Winter Beauty and Skincare Favourites

Winter [Def]: the season of magic, cold weather, and winter beauty and skincare favourites.

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Yes, Winter can be a beautiful season with snow, holiday events, and yummy baked goods, but one of the season’s biggest flaws is the effect it has on your skin. Flakiness and dry skin are just two problems that arise during the winter season and they can be quite pesky. If you know what I’m talking about then you’ve probably been there where your make-up cakes up around the dry spots or wears off throughout the day due to the cold. While this is a problem, it is a problem that can be fixed!

Here are my beauty favourites to keep your skin feeling moisturized and your make-up looking flawless on even the coldest days of the season.

Skin Care

Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

For years I’ve used regular make-up wipes to remove my make-up, but now that I’ve been introduced to this balm I could never go back. I heard about the Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm from college Youtuber Keegan Acton and I had to try it.

The thought of using a balm appealed to me because I wouldn’t be scrubbing my face trying to remove tough make-up with a wipe and it’s environmentally friendly. I’ve also found that one container of the balm lasts way longer than a pack of wipes.

The first time I used this product I was amazed at how fast and easy it is to remove make-up. It literally melts it off your face in seconds and leaves your skin feeling refreshed and moisturized. The best part is that it isn’t too expensive, at $40 CAD, and it is less wasteful than wipes.

Laneige Lip Mask

There is nothing worse than having cracked, chapped lips which is why using the Laneige lip mask is a staple in my skincare routine. This mask is extremely hydrating and lasts the longest out of all lip balms. It also has a glossy appearance which makes it nice to wear all day. The berry flavour is my absolute favourite and it is a must-have cure for chapped lips in the winter.

Drunk Elephant ‘The Littles’

I received this gift set for Christmas and it is lifechanging. I have used Drunk Elephant previously when Sephora gave out Drunk Elephant birthday gifts, and since then I have wanted to try more products, however, it is a bit pricy.

The Drunk Elephant ‘The Littles’ gift set came with 8 mini versions of the brands’ best-selling skincare. It included the Beste™ No. 9 Jelly Cleanser, C-Firma™ Day Serum, B-Hydra™ Intensive Hydration Serum, T.L.C. Framboos™ Glycolic Night Serum, Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil, C-Tango™ Multivitamin Eye Cream, Umbra Tinte™ Physical Daily Defense SPF 30, and the Protini™ Polypeptide Cream.

All of these products have become a staple in my skincare. My favourites specifically are the Protini™ Polypeptide Cream, Beste™ No. 9 Jelly Cleanser, as well as the day and night serums.

Previously, I had never used serums or oils in my routine, but it really has made a difference. I noticed it after the first time using the products and I can’t imagine living without them. They leave my skin feeling hydrated all day and they create the perfect base for my make-up. These products are good for all skin types and work extremely well if you have dry skin like myself.

Peter Thomas Roth Firm Peeling Gel

This skincare product is the most amazing product I’ve ever used, and that may seem overdramatic, but it’s the truth.

I heard about this from Youtuber Alisha Marie and I just had to try it out. The Peter Thomas Roth Firm Peeling Gel is a gel that you massage onto your face and as you massage, the skin starts to peel into little balls. Basically, it removes all of the dead, built-up skin that gets clogged when you don’t exfoliate. It is kind of gross, but so satisfying. I use this weekly to exfoliate and prepare my skin for the week and it really has made a difference in how clear my skin is.

Champagne Toast 24 Hour Moisture Body Cream

There’s nothing worse than dry skin during the winter. In Canada, we often experience weeks of deep freezes after Christmas which absolutely ruins my skin. I have to put lotion on every hour or else my hands dry out to the point where they hurt. My favourite lotion to use is the Champagne Toast 24 hour moisturizing body lotion from Bath & Body Works.

I’ve always been a fan of Bath & Body Works products, but the sweet candy-scented champagne toast happens to be a recent favourite of mine. I’ve been using it non-stop daily for the last two weeks and it’s been working great. If you’ve never tried this scent before, I highly recommend going to the store and smelling it because once you do you’ll be addicted to it.

Make-Up

Anastasia Beverly Hills Luminous Foundation

The ABH Luminous Foundation is one of the best foundations for dry to normal skin that I’ve ever tried. There are many options for skin tone shades so if you’re super pale like I am then you will have no problem finding the perfect colour that isn’t super orange.

This foundation retails at Sephora for $50.00 CAD, which is a decent price for a good quality foundation and the consistency is amazing. I’ve tried many foundations before this such as Too Faced’s Born This Way, Fenty, and Beauty Blender’s Bounce, but this one wins for five reasons:

1. It has a dewy, natural finish
2. It comes in 50 shades
3. It’s vegan
4. It can be built up for more coverage
5. It doesn’t wear off after a few hours

I’ve found that foundations such as this one that has a luminous, natural finish are way better for dry skin types because they don’t cling to any random dry patches as matte foundations do.

