Winter proofing my skin

Image by Klearchos Kapoutsis via Flickr


In that delicate balance between beating the breakouts and avoiding the flakiness, cold winter temperatures and indoor heating doesn't exactly help. Right now, I seem to be winning (knock on wood), by using a combination of the following:






 Olay SPF 20
Nivea eye cream ( cheap and cheerful, but does the job)
Neutrogena lip and nose balm (particularly good for applying as soon as flakes appear)
Lactacyd (yes, you read this correctly, see below)
Rosewater toner
Snail cream

Clarins Flash balm
Neutrogena Norwegian formula for hands


In more detail:
I have combination skin, which can have horrible breakouts, the hormonal kind, on my chin. I also get very dry skin on my nose, right on the tip, in winter. In mornings, I cleanse with Lactacyd in the shower. This was a tip I got from someone, who was training as an air stewardess. Since starting to use this, there has been a real improvement in the appearance of my skin and it removes makeup thoroughly. I then use rosewater as a toner as it doesn't contain any alcohol. This is followed by the Nivea eye cream and then the Olay SPF 20 moisturizer. Yes, even in winter I leave nothing to chance.

In the evenings I remove eye makeup with whatever remover is handy and follow this with another round of Lactacyd. Again this is followed with rosewater and then lashings and lashings of my snail cream, which I have been using since I blogged about it previously.

For spots I may add an antibacterial cream or nappy rash cream. I know, I know, but in my experience, every country has its version of this. In the UK and Ireland it's Sudocream. Here in Portugal, it's Halibut (something fishy? couldn't resist, sorry!)

I find this works for me, most of the time. Obviously, there are times when I need something richer to moisturize or something like Neutrogena's On the Spot for cystic acne breakouts. Once a week, I like to use Clarins Flash balm as a face mask, it gives my skin a boost. I also like to use clay masks occasionally and find pink clay best for my sensitive skin. This can be purchased online in dry form and then mixed with water to make a paste. Personally, I prefer to mix it with rosewater, it seems to be more nourishing.


On my to do list, is to try some Liz Earle products. I have been hearing fantastic reviews about them and would love to try the Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. Perhaps I'll be lucky enough to get one in my Christmas stocking, who knows? I'll update on this when I get the chance. 

Barbaria snail gel

Image via WikipediaSo, having seen the info-mercials and hearing the hype, I am now the proud owner of a brand new tub of snail cream. This product claims to be a cure all for acne, acne scars and discolouration as well as generally good for maintaining wrinkle free skin. As a 30 year old, not yet wrinkled smoker and hoping to stay that way, this sounds too good to be true. My skin is combination, sensitive and prone to the occasional hormonal breakout, which range from the mild to the horribly disfiguring and painful cystic variety. I have tried everything from cheap over the counter creams to the more high end products and have not found my Holy Grail of products. As the Autumn weather comes in I have switched from full blown sun block (Elizabeth Arden 8hour SPF50) to Olay's moisturiser with SPF15. I plan to continue using the latter during the day with the snail cream as at night, as well as a once weekly Clarins Flash Balm mask. Having for once done the recommended patch test with this Barbaria snail gel, I decided to give it a try.
Skip to one week later. Honestly, I think my skin is actually better. The blemishes I already had cleared up more quickly than normal and low and behold... no new breakouts. Could this be the miracle cream I was hoping to find? I don't know if I can go that far, I mean there's no way to tell if it's prevented any wrinkles appearing in a week, is there? However, I think there has definitely been an improvement in the general appearance. As already mentioned the blemishes have been reduced and I don't seem to have any dry patches, which I am prone to on strange places such as the bottom of my nose, a hideous sight to behold. So far, so good. With the colder weather coming in, this product will certainly be put through a grueling test, let's see if it's a keeper.