winter skin care

LUSH introduces their first ever colour lip balms including the chocolaty Double Choc - $7.95 - has a neutral yet rich colour with hazel and Brazil nut oils as well as extra virgin coconut oil to intensely moisturize and soften - if you are more of a "red" girl, there is also a red tinted one - It Started With A Kiss - made with red apple and redcurrants with cinnamon leaf oil to plump up your pout with softening shea butter, extra virgin coconut oil and rosehip oil to help heal cracked lips.  Both can also be used on the cheeks!

Navitas Naturals Organic Cacao Lip Balm - $3.99 - a buttery and antioxidant-rich lip moisturizer that is made from the pure, cold-pressed oil of the cacao bean.  The ingredients are all organic and include: sunflower oil, beeswax, raw cacao butter, jojoba oil, rosemary extract, calendula and vitamin E.  It smells exactly like dark chocolate and even tastes slightly like it too!  A delicious way to moisturize - you can find it at Whole Foods, www.amazon.com and www.navitasnaturals.com

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E - Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Lip Butter - $3.29 for ultra-moisturization and a hint of gloss.  The addition of peppermint oil freshens breath naturally. I like the way it has a slight tingle which feels great on chapped lips and my friend Micki says it makes her want to eat her lips - to my knowledge she hasn't yet, but say tuned! Available from London Drugs and WalMart.

Best Bath Store Chocolate Lip Balm - $2.95 - an American friend of mine sent me one of these at Christmas last year and I'm hooked!  It contains cocoa butter, beeswax, almond oil, organic cocoa powder, vanilla essential oil, vegetable glycerin, organic honey, Vitamin E and grapefruit seed extract - which all combines to make it feel and smell yummy!  Score your own at:
http://www.bestbathstore.com/lip-care/chocolate-lip-balm/

I've always hated and cursed my dry skin but I never realized that it was such a widespread issue - Vaseline recently conducted a Good Skin Day Survey and I was amazed to see that 76% of the women surveyed have the same problem as I do and say that their dry skin can make them feel physically uncomfortable at least some of the time - including itchiness, tightness and cracking.  Women also say that the physical effects of dry skin can interfere with a range of every day activities including sleeping, getting dressed and working.  It's nice not to be alone in this problem but it's even better to find something to solve it!

Vaseline Intensive Rescue Extra Strength - 325ml - $4.99, 600ml - $7.99, 725ml - $8.99 - is available in fragranced (chamomile scent) and unfragranced. - Accelerates the healing of dry skin by tripling the skin's moisture reserves instantly while still feeling comfortable on your skin - not greasy or sticky.  Dermatologist recommended, restores and protects the skin and delivers 24 hours of hypoallergenic soothing moisture.  For super dry skin they also offer Vaseline Clinical Therapy Lotion - 200ml - $8.49 - which is clinically proven to moisturize for accelerated healing of persistently dry skin without feeling sticky or greasy and is comfortable on skin.  Proven to instantly increase hydration by five times and to lock in moisture for 24 hours.  Instantly softens and relieves extremely dry skin and to restore - through hydration - extremely dry skin in 5 days.

And of course having dry skin means that I try every moisturizer out there so here are some other great choices:

True Blue Spa Lay It On Thick Body Cream - 170g - $17 - fragrance-free with super moisturizing shea butter, macadamia nut oil to nourish and hydrate the skin and Vitamin E to help protect and condition. If you like your moisturizer to be super thick, this is one to try - I enjoy using this one right before bed to give it all night to soak in! Available at Bath & Body Works.
Calgon Nourishing Body Cream - 236ml - $6.99 - with Vitamins E and A as well as aloe to deliver longer-lasting moisturization that will leave your skin feeling soft and silky. Comes in Morning Glory, Hawaiian Ginger, Tahitian Orchid, Cotton Candy, Vanilla Swirl, Marshmallow and Moon Petal Musk. My favourite scent is the Hawaiian Ginger, you just close your eyes and imagine yourself away from winter and on a tropical island!
Thann Body Butter - 100g - $23 - 350g - $47 - with cocoa butter, jojoba oil, licorice and shiso extracts to nourish and protect dry and sensitive skin. The tick yet smooth cream absorbs quickly into the skin for long-lasting and effective moisturizing.  It's 100% paraben-free with no artificial colours or fragrances.  Available online at www.thann.ca, in select stores and spas across Canada and at Thann concept stores in Ottawa.

