dry skin’s winter rescue
I’m someone with very dry skin, and where I live we’ve already transitioned into cold, winter weather. Drops in temperature dehydrate the skin, and cold air holds less moisture, resulting in dry skin getting even dryer. If you’re in a similar situation, then let me share with you my favourite hydrating skincare products for transforming skin from dry and irritated to moisturized and soothed.
mariahreviews
Dry/Resilient
1
Black Snail Collagen All In One Eye Cream
One of my all-time holy grails is snail mucin! I couldn’t imagine the difference it could make until I tried it. This is an eye cream, but I slather it all over my face. Put this onto your face when your face is still damp (either from water or, even better, from a toner) and then follow it with a heavier cream like the one I’m mentioning below.
mariahreviews
I received this product for free from Picky and COXIR in exchange for my honest review. The Coxir Black Snail Collagen All One Eye Cream has quickly become my favourite eye cream! Snail mucin is an ingredient I’ve been hearing good things about for years now and I was excited to finally get the chance to try it myself. I apply this with extra focus on my eye area, but I rub it in all over my face and neck. It absorbs quickly so I’m able to go in with other products such as sunscreen or foundation without a long waiting period. I especially love using it beneath makeup; I instantly noticed a difference when I use the cream versus when I don’t use it. My foundation just seems to glide on much more smoothly and my face stays looking nourished all throughout.
Coxir
Black Snail Collagen All In One Eye Cream
4.5
(504)
73
2
Licorice pH Balancing Cleansing Toner
Speaking of toner - there’s some really great options out there. This one was formulated with the idea of it working as a primer for your serums and moisturizers. I highly recommend prepping your skin with toner because it can help boost absorption of your following skincare. We really want to make sure these products sink into our skin and not just sit on top. I even like to do multiple layers of toner on top of each other to really make it sink in! I like Acwell’s balancing toner because it’s super gentle and has soothing ingredients like green tea and moisturizing ingredients like glycerin.
mariahreviews
I originally received this toner as a sample freebie alongside the serum prize, but I’ve been religiously using both products these past couple of months so I decided I’d better review the toner too! This Licorice pH Balancing Cleansing Toner is my go-to toner because of how soothing it is on my skin; it has a low PH of 5.5 which makes it super gentle. I’ve recently started trying out the K-Beauty Toner Trick wherein I apply at least three layers of this toner, one right after the other. The idea behind this is your skin is able to absorb more than it normally could, giving you super hydrated skin without having to use a heavy moisturizer. I love how it feels!
ACWELL
Licorice pH Balancing Cleansing Toner
4.6
(1939)
597
3
MadeCera Express Mask
A heavy-duty moisturizing sheet mask before bed can make a world of differences when you wake up. I say before bed because I think that’s the best time to use it; sebum production is lowest at night, so it’s easy for our skin to get dehydrated and moisture barrier to get disrupted while we sleep. This MadeCera mask really amazed me; my skin was glowing and felt so nourished and happy after using it. If I could afford to do so, I would probably wear this mask twice a day, everyday!
mariahreviews
I love this mask! The first thing I noticed about it is how it is absolutely drenched in its essence. I find a lot of sheet masks end up being a bit dry because they’ve left a lot of their essence behind in the packet, leaving me to have to scoop it out of the packet and onto my face myself. That wasn’t the case with this one; all of the skincare was completely soaked onto the sheet and there wasn’t much of anything left behind. You can see in the video I’m including how moisturized my hands look just from unfolding the mask. I could immediately tell the sheet is concentrated and heavy-duty, which is exactly what my skin needs. Even just the process of patting the mask into place on my skin felt soothing. I left it on for 20 minutes and when I took it off my skin was actually glowing. While I’ve had many products that make my skin feel moisturized and soft, this is one of the only skincare products that I’ve ever tried to actually make my usually dry and dull face look visibly glowy like that. I really marvelled at how my skin looked in the mirror. I also love how my skin feels to the touch afterwords: nourished and silky! I think this is a really amazing mask for anyone with dry skin who is seeking that “glass skin” look.
