I’m too distracted with the holidays during December to pay any mind to flaky skin, leathery hands and sponge-esque hair. But by the end of January, I find I need to bust out my stash of “winterruption” products. Below are the products that keep me pretty until spring.

Skin Care

Without self-tanner, I unwittingly (and unwillingly) channel sickly Colin in The Secret Garden (Hallmark version). Every third night, I mix some moisturizer with DermaQuest Skin Therapy DermaGlow Self-Tanner for Face and wake up looking as if I went to sleep in Bermuda instead of on 28th Street. It’s not orange, nor too muddy. I also use a Tetris-esque strategy in terms of moisturizer in the winter. I apply moisturizer in layers: first a thick creamy one, then a lighter thinner lotion. Currently, I’m loving Kenzoki Belle de Jour underneath Olay Pro-X Age Repair Lotion with SPF 30. Another tip of mine is using skin care products in a way other than that which they’re intended. Eye cream mixed with moisturizer for windier days. Lip balm as eye cream for extra hydration and dewiness. I also like to mix lip balm into my hand cream for extra protection against the elements. I’m basically a lip and eye cream MacGyver. I’ll mix that stuff into anything to take its hydrology factor up a notch.

Warming Products

Products that warm when you use them are great way to combat winter chill. My favorites are Molton Brown’s Warming Eucalyptus and Ginger Body Scrub and Dermalogica Age Smart Multivitamin Thermafoliant. The former invigorates, detoxes and refreshes tired skin, while the latter sloughs dead skin cells with heat and leaves a brighter, polished surface.

Hair

January through March, my hair is brittle, static city, and Sahara-dry. The remedy is Moroccanoil Masque twice a week. I also recommend rocking ear muffs instead of a hat. Yes, you lose significant body heat through your head. But you also lose significant hairstyle quotient when you rock a hat. Muffs keep your ears warm while protecting your ‘do. Priorities, dolls.

Makeup

My ten-minute walking portion of my morning commute won’t allow for straight up gloss (the wind blows and my lips become a MAGNET for my hair) and lipstick simply isn’t moisturizing enough in chilly climes. I can’t leave my apartment without a swipe of Chapstick True Shimmer in Botanical Berry or the looks-totally-low-maintenance-but-ISN’T Bobbi Brown Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Popsicle, a coral-peach hybrid. Waterproof mascara is key for the wind. Two words: bleary smeary eyes. You don’t want it to be that kind of party.

What are your winter beauty essentials?

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