It’s freezing cold in Berlin right now and I’ve finally come to accept that winter is here to stay. The seasonal attack of brutal biting wind on my skin and hair never fails to leave me feeling dull and all dried out. Oftentimes inside is no better, as a result of indoor heating systems that sap moisture from the air. What to do? My colleague Annie recently explained how to winterize your skincare regimen, so I decided to compile a list of products that will help you to do just that. This way, even when you’re feeling chilled to the bone on the inside, you can sport a beautiful healthy glow on the outside.

Calming Serums

Wintertime is prime-time for mysterious red irritations. Everyday, I am surprised with the arrival of a new red blotchy visitor. I know that we typically think of aloe vera based products as best suited for the summertime, but they are, in fact, equally beneficial for soothing winter-inflicted inflammations. My go-to product for a speedy resolution of an irritated area is Dr. Alkaitis’s Soothing Gel. It smells of lavender and chamomile and creates a lovely cooling sensation (very pleasant for inflamed skin). Generally this product alone is enough to clear up any spontaneous spots within a couple hours. Pai’s Sea Aster & Wild Oat Instant Calm Redness Serum is also a wonderful option for alleviating distressed skin. It quickly removes redness but has the lasting effect of restoring calm and confidence for prone skin.

Liquid Foundation

Dry winter air can make your complexion look flaky and cracked. Your normal products might be exacerbating these conditions. That’s why, during this season, it is so important to use a product that will give your skin both moisture and coverage. Gressa Skin Minimalist Corrective Serum is the perfect example of this, because it offers you flawless looking skin that is also deeply nourished. This broccoli seed oil based product leaves the skin with a matte un-oily finish and blends in easily to your actual skin tone. ILIA’s Tinted Moisturizer is also a good wintertime option for all skintypes. The aloe-vera based moisturizer provides lightweight natural looking coverage and full protection from the elements. Another plus? It contains SPF, which we often forget about during the winter, but is, of course, important all year long.

Oils

Oils, oils, oils. When you think of winter layering, apply this to skincare not just clothing choice. The layering method is super important in making sure you’re protecting weather worn skin. Using an oil as base prevents the harsh winds from chapping your skin. Attempting an even skin tone during winter months can feel like an uphill battle, but simply adding an oil can be transformative in this sense. Good options are argan oil (the classic), MUN’s No. 1 Aknari Brightening Serum, and Nuori Perfecting Facial Oil. Put a couple drops on before bed as a last step in your skincare routine to restore moisture-depleted skin and mix a drop into your foundation in the morning for all day long protection.

Tinted Lip Conditioners (Instead of Lipstick)

There is nothing cute about bright matte lipstick on chapped and cracked lips. Brutal winter winds leave lips raw, making tinted balms and conditioners the right option for a colorful flirty pout. Good thing ILIA offers so many amazing options, giving you the choice of pretty much any color you’re currently into. Or, for even more fun, collect a couple conditioners and then mix and match to create your own perfect tint. ILIA isn’t the only brand with tinted lip care on offer; you can also find great options from RMS, Fra Lippo Lippie, and Gressa Skincare.

Leave-in Conditioners

Just like everything else on your body, your hair is bound to become brittle and dry as the winter weather has it’s way with you. That’s why it’s important to keep a leave-in conditioner in your product rotation. The important factor when searching for the perfect leave-in conditioner is to find something that nourishes and moisturizes your hair, without weighing it down. John Masters Rose & Apricot Hair Milk smells simply divine and is based off of rose flower and apricot oil. It works as a detangler and a styling product, leaving hair defrizzed and shiny. Another top option is Rahua’s Finishing Treatment. This product is beloved by many at Amazingy, and there’s a good reason why—it’s all natural formula really works. Apart from weekly hair oilings (see my article in the mag about this), use leave-in conditioners for hair that has elevated shine, free from winter’s ravaging effects.

