My skin’s undergone a bit of a change this year compared to last year. It’s always been on the oily side and a bit dehydration-prone, but the dehydration’s gotten worse this year – I’ve stopped taking the oral contraceptive pill for the time being, which means my skin is a bit oilier than usual. At the same time, I’ve also upped my usage of retinol and tretinoin, and AHA and BHA exfoliants and peels, so my skin has dried out from that. All in all, it’s a pretty good recipe for getting combination dehydrated skin, where my nose ends up pretty oily during the day but my cheeks get dry – I’ve even had dry peeling which I’ve never had before, thanks to retinol! It’s taken me a while to get used to these new developments, so I’m going to be blogging about some of the ways I’ve been keeping my skin happy.
The first thing I’ve changed is adding an overnight mask. This is an extra product layered on top of all my other goo. As well as sealing in the goo, it seals in water so it doesn’t evaporate as much overnight. I’ve been looking specifically for oil-based masks for winter, as I’ve found that the water- and humectant-based masks (most of the Asian sleeping masks, like Laneige Water Bank Sleeping Pack) aren’t quite enough to save me from dehydrated skin at the moment.
My favourite at the moment is Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant Nighttime Miracle Moisturizer. This is a thick, sticky balm with the texture of honey that gets a little runnier once you heat it up in your hands.
The stickiness makes it a little fiddly to apply, but it stays on much better than the more slippery masks. I’m not a huge fan of the scent although I’m usually a lavender fan – this is a slightly berryish lavender that smells like my hands after pole. Despite the scent, I love how smooth and plump this leaves my skin in the morning! It does contain a little salicylic acid, which might explain the extra smoothness. For a more budget-friendly version, Vaseline works pretty damn well too, though it doesn’t quite have the same skin-smoothing kick for me.
Dr Jart+ Ceramidin Oil Balm is a thinner product that feels waxy, but melts quickly into a runny oil once it hits your skin.
Since it’s thinner, it’s a bit more usable on your skin during the day, and it actually sinks in reasonably well. It’s actually meant for skin that’s rough or needs a little TLC, but it works really well as an overnight mask as well, though it disappears faster overnight. Trilogy Everything Balm also works fantastically well in the same vein.
What do you add to your skincare routine to get you through the winter? Share your tips with me!
Ingredients
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant Nighttime Miracle Moisturiser: Active ingredients: Dimethicone (2.0%). Inactive ingredients: Petrolatum, Microcrystalline Wax, Lanolin, Isononyl Isononanoate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Isopropyl Myristate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Polybutene, Triisostearin, Oleyl Erucate, Polypropylene, Mineral Oil, Synthetic Wax, Cyclopentasiloxane, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Glyceryl Behenate / Eicosadioate, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Dimethiconol, Glyceryl Citrate / Lactate / Linoleate / Oleate, Parfum, Salicylic Acid, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Vegetable Oil, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985).
Vaseline: Petrolatum.
Dr Jart+ Ceramidin Oil Balm: Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Methyl Trimethicone, Polyethylene, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Hydrogenated Castor Oil Dimer Dilinoleate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Glyceryl Caprylate, Ceramide NP, Mauritia Flexuosa Fruit Oil, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil, Pogostemon Cablin Oil, Bertholletia Excelsa Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Silybum Marianum Seed Oil, Tocopherol.
Trilogy Everything Balm: Octyl Palmitate, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Sclerocarya Birrea (Marula Nut) Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Mel (Honey), Parfum, Citral, D-Limonene, Citronellol, Coumarine, Geraniol, Linalool.
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I love vaseline so much I would marry it. Lanolin is good stuff too.
I haven’t tried straight lanolin cream yet, but the EA cream works amazing and it’s mostly Vaseline and lanolin!
When I stopped the contraceptive pill last year my skin FREAKED OUT. It still hasnt really gotten over it – I thought I ‘outgrew’ it!! Whoops….
Me too! It’s definitely better than it used to be but damn, the pill did a lot of the hard work for me!
I picked up the Body Shop Bouncy Sleeping Mask hoping it would do good things unfortunately not. I need an overnight mask in my life. My skin has been feeling quite dry and parched recently.
From the ingredients list, it looks a lot like the Asian hydrating humectant masks – they’re great for most of the year but for dry Aussie winters they don’t really cut it for dehydration-prone skin! Grab an occlusive one 🙂