8 Tips on How to Survive Winter!

Oh My! It has been BITTERly cold this past week in New York. It got me wanting to write a post on how to beat the winter blues. Here are 8 of my must dos for the winter! Also, please check the bottom of the post for any coupon codes for these products!





1. Drink Water. Because of the colder, drier weather, we're not getting as much moisture in our skin as warmer weather, so its time to stock up! I remind myself by carrying around a cute water bottle with me. I love using my BKR bottle because its just so adorable and makes the perfect accessory!







2. Wear Sunscreen. Because its easy to remember when its uber hot outside, we tend to forget to put sunscreen in the cooler months. It's just as important to maintain our skin's health and safety during winter! My favorite all year round is the Coola Matte Tint Sunscreen. It has such a lovely scent (no 'sunscreen smell') and doesn't leave that icky feeling of greasiness on my face.



3. Take shorter, luke warm showers. This is a great tip that I read! Because the hot hot water (although it feels so good!!) tends to dry out skin, its better to use water that isn't quite that steamy.

4. Lotion up right after your shower. There is this window of opportunity where your skin drinks up moisture the best. Right after you shower, your pores are nice and open and it allows your skin to really lock in all that moisture. I actually keep my lotion in my bathroom and lotion up while the bathroom is still steamy before I leave the room. My two personal favorites to use are the Bliss Body Butters (often on sale at TJ Maxx, Marshalls or Nordstrom Rack!), Cetaphil and the Antipodes Joyful Hand and Body Cream.

5. Consider switching to oils. Every winter, I switch to my facial oil and oil cleansers. This post explains it better than I could ever explain it! But even for you oily folks, this would be a great switch for you too! My personal favorites are AmorePacific Oil Cleanser, Antipodes Grace Gentle Cream Cleanser (with avocado Oil), and Indie Lee Squalene Oil (from Olives, not sharks!)

6. Put lotion on before you put on gloves. My hands always bleed from being too dry and from my frequent washing, so my friend taught me to put on lotion before I go outside with my gloves. It helps to retain and lock in all that moisture! So nice! My favorite hand cream was gifted to me by my friend MisoJenny! I'm forever thankful for her introducing me to the Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream.






7. Exfoliate. Especially in the winter, because you have extra dry skin... which means wayyy extra dry skin cells, you have to exfoliate that away in order for your moisturizers to be effective in hydrating your skin. I personally love to use a sponge or wash cloth to help exfoliate my skin. My favorite is the Spongelle sponges!







8. Use a humidifier. My husband and I have heat that is either on or off. There's no inbetween and no changing it! Because of that it gets so hot and dry in our place! We love having this little humidifier where you just use a water bottle because its so convenient to fill and its great for travel! If you don't have access to a humidifier (if you're on vacation), consider placing a wet towel by your bed where you sleep!


I hope you enjoyed some of my tips on how to survive your winter! Wherever you are! For more tips on winter survival and some other amazing products you can use -- expert beauty author, Lara Ramos shares her own tips and products here.

For any products that are from hipapotheca.com, you can use the code JL2012 for 10% off your purchase!
For any products that are from imomoko.com, you can use the code YTJESS for 10% off your purchase!
(I do not gain anything from these coupon codes - they are made just for my readers :)