Winter skin saviours
By Lucy Douglas
After weeks of lingering warm weather, winter has finally returned, making its annual visit along with its familiar troop of skin foes. Rain, chilled winds, central heating – all the usual culprits that dehydrate or irritate the skin, taking their toll on delicate faces and hands.
In the interest of keeping my skin healthy and hydrated during this year’s Big Chill, here are some of the products that have hit the market in recent months that I am using.
Regenerating collagen gel by Resultime
This is one of my favourite products to launch in 2014. It contains vectorised micro collagen to plump up skin and target fine lines and wrinkles. It’s great in winter because the micro collagen helps boost hyaluronic acid production, which is key to keeping skin hydrated. I use it instead of a night cream, apply it in a thick layer before bed and wash off in the morning, and it always leave me looking fresh and hydrated.
Revitalising oil by Darphin
Oils are always fantastic for dry skin, and this nifty little oil that launched this month is a great introduction to the French skincare brand. It contains essentials oils of ylang-ylang, rosewood, jasmine, and lavender, plus raspberry seed, evening primrose and rose hop oils, along with a host of others, which make it soothe and restore skin, and smell gorgeous. It’s versatile too – Darphin recommends using it on face, body or hair. I keep it in my bag, and use it as a quick fix any time of day on my face and hands.
Original balm by Dr Paw Paw 
Dry, cracked lips are par for the course at this time of year – even worse if you come down with a cold. Dr Paw Paw lip balm – which can actually be used in all sorts of ways, including as a hair soother and on cracked on heels or elbows – uses fermented papaya along with aloe vera and olive oil to soothe delicate lips. They now sell it in tinted versions, but I use the original throughout the day to keep my mouth crack-free.
Hand relief night renewal serum by Aveda
Hands have it tough in winter – for me, I think winter’s effects on skin is most noticeable on my hands. I moisturise them every hour with hand cream (I have Moroccanoil’s hand cream on my desk, SenSpa’s by my bed, and Nails Inc’s in my kitchen). Now, this new product from Aveda offers a nice restorative treatment for hands while you sleep – think of it as night cream for hands. Although it calls itself a serum, its consistency is light cream. I give my hands a good dose of it each night before bed, then apply a hand cream again in the morning before leaving the house.
