Friday, January 16, 2009

Winter Skin

If you're anything like me, your skin needs some serious help to survive the winter. The chill winds and dry heat of the radiators are enough to leave me feeling quite reptilian. While life as a lizard may have certain advantages -mmmm ... basking in the sun - I have no wish to be mistaken for one.

Luckily, I've discovered a few products to save me from that fate and I'd like to share them with you today. Much like my never ending quest to tame the brillo head, I've spent a lifetime - and several fortunes - searching for the right skin care regimen. I've tried all the brands, from high-end to low-rent, yet I always return to The Body Shop. I like their philosophy and my skin likes their products.

I popped into my local store a few month ago and, on the advice of one of the sales women, picked up a tube of their Vitamin C Cleansing Face Polish. Wow, this stuff rocks! It gentle enough to use every day, smells great and leaves my face feeling super clean and fresh. The tiny micro-breads exfoliate gently, and the Vitamin C helps to brighten your skin as well as protect it from pollutants. I have sensitive skin and was worried about using a daily scrub, but my skin is radiant. I can't remember when its looked this good. Really.

I use the scrub at night and follow it up with one of the Vitamin C Plus Time Release Capsules. Aren't they cute? You simply twist open the single-use capsule and apply the contents to clean skin - then hit the sack. The magical little capsule will do the rest for you and you'll awake with soft, bright, evenly toned skin. At $28 a jar, they're a bit pricey, but completely worth the investment, and far less than you'd pay for similar products in other lines.

The lizard skin is not limited to my face - my hands are a mess this time of year. Dry, dry, dry! Doing skillions of dishes doesn't help either. Fortunately, there is a remedy: Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve. I'm not going to lie, at $19.50 for a 5 ounce tube, this stuff ain't cheap ... but, again, well worth the money. This is the only hand cream that works for me, and the only one who's texture I can abide. It forms an invisible glove around your hand and provides all day protection. Its miraculous. Really.

Paired with the Kiehl's in the above photo is my other winter savior: Aveeno Overnight Itch Relief Cream. I practically bathe in the stuff before bed and I simply cannot live without it. Its fragrance free, works on contact and fast absorbing ... so you won't feel like a greased pig after using it. Bonus! It can be yours for a mere $5.31 at drugstore.com. In the words of Martha: its a good thing.

In case you're wondering, I'm not getting kick backs from any of these brands, nor will I make a dime if you click those links. Think of this as a public service, my post-holiday gift to you. Soft, radiant skin is decidedly Divalicious, may it be yours this winter!

So, have you got a favorite skin care product you'd like share? Or a tip for taming winter skin? Shout it out in the comments. Silky Diva wants to know.

Cheers!

11 comments:

HektikLyfe said...

I've been showering with a loufa since 7th grade so you can imagine my winter skin...

I use vaseline intensive care religiously and recently started using the kind with SPF.

Aging sucks.

Anonymous said...

A tip that's worked for me is to moisturize your skin right after showering. Right now I'm just using something I bought at Trader Joe's--a cream without a lot of stuff in it but enough emollients to keep me from joining the Sr. Reptile club. I've used Aveeno before too with some success. Thanks for the tips on the other products.

Anonymous said...

I use Pevonia's dry body oil it moisturizes and has the added bonus of a wonderful fragrance which is good for me since I'm allergic to many of the base stabilizers in regular fragrances.

Deb

Elizabeth said...

Neat. I struggle the same way trying to find the best stuff. My favorites are:

Clinique Dramatically Different Mosturizer. I've been using this for so long and I always venture out to try other stuff, and end up coming back to it since it just works.

Kiehls facial cleanser: Like with your product it gently exfoliates and leaves skin feeling really soft. I love this stuff!

I'm going to check out the Vitamin C beads at the Body Shop. They sound really useful.

JAMJARSUPERSTAR said...

The lips = Little Pink Tin SPF 15 with some lippy or gloss over the top
The face = Simple Moisturing Facial Scrub every night with cold water to make a foam and then warm water to wash off
The body = Dove scrubby soap (I know which one it is, but I don't know what it's called) and cocoa butter
The hair = Head and Shoulders mixed with Henara

So there you have it, my regime! In the summer I'll put on sun cream all the time, but I'm not bothered about not getting a tan - without it I just burn and go back to being white as white can be!
Ciao

Scarlet xxx

Anonymous said...

My hubby is a Keihl's man but since I discovered the Rocky Mountain Soap company's body butter sticks, my winter skin has never been better! Pixelgal's tip is mine, too.

For my face I use Vichy Oligio moisturizer by the spoonful.

The Vintage Kitten said...

Theres an award for you on my blog X

Michele said...

For my skin there is nothing better than Booth's body oil. Then for my face I swear by Mychelle creams. Especially the deep repair and pumpkin creams. Now if I could find something to work on my feet. :)

JAMJARSUPERSTAR said...

Oh and I forgot to say - Hands = Carex Aloe Vera moisturising lotion (100 applications per tiny bottle only.. er... $3?)

And I love the Body Shop - sometimes I just go in there to smell all the different fruity smells and torture myself that it's not payday!
Ciao again

Scarlet xx

Anonymous said...

Forgot to mention the cream I got in Ireland and really love for my face...it's called E45 and is difficult if not impossible to find here in the states. They won't sell it on the internet so I have to depend on the kindness of Divas to get it for me in the Village now and then. It's great for allergic faces. I think it can be found on Ebay, though.

The Diva on a Diet said...

Such great suggestions here, thank you one and all! I'm getting better about moisturizing right after I get out of the shower and I've heard good things about those dry oil products. I have a friend who swears by the dry oil. What I need to do is get better about using an SPF ... hopefully its not already too late!