes a village. Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream is enriched with vitamin E, vitamin B2, and camphor and has a uniquely high glycerin content and absorbability achieved through a special manufacturing process. It even helps heal cold sores.

By: Alyssa Barrie Weiss, Twitter: @AlyssaBarrie

Social media has helped focus a lot of attention on the lips these days, “the Kylie Jenner Effect”. Yes, these days we can easily inject filler in the office to make your lips more plump and kissable with little down time and minimal discomfort, but what’s the use if you don’t take care of what your mama gave you?

More than lip service

If I’m being honest, I probably remember sun protection for my lips 50% of the time when I plan for a beach day, and 0% of the time on a normal work day. This is not enough, and I know better. The skin over your lips is extremely thin and sensitive and requires extra attention to keep your pout sultry and healthy. Everyone knows about using SPF for their face and body, but ultraviolet radiation from the sun can really add up in the delicate skin over the lip leading to both aesthetic and medical problems.

How does sun exposure affect my lips?

Cosmetically, ultraviolet exposure can affect collagen production in the lips over time, and repeat exposure can lead to thinning of the lips and those vertical lines around the lips known as “smokers’ lines” (how ‘80s!). A chronic dry, cracked tender lip (the lower lip more commonly than the upper lip) can mean that you’ve developed “actinic cheilitis”, which, aside from not being pretty, is a precancerous condition that can develop into squamous cell cancer of the lips (yikes!). Other types of lip can cancer can develop too, including basal cell cancer. Those who have fairer skin, blond hair, blue eyes, or a history of skin cancers are most at risk, though we must all be vigilant.

Some great products to protect your lips all year long

Lips need extra loving in both the summer sun, and harsh winter air.  B. Kamins Laboratories Lip Balm SPF 20 UVA/UVB sunscreen helps prevent sun damage, including unsightly and uncomfortable lip sore breakouts and also helps to repair dry, chapped, sore lips once the damage is done.

Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream – this versatile cream from Japan can be used on both the lips and the body to help lighten your beauty regimen load. The rich balm is enriched with vitamin E, vitamin B2, and camphor, but without sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, petrochemicals or phthalates, so it’s suitable for even the most sensitive, and allergic.

As a working mom who likes to work out, I often leave my house at 7:30am with all the supplies I need for my 7:30pm gym class…I don’t have time to go home between work, kids and class. Because of this hustle, packing my gym bag with the proper products has become a crucial life skill. What do I ABSOLUTELY need? What’s extraneous? What’s a little bit of a luxury that will make a big difference to me at 9pm? All this and more is taken into consideration.

Vine Minus Ion Care Water Does. It. All.

Fixes post-gym crazy hair. Is a great antibacterial pre-workout skin prep and post-workout skin refresher. Due to its germ-killing abilities, you can even use it to wipe down your yoga mat after class. (Read more about the benefits of Care Water.)

Mio Skincare Clean Slate Swipes & Ursa Major Essential Face Wipes

I’ve gushed about both of these products so many times, I’m hoping you’re already packing them in your gym bag on the regular…both are spreading like a virus among my fellow gym members. They come individually wrapped, so they are super compact. I shove a few of each in my bag on Sunday night so they’re there when I need them. Each jumbo Mio Skincare Clean Slate Swipe is formulated with natural ingredients to help prevent blemishes and post-gym breakouts, as well as aloe vera and omega oils to exfoliate and moisturize skin. They efficiently & effectively remove makeup, sweat and oil. Their cucumber and mint infused scent makes me feel like I’m bathing in a huge glass of the cucumber water I sip while at the spa. Mio Swipes are suitable for both face and body, so I like to use one all over post-workout (it is THAT big). Pre-workout, when just my face needs a cleaning, I bring an Ursa Major Essential Wipe specifically for that task. These award-winning wipes also cleanse, exfoliate and hydrate skin to leave it (and you!) feeling refreshed and so clean, clean.

Yu-be Moisturizing Skin Cream

I love kickboxing for so many reasons. What it’s doing to my knuckles is not one of them. To prevent farmhand hands, I make sure to coat my knuckles in this ultra-protective, healing cream before I put my gloves on. If you’ve used Yu-be Moisturizing Skin Cream before, you know its myriad uses, from nose to toes. The one ounce tube is convenient enough to keep in my handbag, so I have it even on my rest days.

Mio Skincare Workout Wonder Invigorating Muscle Motivating Gel

My shoulders have been a tension center for years. Building muscle in that area has only exacerbated the situation. Well, this little bottle earns every word in its name. It is perfect for pre and post-workout, as it not only invigorates muscles, but also helps to soothe them. Extracts of Arnica, Horse Chestnut, Murumuru Butter, Spearmint and natural Magnesium increase circulation, ease aches and inflammation and help speed up recovery. This uplifting cocktail of herbs and extracts leaves my body feeling cooled, soothed and ache-free. Though it’s called a gel, Mio Skincare Workout Wonder is a cream…and a creamy cream at that—zero annoying stickiness. And like every single Mio Skincare products, it smells fantastic.

DERMAdoctor MED e TATE Antiperspirant Wipes

Believe the hype around these wipes! They really stop the schvitz without the gross, caked-on feeling of traditional antiperspirants. They are also so gentle. Trying to apply even natural deodorants right after shaving has often made my underarms feel like fire pits. MED e TATE Wipes are Hypoallergenic, non-irritating, non-comedogenic and oil, fragrance, dye, paraben, gluten and phthalate free.

Shower At The Gym? You Need These

Binchotan Facial Cleansing Mask – This 3-in-1 face wash is downright magical. It is simultaneously the gentlest yet deepest cleansing wash I’ve ever used. It also works in 30 seconds flat. And EVERYONE will tell you how amazing your skin looks. Trust me.

Alchimie Forever Dry Skin Balm – What no one told me about working out was how callused my heels would get. Slathering this balm on them straight out of the shower has really helped. Don’t stop there, though. If you shower in the gym, go ahead and apply this rich balm from the neck down.

Philip Kingsley Try Me Kit – This trio will take up hardly any real estate in your gym bag. Pick the shampoo and conditioner that best suits your hair type; all kits come with the award-winning Elasticizer pre-shampoo treatment. Ready for the best trick EVER? Apply Elasticizer pre-workout, then throw your hair up in a ponytail. Elasticizer will help keep your hair in check and the increased body heat will help the product work better. BOOM. Easiest multitasking you’ll ever do.

By: Claire McCormack, Twitter & Instagram