5 for Friday: winter skin saviours

My usual approach to winter skincare goes a little something like this:

• Cover legs in tights, leggings, jeans, maxi skirts and worry about extent of scaliness come September.
• Wrap hands around a mug of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Worry about scaliness come September.
• Do best to up ante on facial skincare regime. Fail miserably and worry about flakiness come September.
• Sit at desk pursing lips, think about reaching the half a metre across desk to mountain of lip products, forget to do so because checking Twitter or Instagram. Remember one hour later that lips will not wait till September for rescuing.

Yep, lazy-girl beauty at its laziest.

This year I’m determined to be well … less lazy … and therefore inherently less scaly and flakey.

The reason? In 46 days I’m flying out of winter and into a New York summer and I do not want to spend the entire flight de-scaling and de-flaking.

So, I’ve called in some big guns … some skincare products* that I’m asking a lot of.

1. Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant Fragrance Free $38: You know the original Eight Hour Cream was created in 1930, right? And has a cult following? Well, this all-in-one beauty tool now has a fragrance-free sister. It will still step up and deal with chapped, cracked dry skin and it’ll soothe redness and help heal minor scrapes and scratches. The active ingredient is petrolatum which some might have issues with; for others there is no other all-purpose product in their beauty kit.

2. Caroline’s Cream all-purpose moisturiser $17.95:  This is one power-packed tube of plant-based ingredients and oils. Think wheatgerm oil, rosehip, jojoba, evening primrose, avocado oil, aloe vera and cocoa butter. There are still preservatives in this formulation but the the combination of ingredients does help to relieve symptoms of eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. It’s lovely, light and absorbent so offers great moisturisation without any stickiness.

3. NIVEA Express Hydration Hand Fluid $4.37: This is perfect for your desktop. So easy to apply to your hands throughout the day as it soaks right in and then goes to work to get them moisturising themselves for up to 24 hours thanks to what NIVEA calls its Hydra IQ technology. It’s got a fragrance which might not appeal to some but was fine for me.

4. Trilogy Ultra Hydrating Face Cream $37.95:  This is the cream you want to slather on before heading out into the extremes that winter can throw at your face. You’ll need a sunscreen as well but what this moisturiser does is add a mask-like barrier between the weather and your skin – while it hydrates it. I was actually joking about the slather bit. It’s highly concentrated so you don’t need too use much to benefit from the combo of evening primrose and certified organic rosehip oils, manuka honey, coconut and avocado oils. It’s got a light fragrance which contains lavender oil. Sweet.

5. Lanolips Golden Ointment $28.95:  I’ve been a card-carrying member of the Lanolips fan club since the beginning. Creator Kirsten Carriol had me at her 100% ultra medical grade lanolin in her 101 ointment. This year there have been some welcome additions to the lanolips family and this one has become a firm favourite. Kirsten says that it’s based on that 101 ointment formula but with other active ingredients (manuka honey, vitamin E) to help it spread over a larger area. I’m using it on my lips, dry patches of skin … anywhere that needs a little more loving. It’s rich and thick so allow time for this one to sink in. Love the subtle fragrance.

That’s it from me … over to you … do you have a go-to product that keeps the winter scales and flakes at bay?

 * These products were sent to me for editorial consideration in accordance with my Disclosure Policy