Eye Cream

Not only is area around your eyes the most sensitive, it is also the first area to show signs of ware from cold winter wind. People always say you should have started wearing eye cream yesterday, so stock up and reapply, both day and night. I really love Kahina Giving Beauty Eye Cream, which works well in the mornings, as it is lightweight & dries quickly, making it ideal for use under makeup. It’s rich in Vitamin E and omega fatty acids, reducing puffiness and dark circles while boosting collagen production. You should use something a bit more intensive for nightime use. A personal favorite is SUKI Ultra-Protect Eye Balm Night. It has hardcore hydrating botanicals & nutritives which regulate moisture and also stimulate regeneration. I promise, you’ll wake up feeling younger.

Cream Blush

Powder blush only enhances the look of dry skin. If your skin is cracked and flakey, the powder will look uneven and dull. Ageing skin looks more youthful with cream blush and winter-abused skin looks nourished and protected. Facial lotion is your skin’s wintercoat and a cream blush is the scarf you wrap around it. There are so many wonderful natural cream blushes. I just wrote an article about how much I loved ILIA’s multisticks. Other good blushes come from RMS lip2cheek and Tata Harper Lip2cheek. RMS glides on smoothly and comes in shades that really do work well for lips and cheeks. Tata Harper’s formula has a velvety texture and a smell that is fruity and divine.

Cream Cleansers

The whole idea behind cream cleanser is that it will stay on your skin somewhat and help nourish it, instead of stripping all your natural oils away. This is very appealing for people with dry or sensitive skin or for tired winter skin. The most important thing to look for when buying a cream cleanser is to find a formula that will actually do a good job of cleansing and unclogging pores of daily pollutants. Whamisa’s Organic Flowers Foam Cleansing Cream has the most magical, other-worldly texture. It’s formula of aloe maculata, rice and shea butter extracts to effectively remove all daily grime. Kimberly Sayer‘s light cleansing lotion is another great option, based on soy protein and essential oils, it deep cleanses the skin for a clean and clear complexion. M. Picaut’s Nourishing Cleanser has been an all-time favorite of mine for a long time (my boyfriend too). It excels as a make-up remover and it has never once left my skin feeling irritated or clogged. Instead it leaves me with a complexion that is soft and glowy without any greasy residue.

Winter-y Highlighters

Winter skin can leave us feeling dull, and that is exactly why it’s now more than ever than we need the luminous help of highlighters. There are so many great options, but two stand out for me for this time of year. Radiance from Kjaer Weis never truly received the hype it deserved, in my humble opinion. I use it for everything: for my cheekbones, my eyeshadow, for a touch on the bow of my lips, I can’t get enough of this decadent creamy highlighter. It’s texture and effervescence make it nearly impossible to over-apply, so feel to go overboard with this one. The next seems like an obvious choice, but the living luminizer is the all-time best winter highlighter. This is the so-called “hightlighter that super models swear by”, and I understand why. It’s smooth and blendable, it matches to every skintype, and it gives you the most natural glow and girl could ask for.

Hand Cream

Hands are always a dead giveaway when it comes to a person’s true age. That’s why this precious part of our body requires so much care. Think about how much we use them and how much more they’re left to the mercy of the winter’s elements—way more than the rest of our bodies. Their constant exposure requires that we find a compentent hand cream. I apply my winter hand cream anywhere between 3 and 6 times daily during this season, honestly the more the better. We recently starting stocking a brand called De Lilou that people have been raving about. They specialize in hand cream, in fact it’s the only product they sell! Based on the Brazil nut, the hand cream contains nut milk, nut butter, nut proteins and oat and honey extracts for their soothing properties. It soaks in immediately and leaves your hands feeling luxuriously smooth. There is also a great hand cream from Pai, the Fragonia & Sea Buckthorn Instant Hand Therapy Cream. This little tube was my sidekick for all of last winter Berlin, and it did right by me. The moisture is kept in and your hands feel soft and protected for a long time.

These are my top ten most important products to help you survive this long cold winter. Do you have any favorite winter products? Let me know in the comments below!