Handbag Beauty Essentials For Winter

I'm not going to beat around the bush here, winter's a bitch when it comes to skin care. We are submitted to rain, icey winds, sleet, more rain, snow, did I mention rain? And then you step inside and the central heating kicks in making it even worse!

Winter is a dick. So here are a few life savers that I have to have nearby. 

Face

Have I told you how much I love La Roche Posay Hydraphase Intense Masque? Yes. Several times! It's true though. I love it! If my skin needs some intense rescuing then hydraphase is my go to. I'll use an spf like this Ultrasun Face Cream too (because even in winter your skin needs light protection) but if I was stranded on a desert island I'd want a vat of the hydraphase. 

Hands

I can be quite obsessive about hand cream all year round but I become religious about it during winter. I'm currently switching between the Tony Moly Banana Hand Milk I picked up in Sephora (gosh I miss Paris) and the Neals Yard Bee Lovely handcream with Orange essential oils. It's all very fruity. 

Aside from the face our hands are the second most exposed area of the body at this time of year to it's even more important than normal to keep them moisturised.

Cuticles

Yes this is a separate category! Not to get too sciencey on you but most hand creams don't tend to contain molecules fine enough to penetrate the cuticles. When I was working as a nail technician I would use oils on clients to make sure they were kept healthy but carrying oil around in your handbag is a recipe for disaster. So I use this Burts Bee's Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. More fruit! I do love a bit of citrus, it just smells so clean. 

Lips

Chapped lips are icky plus I have a bad habit of picking broken skin; this is not a good combo. I'm a fan of the LUSH Bubblegum lip scrub exclusively because it's edible and I get a little sugar fix when I use it. Don't judge me. 

Once I've had my sugar fix I go for a balm. I'm quite fussy as I don't like my lips to be too sticky. I also don't go near petroleum products as I find that they don't fix the dryness rather they just cover it up. I want long term solutions and for this I love buttery lip products so I have my old faithful Palmers Cocoa Butter (my all time favourite because once again it has SPF!) and the Buttered Brazil's balm from LUSH. 

So there you have it! My winter handbag must haves. With these in your handbag you might be feeling the cold but you absolutely won't look like it!