Winter is a wonderful time of family get-togethers, holiday parties, cookies, cute sweaters in cold weather and (hopefully) some snow. But our skin doesn't like any of that. Here are the six essential things everyone needs to keep looking and feeling amazing this holiday season.
1. A Routine!
Listen, it does not matter how many cool new skin care products you picked up on your last trip to Ulta if you don't use them regularly and routinely. Come up with a schedule and stick to it. You can write it on your bathroom mirror with a dry erase marker, or put reminders in your phone, or put a post-it inside your medicine cabinet (which is what I do) just remember to do it.
2. A good cleanser.
A good cleanser is everything. Between stress eating from finals and mom's Christmas cookies winter has enough room for pimples. Don't let dirt even get the chance to get there. My favorite is the elf daily face cleanser because it's silky smooth and leaves my face feeling clean and fresh. Oh, and it's only four dollars. But make sure at least twice a weak you swap out your trusty cleanser for an exfoliating scrub. I love St. Ives' apricot scrub.
3. A ridiculous amount of washcloths.
Nothing is worse than going to going to wash your face and not having any clean washcloths. Go get yourself a bunch. And I mean like 30. I have 43 (and I'm a minimalist!) But nice, good quality, clean washcloths are a must because you should be drying your face with a clean washcloth. When you dry your face with the towel from your shower or (shudder) a hand towel, you are putting all of those germs directly onto your face. Seriously, get a Costco trip gone the wrong amount of washcloths. I love to grab fancy ones from T-J Maxx. But I've also had my eye on these high-quality Egyptian cotton ones from Amazon for 17.99.
4. Moisturizer.
Nothing dries your skin out like cold weather, so you need a good moisturizer. My favorite is the elf daily hydration moisturizer. ($8 at Ulta) Seriously, I go through about 3 of these every winter. Use it both morning and night, and, unless you have especially oily skin, use as much as you can without making your face feel oily, especially at night.
5. Eye cream.
The skin around your eyes is incredibly sensitive, so you need to take care of it. Dabbing on some eye cream is a great way to look and feel refreshed no matter how little sleep you've had. I'm thoroughly convinced it's magic. Elf makes a decent one, but I prefer to go to T.J. Maxx and browse for a discounted higher end ones, given an eye cream's importance.
6. Don't forget your lips.
Lip balm is incredibly important. Chapped lips are the worst and they take forever to heal. Any lip balm will do, although I'm a loyal Burt's Bees girl. (Get their holiday four pack here for $10) Buy in bulk and put them everywhere so you always have one at hand. Put them in your purse, or on it with a lip balm holster, in your backpack, next to your keys, at your desk, in your make-up bag, make your boyfriend carry one, throw an extra one in your pencil case, duck tape one to your phone. Whatever it takes, protect those lips.