SkinRx Lab
MadeCera Express Mask
4.6
(398)
71
4
Rénergie H.C.F. Triple Serum
A good serum is another layer you can add to your skin to help lock-in that hydration. I’ve been using this one pretty religiously this past month and I love how it makes my skin feel! It actually looks and feels more like a light moisturizer than a serum. It contains hylaronic acid which helps my skin immensely; this ingredient improves your skin’s ability to retain moisture, so it’s great for anyone who is battling dehydrated skin as the temperatures drop.
mariahreviews
This serum has been a hugely welcome addition to my skincare routine. The first thing I want to talk about is how impressed I am by how the bottle works; you can see it has three different chambers inside it, which are keeping three great ingredients separate from each-other. Those ingredients are Hyaluronic Acid (it helps your skin retain moisture), Vitamin C + Niacinamide (great for brightening the skin and smoothing fine lines), and Ferulic Acid (a powerful antioxidant for anti-aging results). When I squeeze it out into my hand, I can visibly see the three different textures, and hopefully you can too in the video I made. The hyaluronic acid is the thickest and whitest of them, with the ferulic acid being the clearest and more like a gel, and the vitamin c/niacinamide mixture being between the two in terms of colour and texture. I mix them together into a light cream myself, right in my hand, directly before applying to my face and neck. This method keeps each ingredient more potent than they would be if they were pre-mixed together in the bottle like every other serum I’ve seen is. I think that’s really genius and helps me feel like the value for the money is worth it. I’ve been using it everyday for over a month now. My skin immediately feels softer and moisturized after each use. Over time, I’ve noticed my face looks and feels plumper than it used to. I don’t have much in terms of fine lines yet but I do think regularly using this will help continue to keep them away. If you’re looking for healthier and more youthful skin, I think this is a great option. Please note that I did receive this product for free, but this is my honest review.
Lancome
Rénergie H.C.F. Triple Serum
4.7
(110)
43
5
Daily Microfoliant
We’re going to take a quick break from products with moisturizing ingredients - but stay with me here! I used to pile on layers and layers of moisturizing creams on top of my flaky skin and not understand why my skin was still flaky. Then I learned the importance of exfoliating. I used to think it was scary and would dry my face out even more, but the truth is you need to remove those dead skin cells (and the trapped dirt and oil along with it) so that you can nourish the smoother and healthier skin below. This Daily Microfoliant does its job in a very gentle way.
mariahreviews
I was actually recommended to try this by my facialist after she examined my skin, and I’m so glad I listened to her. I’ve been using this for a year now and it’s the perfect blend of a physical and a chemical exfoliant. I used to be afraid of physical exfoliants because the ones I’ve encountered in the past all had very abrasive ingredients like shells and pits that would be way too rough to rub against my skin. That is not at all the case with this one. Instead of those harsh ingredients, they use rice-based powder as its physical exfoliant. When you add water, it turns into small and super soft clumps that you rub against your face. A great thing about this kind of exfoliant is that I can customize how delicate it is by how much water I add to it; the more water, the more gentle the clumps are. I used to make it pretty watery, but I’m now able to just add a tiny bit of water without any issues. There is also some chemical exfoliation happening because it includes salicylic acid, which my skin responds really well to. I really didn’t understand the difference exfoliating could make to dry skin until I started regularly using this product. All of my flakiness and dead skin cells are completely removed every time I use it, and that allows me to see and feel the fresh and smooth skin beneath it all. The salicylic acid in it also clears up any pimples that I have. I have noticed my face seems to stay clearer when I’m diligent about regularly using this. It’s become one of the most important skincare products for me. I feel like I have a whole new face after I’ve used it, in the best of ways. It says it’s gentle enough for daily use but I personally don’t find it necessary to use more than a couple of days a week. If you have sensitive skin and have been afraid of exfoliation, I highly encourage you to give this one a shot, just maybe use it less times a week to start with and then build it up from there if you want to.
Dermalogica
Daily Microfoliant
4.6
(136)
372
6
Healing Jelly Original
This might seem extremely basic when you compare it to all the fancy and cool skincare we see everywhere - but sometimes basic is better! Vaseline is a very thick product that helps seal in moisture and acts as a protective barrier. I apply this to my lips and any dry patches I might have on my skin. Since it seals in moisture, you do want there to be some moisture already there to seal in, so I recommend using it after your moisturizers.
PickyZynb
Vaseline
Healing Jelly Original
4.7
(48)
31
7
Moisturizing Cream
And finally, we come to our moisturizer. I really love CeraVe’s moisturizing cream because it does everything it’s supposed to. It’s heavy in a good way, because my dry skin needs heavy, especially on a cold dry night. What sets this cream apart from many others is that it has no fragrance, no alcohol, no unnecessary and harsh ingredients. It was accepted as safe for people with eczema by the National Eczema Association, so I think anyone with dry skin can benefit from this. Another great thing is that it’s a huge tub for a great price, so I am able to use it all over my entire body without worrying about it getting too expensive.
mariahreviews
This is my favourite moisturizer! It can be hard to find a moisturizer that’s heavy enough to make my dry skin soft, but not too intense as to make me feel greasy or breakout. This does the job perfectly! It’s also a great price; I’ve had moisturizers that were less than half the size for more than double the price of this one.
CeraVe
Moisturizing Cream
4.4
(531)
480
1
1
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