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Winter Skin Saviours

My skin hates winter. More specifically, the onset of winter. I have very dry, eczema-prone skin and when the weather changes, my skin reacts very negatively. I’m talking super sensitive, patchy, dull, scaly. It ain’t pretty.

Here are are couple of my winter skin saviours that are helping my skin beat the winter blues.

Winter Skin Saviours

Palmers Body oil, Nivea Body Oil, Human+Kind all-in-one oil for hair and skin

First up are three of my current favourite body oils. As you can see from the empty bottle on the pic, the Human+Kind All-in-One Body Oil is a winner. It is a very thick and nourishing oil and works wonders on those super dry areas. It retails for R150 and you will find it in selected Clicks, Wellness Warehouse, Woolworths and Stuttafords stores.

The Nivea Firming Body Oil is another great body oil that I discovered a couple of moths ago. This is my second bottle and I think that says a lot. This oil is perfect for those who aren’t really fond of the feel of body oils on the skin… it absorbs very quickly and it has a lighter feel than most other body oils I’ve tried. This is a great one to use in summer as well and it retails for R100.

A recent find that I am very happy with is a budget beauty from Palmer’s. I think I may be one of very few that doesn’t like the scent of Palmer’s products. Something about it puts me off and the scent seems to linger forever. BUT the Palmer’s Moisturising Body Oil isn’t heavily scented at all and it disappears quite quickly. The oil is beautifully moisturising and leaves my skin glowing and smooth. Best part of all… it goes for only R46. And that’s for a whopping 250ml. I think this may very well be my bargain buy of the year.

Oh So Heavenly butter me up body butter beautiful earth body butter

Oh So Heavenly’s Butter Me Up Moisture Miracle Body Butter is a body product that finds its way into my basket once a month when I shop at Clicks. This truly is an amazing body butter and it deserves an award. I dedicated a whole blog post just to this budget beauty last year. It retails for R37 and Oh So Heavenly can be found at Clicks.

I was introduced to Beautiful Earth earlier this year and I love their products. If natural beauty is your thing, I highly recommend you have a look at all the lovely products that have to offer. Beautiful Earth’s Body Butter is hands down my favourite  from all their products that I have tried. The scent, the texture, the way it makes your skin feel; it’s just perfect. It retails for R99 and you can order from their website.

Nivea Creme vintage tin, Human+Kind Family Remedy Cream and Human+Kind Hand, Elbow, Heal Cream

These 3 have been working over time of late. I don’t I have to say much about Nivea Creme. What you do need to know is that the gorgeous vintage tin is back and it retails for R33 for 150ml.

Human+Kind’s Hand, Elbow and Foot Cream is a handbag essential and retails for R90. How pretty is that tube?! Human+Kind’s Family Remedy Cream is great for super dry, sensitive and eczema-prone skin and is suitable for the whole family. This is a great one to stock up on. 40ml retails for R140 and 100ml for R200.

beautiful Earth bath milk and bath and massage oil

Two other pamper products from Beautiful Earth are their Bath & Massage Oil and  Bath Milk. Both products smell amazing and leave my skin feeling nourished and cared for. And because it’s all natural, I’ve been using both in Cara’s bath as well and my little girl’s skin loves them too. For 100ml these retail for R65.50 and R67.50 respectively.

What are your favourite Winter Skin Saviours? I’d love to know.

Keep warm!

xoxo

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Have you tried Dry Body Brushing?

I looked at my elbows this morning. They are not ready to see the light. Then I looked at my bum and thighs. Oh my, I got a fright… see what I did there? ;) My point is this: Dry Body Brushing is the best way to get your skin silky soft and smooth and get your circulation going (and that will in turn help with the dreaded orange peel). That is what I think at least. Problem is that my brush has been collecting dust. I hate brushing in winter because it’s just too cold. The weather was lovely yesterday and I did a proper full body brush. It felt so good.

So I thought I’d share an article I wrote for Beauty Bulletin ages ago about dry body brushing. It first appeared HERE. Hope you find it useful. Summer is on its way!

Dry Body Brushing

Dry Body Brushing

It’s summer girls! Are you ready to show off soft, healthy and glowing skin after this beauty treatment? The best way to achieve this is through regular exfoliation. You have to get rid of the dull top layer of dead skin to expose newer, fresher-looking skin. The best way that I’ve found to get my skin silky soft, is through dry body brushing.

Dry body brushing not only leaves your skin amazingly smooth and healthy, but it also has other great benefits: it stimulates circulation, assists in lymph drainage and detoxification, stimulates the production of sebum to nourish dry skin, it aids to combat cellulite and many more.

It’s best to use a brush with natural bristles that are quite firm. If your skin is very sensitive, you may want to start with a softer brush. I recommend a brush with a detachable handle, this way you can use it with and without the handle and easily reach every part of your body.

I prefer to body brush in the morning just before I jump in the shower. It really is invigorating and certainly wakes you up! It’s recommended to do it every day, but my skin is way too sensitive for that. I do it 3 times a week.

Important points to remember:

• Only perform on dry skin
• Always brush towards your heart
• Use gentle but firm strokes (if it hurts, ease up on the pressure)
• Cover each area with up to 7 strokes
• Avoid sensitive areas like the skin around the breast
• Never brush sun burnt skin
• Do not dry body brush during pregnancy without consulting your doctor first!
• Make sure to take good care of brush so that it can take good care of your skin.

This is how you do it:

Start at the soles of your feet moving your way up. Make sure to cover both parts of your feet. Continue the upward brush strokes up the leg, moving from your ankle right up to your hips. Make sure to give your bum a good brush too. Now brush your tummy and back. Remember to be very gentle when brushing the décolletage. Finish off with brushing your arms – from your fingertips to your shoulders. Make sure to cover your whole body.

Your skin will be a little red afterwards as blood circulation has been increased, but the skin will return to normal in a couple of minutes. After I brush and shower, I like to apply a nice thick layer of my favourite body cream and then I’m good to go.

To be very honest, my brush collected dust over the winter period as I was just too cold (and lazy) to keep up with my routine. I started up again about two weeks ago and the difference was noticeable in just a couple of days. No body scrub, glove or loofah has ever made my skin look and feel as great as regular dry body brushing does.

Try it. I can guarantee that you will love the results!

xoxo