Brighten your [skin this] winter

We forget every year just how very dark and cold the middle of our year can be in New Zealand. So dark. So cold. Every year we appear caught off guard by the change of seasons and spend a week making idle chat about the weather.

Yes, there are upsides to the chillier months. Cozy scarves and winter coats! Ski season! Socially acceptable hibernation! But if you are struggling to look on the bright side of the darkest days we've pulled together some of our top beauty tips to banish that winter malaise. 

Do your evening cleanse earlier
This one is for my fellow exhausted-at-nighters. Try doing your evening skincare when you first get home. Throw your bag and coat down, take your shoes off, change into your at home cozies, then wash your face and apply your nighttime serums and moisturisers. Not only does this allow you to relax into the cleansing and application and make it more enjoyable time-with-self and less chore-one-must-do when you’re tired and ready for bed, it also gives your evening skincare (the heavy hitter reparative products) more time on skin to do their good work.

Incidental self care
Does the idea of giving your skin or hair a deep at-home treatment feel like it’s going to take more out of you than it gives back? I feel you. I am you. Self care becomes another thing which the world screams you should be doing, which quickly becomes another thing you’re failing at.
Let me introduce the concept of incidental selfcare. The plan here is to incorporate a sneaky treatment while you’re busy doing other life admin, because in an ideal world we’d have all of Sunday afternoon to indulge in a bubble bath and face mask but I think we can agree the world is anything but ideal at the moment.
So. Walking home after work? Massage a hair mask into your scalp and tresses before tying it up loosely and hot footing it home. Skin needing a deep exfoliation? Find an exfoliating mask which you can leave on for up to an hour (do not break your skin with something super strong). Cleanse your skin when you get home, then apply your mask. Go forth and prep dinner and wash the mask off while the pasta is coming to the boil. For added skin-brownie points apply an overnight hydration mask after it. Your evening skincare is done as you can sleep with the hydrating mask on (find one that sinks in nicely and won’t end up on pillowcases). Wake up with juicy, nourished, thankful skin.

Use your face oil for the ultimate glow
If your skin has a case of the winter drys and is stubbornly soaking up every hint of moisturisation or hydration you put on it, including whatever juice is in your foundation, then this tip is for you. Get thee a face oil, it doesn’t need to be fancy in fact it could be as simple as a jojoba oil, pop a couple of drops into the palm of your hands, rub them together to evenly distribute the oil and press them into your cheeks. On top of your makeup. Pressing is the key so that you’re not moving or dislodging your makeup underneath. And bingo presto you’ll have a jealousy worthy glow. Reapply during the day as needed.

Add a pop of colour to eyes or lips
Wearing colour could be heading into uncharted territory for you. Bright colour! As eyeliner?! Or lipstick?! Hear me out. A change of lipstick can bring with it a change of mood. Brighter colour = brighter mood. A cheeky slash of lavender eye liner can definitely put a pep in your step when you’ve had to drag yourself out of bed in this cold dark winter of our discontent. It becomes a fun accessory, a way to play with your look without a massive cost or investment of time. Try it, it’s only makeup. The worst that can happen is you need to remove it and go back to your pinky beige of safety. What might happen is your eye colour zings and you feel just a little better than you did earlier.

Blush for the win!
If, like us, you grew up in a society that equated a tan with healthy skin (shout out to Coppertone SPF8), you might be feeling ‘lesser than’ as your winter complexion reaches its peak pale. Using a brighter hit of blush a la gal-out-on-a-gusty-day can perk that face (and spirit right up). Or if you’re not so much into that try a bronzing serum mixed into your moisturiser for a naturally faked glow up.

The scent of warm
A whiff of the tropics can be a salve for winter blues. Think frangipani, jasmine, a bright citrus, or even the harlot of perfumery, tuberose if that’s your bag.
At the other end of the scent spectrum, a hit of vanilla or benzoin, or beautiful resinous amber can warm the cockles and help you feel wrapped up in the cosiest of cashmere.