Photography via IMAXTREE

5 Cold-Weather Skin Saviours on Our Radar Right Now

Date February 19, 2019

The 5pm pitch black skies may be starting to lift while days begin to stretch out incrementally longer, but let’s be real: we’re still firmly in the thick of ever-plunging temperatures and sudden onslaughts of snow and ice. After three solid months of frigid weather and moisture-zapping dryness, our skin is feeling the brunt of winter at its most brutal, with dry patches that will not retain water, relentless redness, dull complexions, cracked lips and all the annoying stuff that comes along with it. Ever try applying foundation over parched skin? There isn’t enough facial oil in the world to smooth those flakes away. Unless you can afford a team to keep you with perennially dewy glass skin—or a bank account that allows you to stay in the tropics for the entire season—we need to call in some heavy duty back up. From buttery salves to replenishing masks, here are the remedies we’ll be reaching for to stay smooth, supple and sane until spring finally breaks through.

1/5

Hydrating Floral Mask

($127, Tata Harper)

Tata Harper’s new moisturizing mask is formulated with 1,000 micro and macro molecular sizes of hyaluronic acid—or, in layman’s terms, a shed load of hydration. Like most of Harper’s products, this one is made with a blend of 13 different flowers and will leave you smelling like you spent the day frolicking in a field of wildflowers, when in actuality your afternoon was spent shoveling out your driveway.

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2/5

Intensive Moisture Balance Ultra-Nourishing Moisturizer

($69, Dermalogica)

Skincare and sports have little in common but one principle holds true of both: the best defence is a good offence. When it comes to stepping out in frigid temps, you’d be wise to slather on something to protect that fragile moisture barrier, which can feel non-existent by month four of winter. Dermalogica’s latest moisturizer is made with the brand’s proprietary BioReplenish Complex™, which is basically a lipid shield for your face.

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3/5

Essential Balm Miracle Multi-Use Oil

($45, Céla)

As a kid, I would watch my Polish grandmother reach for her giant tub of Vaseline before bed every night, slathering the stuff over knuckles, lips, eyelids and anywhere else that needed extra care. The 2019 version isn’t derived from fossil fuels but follows the same old country-approved beauty regimen. Toronto-based Céla’s signature balm starts as a solid and melts into a nourishing oil on contact, soothing with six different plant butters (including ucuuba butter from the Amazonian lowlands) and six more moisturizing oils (including antibacterial bergamot oil).

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4/5

Weleda Almond Soothing Body Wash

($13, Healthy Planet Canada)

Ever dry off from a shower and a few minutes later, feel like your skin is made of tightly wrapped sandpaper? Too much time under tepid streams of water can result in stripping every last drop of oil from the surface of your skin. Not with this stuff though. Weleda’s almond-oil based wash launched last summer, but it’s particularly suited for polar vortex temps, ideal for those prone to irritation.

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5/5

Burt's Bees Overnight Intensive Lip Treatment

($10, Well.ca)

Everyone’s go-to drug store lip balm is stepping up their game with an overnight treatment. Formulated with naturally-occurring ceramides, which help strengthen the skin’s moisture barrier while boosting plumpness, this balm promises to do the heavy lifting of repairing chapped lips while you sleep. Slather on before bed and cracked lips will vanish by morning.

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