Essential Winter Beauty Tips

Longing for the days when the sun lingers on your naturally glowing skin? We are too. Here’s how to keep looking fresh throughout the season.

Don’t Wash Your Face
Skip the water and try a cleansing towelette or a cream cleanser that you remove with a tissue. Follow up with a gentle toner. Note how your skin still feels clean but not tight and parched.

Upgrade Your Moisturizer
Use a winter-ready face cream (don’t forget the SPF). Creams are slightly heavier and create more of a protective barrier against the dry air of winter.

Have a Bedtime Beauty Ritual
If you have oily skin or are prone to breakouts, stick to your regular lotion for daytime and apply creams only at night. This gives your skin the extra soothing it needs -- without the risk of a too-shiny, oil-slicked face at work.

Exfoliate, Still
Dry winter air leaves a layer of ash. Add a gentle exfoliating step to your skin-care routine to slough off the dead cells and keep your skin radiant. Select a creamy, rich exfoliant with fine grains that won’t irritate.

Grab a Body Balm
Not just for lips anymore, balms can be generously applied to your hands, feet, cuticles, elbows and even the ends of your hair -- anywhere you need extra softness. Body balms also come in yummy scents -- like coconut and vanilla -- that bring warmer climes to mind.

Behold the Power of Bronzer
No woman should deny herself this magic wand of the beauty world. If you are a newbie, stick to a matte powder and apply the bronzer in a “3” formation on each side of your face. The top of the “3” shape starts at the side of your forehead, the middle of the “3” comes in under the cheekbone and the bottom curve of the “3” hugs your jawline. Blend well with an angled applicator brush and note the suddenly sunny, slimmed-down you. If you’re more of an expert and want to pump up the effect, try a liquid or cream bronzer with a slight sheen in the formula. Apply after blush to the apples of your cheeks and on your brow bone.

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/gilaxia