The holidays are hard on the skin. Cold weather, too much chocolate, late nights, too much makeup, too much alcohol – you name it, your skin is going through it. Yet, we all want our skin to look it’s best over the festive period, so today I’ve got a list of holiday skincare musts, tips and tricks to keep your skin looking tip top through till January.
Remove your makeup properly. No falling into bed after the work Christmas do with a full face of slap, or half assing it with a makeup wipe. Being tired or tipsy doesn’t let you off the hook. For the sake of ease and speed, keep a good oil based makeup remover by the sink, I love the Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil and The Body Shop’s Camomile Cleansing Balm, slather onto the skin and remove with a hot face cloth. Follow up with a good cleanser, try the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser, to keep your skin clean.
Drink more water than anything else. You should be drinking around 2 litres of water a day, but if you’re consuming coffee or alcohol, that number goes up. Caffeine can cause the skin to appear dehydrated, whilst alcohol is notorious for manifesting in the skin as little bumpy spots. Keeping up with your water consumption will help keep that at bay!
Invest in a good scrub. Whether your tastes are more traditional and you’re after a gentle manual exfoliation, or acid toners are more your jam, keeping the skin fresh faced over winter is a must. A good exfoliant will not only slough away dry patches, but will keep your skin looking glowy and radiant.
Eye cream and cold spoons. Stick with me on this one because it’s a little weird! Fight tired eyes + signs of hangovers in the mornings with a thick slather of eye cream, and then a cold teaspoon held to the undereye for 3-4 minutes. Wipe off any excess eye cream, and your eyes should look less puffy, refreshed and brighter!
Keep a good mask to hand. Everyone should have a breakout fighting mask they can call on, but at Christmas when chocolate consumption is up and vegetable consumption down it’s even more important. Invest in a good detoxifying mask like the Origins Clear Improvement or Glossier Mega Galaxy Greens for any skin freak outs.
Treat your skin to nourishment. There’s no such thing as being too kind to your skin and this time of year I like to really ramp up my serum + moisturiser use, to make sure that no matter what my skin is put through, it’s plump, hydrated and happy. Consider using a spot fighting serum like the Glossier Super Pure, and a hydrating serum like The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic. Make sure your morning + evening moisturisers are doing their job, and consider adding a moisturising mask into the mix. I’m currently using the Caudalie Vinosource Moisturising Sorbet in the mornings before makeup and the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion in the evenings for an instant does of hydration. I’ve been whipping out the Glossier Moon Mask two or three nights a week too just for that real plump skin look.
What are your skincare favourites for this time of year?