My Winter Skin Care Routine

Winter is kinda my least favorite time/season, partially because it generally means cold weather + less sunlight, but also because my skin enters desert-status mode. Not fun. I like to try to have a solution for everything though, so I made some major changes from my fall routine to remedy to make up my current winter skin care routine!

It’s been taking me forever to write out all the skin care posts I have pending, mainly because I try to use em’ at least for several weeks (if not months) before sharing em’ so I can be sure I’m giving them ample time to do whatever they’re supposed to (or not do x_x). It’s like an experiment (with uh, my face, as the test subject), but what better way to find out what products/ingredients work/don’t work with you?!

For the record, I did receive 3 products in this post for free. The rest were obtained due to #treatyoself moments and/or deals that I found. As always, all opinions are mine and mine alone!

If you want to learn more about how to target your skin care concerns, check here!

My Winter Skin Care Routine

Step 1: Cleanser

I rarely wear makeup unless I have a dance performance or some kind of special event going on, but I do try to wear some form of sun protection by way of sunscreen or BB cream daily. (That’s the #1 thing you can do to improve your skin + prevent skin damage!)

If I do use makeup/BB cream, I use an oil cleanser first (Banila Co Clean It Zero). This has a slight fragrance to it and does contain mineral oil, so if you’re sensitive to either, you may want to try Clean It Purity instead. Neither of those bother me so I’m sticking with this because it works so well (and because a little goes such a long way). It has a pleasant scent to it + comes with a little spatula–you only need a small amount, and I really like the texture–it melts the makeup/BB cream/sunscreen off and there’s no leftover residue seen on my cotton rounds after I use this! (4.5/5, $17 on BeautySesh)

I’ve been alternating between the Clarisonic Refreshing Gel Cleanser and the Alba Botanica Hawaiian Detox Cleanser! The latter was a $6 TJ Maxx find! Alba Botanica is one of my favorite “western” brands–I love that it doesn’t use any parabens/phthalates/synthetic fragrances, uses vegetarian products, and is 100% cruelty-free. They also use biodegradable formulas + recyclable materials, and none of their products contain microbeads (which are horrible for the environment! :[ ). This cleanser is gentle enough for everyday use and also doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry, which is currently my biggest issue. (4.5/5, $9 on Amazon)

Step 2: Toner

I’m still using the Good Things Deep Pore Cleanser + Toner Anti-Blemish in Fig + Wild Strawberry at the moment (same as from my fall routine)!

Step 3: Essence

I’ve been using MISSHA Time Revolution The First Treatment Essence prior to throwing on any moisturizers and I feel like it’s done wonders in terms of helping my skin to absorb more product and seems to keep my skin feeling hydrated for much longer (vs. when I skip this step). It’s also brightened + evened out my skin tone, which is always a welcomed advantage! If you’re looking for a product that’ll give you instant results, this wouldn’t be a good pick–I think of this as more of a “preventive medicine” for your face–you don’t see instantaneous results, but I feel like there are long-term benefits for my skin health with it!

The downsides are its priciness (it’s actually a dupe of an even more expensive product–the SK-II FTE, which is something like $177 [dafuq?!])) and lack of ease of application. If you pour it straight from the bottle, it’s hard to get the right amount and I feel like I’m wasting the product because it has a very watery consistency and more of it gets between my fingers + absorbs immediately there instead of on my face (sigh). To remedy this, I transferred it into a spray bottle. :D… Overall, I do love the product–the rating is lower only because of the price + difficulty with application. I’d bump it to a 4 if it came in a spray bottle though! (3.8/5, $40 on BeautySesh)

Step 4: Eye Cream

Guess who’s finally finished her last eye cream!? I’ve since moved on to…Belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb! This stuff is unbelievably moisturizing and although entirely unrelated to the efficacy of the product, I love that shade of blue on the container. It has a lightweight formula that applies smoothly, absorbs easily, and isn’t irritating to my eyes. My main concern at the moment is hydration/moisturizing properties and less with fine lines (the rock climbing staff refused to believe that I graduated college almost a decade ago), so this definitely does the trick for me!

This eye cream is also free of synthetic fragrances/dyes, and the brand is cruelty-free! I’m dinging one point for the price point though because that’s about 2x the amount I’d want to pay for any kind of product. :'( I got this for free because of Influenster though, so that’s how this is even in my life in the first place! (4/5, $48 on Sephora)

Step 5: Facial Moisturizer

Innisfree is a Korean skincare/beauty company that’s been on my radar for a while. (They have a flagship store in NYC that I visited earlier this month!) I love that Innisfree is committed to sustainability–they actively participate in conservation efforts + recycling programs and use responsibly-sourced ingredients! The ginger in this cream can help to reduce the appearance of hypopigmented scars. Most of my scars are hyperpigmented, so I actually mostly wanted to try this because I love ginger. >_> #dontjudgeme

This has a super light citrusy fragrance with a hint of ginger (I adore citrus scents and ginger, so it was a win for me on both counts.) It has a thick consistency and applies smoothly–after the first 10-15 minutes of application, it left my face looking kinda shiny but it absorbs completely and doesn’t leave an oily residue. I may switch this to day use and stick with my snail cream for nighttime. (3.5/5 [pricey + not as moisturizing as I would’ve liked], $34 on BeautySesh)

(Step 6: Sleeping Pack [1-2x/week])

Ifff you can’t tell already, I am in love with COSRX products. If I were forever doomed to only shop from one brand for skin care products, I would be somewhat sad since I like experimenting, but hands down, it’d be through COSRX. They are also a cruelty-free brand and I’ve already sung my praises and freaked you guys out with my love for their snail skin care products a couple months back…so I’m back with something that’ll hopefully not send you running this time…in the form of this Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask!

This works as a night cream or an overnight mask, but I’d definitely go for night cream (why would you want to wash this off?! <3). It goes on suuuuper smoothly + leaves your skin crazy soft (think baby butt-level of softness). It has a cooling sensation when applied and is super moisturizing without leaving an oily sensation on your skin, even if you apply multiple layers. I pretty much reach for this whenever my skin is being difficult and dry, which is more often than not this winter. ._. I miss you, summer! (5/5, $16 on BeautySesh)

Step 7: Spot Treatment

I’m still using a topical tretinoin cream for hyperpigmented spots/acne scars!

Step 8:  Lip Balm

I am on tube #43820491. :D…

• How much does your skin hate you in the wintertime? :'( Do you have a winter skin care routine?
• If you want 10% off your purchase at BeautySesh (store review here), here’s my referral link!