Great All-Around Moisturizers for Winter

The seasons are changing, and so is our skin. With the holidays coming up, winter with its cold winds is just around the corner waiting to leave our skin parched. It is time to find a good all-around moisturizer that is great at keeping your face hydrated and strengthing its barrier to protect you from the elements.

With cold weather, it is important to moisturize your face. (Photo: Stockbyte)

 
I have around a dozen jars and tubes of moisturizer lined up next to the bathroom sink and another dozen or so stacked up on the mantelpiece, but the ones below are the face creams that I have found myself using again and again. They are all highly effective at moisturizing (which is what you want from a moisturizer, obviously), but apart from that they are really quite straightforward, with no particular ingredient being championed or skin concern targeted. In other words, they are not retinol creams or vitamin C creams or moisturizers that also exfoliate or lotions that also tackle spots. They just do a great job, primarily, of hydrating.

I have thrown in a far-from-basic cream at the end from Kate Somerville, and you could argue that the Frankincense one is rather jazzy, but otherwise, here is a handful of moisturizers that you can use anywhere and at any time. Need something to buffer your retinol serum? Want a face cream that you can use day or night? Searching for something good and solid to keep your skin moist and dewy beneath your foundation/CC cream?

La Roche-Posay’s Toleriane Fluide

La Roche-Posay’s Toleriane Fluide is one of the absolute best choices for skin that is oily or spot-prone, but also dehydrated. It is immensely soothing and skin-quenching yet oil-free and lightweight. It is great as a summer moisturizer for normal/dry skin too.

Dr Roebuck’s No Worries Moisturizer

A newish discovery, I have been using Dr Roebuck’s No Worries Moisturizer, a rich and wonderful face cream, for a couple of months, and it is an absolute gem. The packaging – air-pump bottle – is, I think, my ultimate type. I don’t have to fiddle with lids and jars and tiny screw-topped things; just one singular movement to get the cream onto my face. It really makes a difference in terms of how frequently I reach for it. (Daily.)

Dr. Sam’s Flawless Moisturiser

Same brilliant packaging as above, but Dr. Sam’s Flawless Moisturiser is a gel-cream moisturizer with a more matte finish, making it perfect as a makeup base if you don’t go in for the dewier look.

With winter coming, it is time to start using a good all-around moisturizer. (Photo: Ruth Crilly)

Willowberry Nutrient Boost Day Cream

This is my second or third jar of Willowberry Nutrient Boost Day Cream. This moisturizer feels nourishing and gentle, but doesn’t leave any greasiness. Willowberry is a small, independent brand, and you can tell that a lot of thought has gone into texture and ingredient choice.

Neal’s Yard Remedies Frankincense Intense Lift Cream

Neal’s Yard do frankincense like nobody else. I actually have an emotional reaction to the scent of their frankincense products. Neal’s Yard Remedies Frankincense Intense Lift Cream lifts and recontours your skin along with hydrating it with a trio of organic butters and oils to help strengthen, soften and restore your skin.

Kate Somerville Retinol Vitamin C Moisturizer

And then we have the wildcard face cream, which was thrown in to demonstrate the other end of the moisturizer “scale” more than anything. As active as moisturizers get, Kate Somerville Retinol Vicatmin C Moisturizer has retinol and vitamin C in a powerful, concentrated formula. I love the serum in this range, the cream is just excellent – especially for people who can’t be bothered with loads of different layers. Cleanse, this, sleep. Can’t get much simpler than that.

Article written by Ruth Crilly