St. Ives 24 Hour Moisture Advanced Body Moisturizer - 600ml - $6.99 - an innovative formula clinically proven to nourish skin even after 24 hours - replenishes and retains skin for soft-looking, smooth skin all day with 100% natural moisturizers including shea butter. Features a patented moisturizing complex that acts as a barrier to prevent moisture loss without forming a heavy film on the skin.
Dial NutriSkin Replenishing Lotion - 88ml - $2.99 - 354ml - $6.99 - focus on adding essential moisture, vitamins and nutrients for your skin - in four varieties each containg a specific BioNutrient blend: Dry Skin - with aloe and vitamins C, E and F, amino acids, and omega 3; Extra Dry Skin - with shea butter, omega 3 and 6, vitamins A,C,E and F and amino acids; Soothing - with chamomile, beta-glucan, vitamins A,C and E, amino acids and zinc; and Men's - with magnesium, niacinamide, amino acids and vitamins A,C and E.

Kiss My Face Peaches & Creme Ultra Moisturizer - 118ml - $6, 350ml - $12 - with 4% alpha-hydroxy to help speed up exfoliation that allows for new healthy skin cells to emerge from your dry, flaky mess - and the peachy smell - Amazing!  You can find Kiss My Face products in various drug and health food stores - I find the website easier though - they have a Canadian site that prices and gives shipping costs in Canadian $ - www.kissmyfacewebstore.com

If you want super duper softness, start with a moisturizing body wash - my faves right now:


Dove Visible Care Renewing Creme Body Wash - 300ml - $5.99 - for visible skin improvement in just one week and with continued use, skin is more visibly beautiful within 3 weeks. It's designed to nourish and replenish skin with the highest concentration of Nutrium Moisture which contains skin natural moisturizers, the building blocks to help improve skin's look over time. It has a fruity, floral fragrance that I quite like and lathers like nobody's business!
Soap & Glory Clean, Girls Body Wash - 500ml - $9.99 - with a built-in moisturizing matrix and natural vanilla fruit and orchid extracts, it feels great and smells amazing!  It also suds up nicely which is something I find that moisturizing body washes sometimes lack. Available at Shoppers Drug Mart.
Bath & Body Works Triple Moisture Shower Cream - 236ml - $12.50 - with milk proteins, rice bran oil and acai berry.  Part of the Signature Collection, you will find it in lots of different scents - I love Warm Vanilla Sugar and Twilight Woods!

Are you a dry skin sufferer too?  Would love to hear about any great moisturizers that you've tried!

I was having a particularly bad day yesterday - maybe it was the wind but everything on me felt super dry!  That of course is the perfect time for product testing and I found two that really stood out!


Phyto Paris Phytojoba Intense Hydrating Mask - 200ml - $42 - specifically designed to intensely hydrate and protect dry hair.  Contains jojoba oil for softness and well as its regenerative, emollient and protective properties; angelica seed and root extract for tonifying and purifying; and South African sweet orange essential oil to provide shine and vitality (and also makes it smell amazing)!  There is a natural gum derivative in the formula to help instantly detangle hair without weighing it down.

I put my chilled self into a bath for 20 minutes last night with a small amount of this mask combed through my towel dried hair and just let it soak in.  After I washed it out and my hair had dried you would never know that it had been a mess of winter frizziness not an hour earlier - it looked perfectly smooth and felt so soft!

You can find it at various spas - check out the website http://phyto-canada.ca to find the one closest you or you can buy it at Sephora and sephora.com.
Gehwol Med Salve For Cracked Skin - 75ml - $16.73 - protects the skin and allows it to regain its natural elasticity and resistance - helps protect against the symptoms linked with cracked skin and inflammation.  Medicated soap, lanolin and vaseline soften hard skin quickly and keep it smooth.  Bisabolol and panthenol help to clear up small skin cracks.  The blood flow to the skin is stimulated by oils of eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary and camphor.  Menthol cools and refreshes and the zinc oxide has a mildly disinfectant effect.

Last night I slathered on a thick layer, put a pair of cotton socks on my feet and went to bed that way - you would not believe how soft my feet are this morning, it's like I've never even walked on these babies! The smell is a little medicinal and the texture is pretty greasy so I probably wouldn't use this without the sock trick or I would leave snail trails everywhere I walked! This salve is designed for severe hard skin or very cracked, dry or rough skin - I really only had the dry and rough part and it worked a charm - I would love to know if anyone else has used it for the other issues and how well it worked!

You can find it at various retail locations or online at www.gehwolonline.com

If you are anything like me you are dreading the cold weather that is due to hit us anytime now (depending on where you are, you might already have it) because of the total havoc it causes to our skin!  This is the time to start thinking about upping the moisture ante with your skin care products and if you aren't already familiar with L'Occitane's Shea Butter line, it's time to become acquainted!


Mini Pure Shea Butter - 8ml - $10 - 100% Shea Butter and the perfect size to pop in your purse and pull out when anything feels dry!  Good for lips, face, cuticles, hands or anything else you want to put it on!