The finish is natural which is great because it can be built up for more coverage yet it doesn’t feel heavy on the skin. It also doesn’t fade or cake up the longer you wear it which I’ve found some other foundations do. This has become my go-to foundation and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s had problems finding their perfect foundation.

Smashbox Photo Finish Reduce Redness Primer

Oftentimes, the problem with pale skin and winter can be rosy cheeks. My skin naturally has pink undertones, which if your skin is similar, can make it hard to find a foundation that completely covers and neutralizes the skin tone. However, the Smashbox Photo Finish Reduce Redness Primer has made a huge difference. I normally go without a primer, but I’ve noticed that my make-up lasts so much longer when I use this one in particular.

Other primers make my skin oily, but this one feels sticky on the skin and holds my foundation in place all day. It also possesses magical qualities that minimize redness. Even after hours of wear, my make-up still looks flawless. I’d highly recommend this product if you suffer from the red-cheek syndrome as well. Trust me, it will make such a difference in your make-up routine.

L’Oreal Paris Liquid Eye Liner Infallible Flash Cat Eye

Winged eyeliner is a finishing staple to any make-up look and I find that a thin wing always makes me feel more confident. The worst thing is when you draw two perfect wings, but they aren’t even and you don’t have time to re-do them before you have to leave. The L’Oreal Infallible Flash Cat-eye eyeliner is the solution to always perfect winged eyeliner.

Previously, my go-to eyeliner was the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, but when I saw this one I just had to try it. The appealing thing about this product and what makes it stand out is that it comes with a small triangle stencil that detaches from the lid. You just hold the triangle where you want the wing to be and draw the wing then connect it to your lid.

If you have trouble with winging your eyeliner then I highly recommend this product. It only takes a handful of tries to get used to and once you do, your eyeliner will always look flawless.

Maybelline Snapscara

I know that everyone raves over Too Faced’s Better than Sex mascara, however, it just isn’t doing it for me anymore.

I used to use Better Than Sex all the time to the point where I had multiple tubes of it for back-up. Lately, I’ve noticed that it doesn’t wear well and it always transfers under my eyes by the of the day, and let’s be real, the raccoon look isn’t cute.

Usually, I don’t shop drugstore makeup either, but after some research, I discovered the Maybelline Snapscara mascara which has a waxy consistency so it doesn’t transfer under the eye throughout the day as wetter mascaras do.

BECCA Pressed Highlighter in Champagne Pop

Highlighter is hands down my favourite part of my makeup routine and BECCA’s Champagne Pop highlighter happens to be the best one out there. I like my highlighter to be natural while also shining so bright it could blind someone. Champagne pop is exactly that. It’s a pale pearly colour that is very natural yet can be layered to have a blinding effect. It is the perfect highlighter for natural makeup days or full glam makeup days.

Too Faced Gingerbread Extra Spicy Eyeshadow Palette

I have always been a fan of Too Faced products, specifically their eyeshadow palettes, so I was extremely excited for the release of the Gingerbread Extra Spicy palette. When the original Gingerbread eyeshadow palette came out last Fall, I bought it immediately and it became my most-used palette, and since I bought the new palette, I haven’t used anything else.

The shades are all amazing quality. The glitters apply smoothly and are extremely pigmented. They aren’t chunky at all and there’s little fallout, especially when using a primer. The matte shades are so pigmented and soft. They blend well and all of the shades compliment each other nicely. This might be the best palette released in a while, especially as part of a holiday collection.

If you are debating on which new palette to buy for Fall or Winter, I highly recommend this palette. You will not be disappointed. Plus, it smells amazing like freshly baked cookies. You can also check out my in-depth review of the palette on the blog right here.

MAC Cosmetics Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base

I always used to use concealer as my eye primer because I felt that buying a primer would be a waste of money, but I was completely wrong. Eye primers prevent the lid from getting oily and prevent the shadows from creasing, which started happening when I was using concealer.

Originally, I decided to try the Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer, however, I was not a fan as I found the product to be too watery and it made my eyelids more oily than normal.

I decided to try the MAC Prep + Prime Eye Base instead as it was a decent price and had good reviews. And, I’m pleased to say it has made a huge difference. A little goes a long way with this product and it makes eyeshadows look extremely pigmented.

The shadows stay on all day long without fading or creasing. I typically use glitter base shades with my eye looks and a problem I used to have is the glitter would fall off or fade throughout the day, but this primer keeps it in place for hours.

If you don’t use an eye primer yet, I’d recommend trying this one. The consistency is different and thicker than other eye primers and it holds the shadows down like glue. It’s such a great product that I even bought a new tube when I lost my other one on vacation. It’s a product that I simply cannot live without.

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Question: What are your winter beauty essentials?