Shea Butter Hand Cream - 150ml - $30 - enriched with 20% Shea Butter, it penetrates quickly to protect, nourish and moisturize your hands.  Absorbs rapidly with no greasy aftermath and makes it through multiple hand washings.  It has very little scent so even your guy will be a fan!
Shea Butter Foot Cream - 150ml - $30 - protects, soothes and hydrates your tired feet.  It has a non-greasy formula that quickly absorbs into your skin, leaving it silky smooth while repairing dry, rough skin on your feet and heels.  The scent is a light lavender to relax you.
Shea Butter Ultra Rich Body Cream - 200ml - $48 - with a rich, smooth texture this multi-benefit cream for dry or very dry skin deeply nourishes, protects against harsh environmental elements and helps to restore the skin's hydrolipidic film.  Enriched with a 25% concentration of Shea Butter, it provides long-lasting, 24 hour hydration and leaves skin soft and supple.
Shea Butter Lip Balm Stick - 5g - $12 - to repair and nourish your dry lips

Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap - Verbena - 250g - $14 - has a 100% vegetable base and is rich in softening and protective Shea Butter while the Verbena adds an invigorating lemony fragrance.

You can find all these products and the entire L'Occitane line on their website at www.loccitane.ca
 
Seeing is believing - Try before you buy - whatever cliche you prefer, how about a gift basket full of every single product we just showed you above?!

This contest is open to Canadian residents. All you have to do is join Beauty Crazed as a follower if you aren't one already.  You can either do it through Google or through Networked Blogs on Facebook - you can find both signups on the right hand side of the Beauty Crazed site.  Once you belong to our crazy family just leave a reply to this post letting us know you want in and let us know what part of your body gets the driest during the winter months! If you give the contest link a tweet and/or post it on your blog, there's an extra entry in it for you! If you "like" L'Occitane on Facebook, that's another extra entry! Including an e-mail address would be extra helpful and you can write it like this - info(at)beautycrazed(dot)ca - so the bots can't find you but we can.  If you prefer not to leave your info on a public post, please leave a post saying you want to enter and then e-mail us your info to info@beautycrazed.ca, please put "L'Occitane Contest" in the subject line.  Winner to be decided by random drawing and you have until December 10th to enter.

Softlips Nourish - 3.5g - $6.49 - contains lipidure - a powerful hydrating ingredient which retains water within the epidermis and prevents evaporating minimizing moisture loss.  This unique formula actually rebuilds the barrier on the outer epidermis layer of your lips, repairing dry damaged tissue and strengthening the defense against environmental elements.- in three flavours: cool peppermint, bergamot (my fave) and fresh lavender.
Softlips Nourish Maxilip - 3.8g - $6.49 - a double-layered balm enriched with powerful anti-aging properties, ceramide and coenzyme Q10, to lock in moisture and help reduce the look of fine lines.

You can visit www.softlips.ca for complete product line information as well as their brand new Canadian Facebook Fan page!

Burt's Bees Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter - 4.25g - $4.49 - contains mango butter - packed with beneficial antioxidants, nourishes and moisturizes lips to reveal smooth, healthy lips

Burt's Bees Rejuvenating Lip Balm with Acai Berry - 4.25g - $4.49 - contains acai berry oil - rich in antioxidants, vitamins and essential fatty acids 

Both balms contain sunflower seed oil - naturally high in vitamins A and D, lecithin, and the essential fatty acid Omega 9, coconut oil - light, non-greasy and exceptionally emollient and castor seed oil - rich in fatty acids, it attracts moisture to the skin.

They both contain 100% natural ingredients, natural flavours and sweeteners and are free of petrochemicals, parabens and sodium lauryl sulfate and of course are never tested on animals.
Lise Watier Sensational Kiss Lips So Soft Exfoliating Balm - $20 - sponge tip click pen enriched with shea butter, panthenol and Vitamin E.  Gently exfoliates thanks to the fine sugar crystals that then just melt (and taste delicious)!
Smashbox Lip Treatment SPF 15 - $21 - contains honey, shea butter, jojoba and avocado oils to nourish and chamomile and aloe to soothe.  It has very little smell so if that is something you are sensitive to, this is a great choice.

La Roche-Posay Ceralip - 15ml - $14 - a lip repair cream for severely dry skin that is fragrance and preservative free.  The cream comes in a squeeze tube and is very thick and moisturizing. Dermatologists love this line and it's really great for those with sensitive skin.

Biotherm Aquasource Moisturizing Balm SPF 8 - 15ml - $20 - this balm has a shiny effect if you like a glossy look and contains oil of macadamia to soften and moisturize.  It has a subtle pleasant scent and a light texture.

Clarins Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm - 15ml - $27 - with essential rose wax.  It has a thick texture, gives a light shine and has the best smell!