On cold nights this winter, you're probably too busy snuggling in your warm bed to worry about the heating bill. But as you sleep, another insidious cost is creeping through the blankets and into your skin.
The cost of constant heating to your skin is moisture. And as any woman knows, dryness makes wearing makeup in the winter difficult if not impossible.
[Staff photo by Peter Monsees.]
New winter cosmetic products are always evolving to solve this perennial problem. What's more, skin-care products and beauty products are merging, spawning multitasking products like moisturizing foundation or tinted moisturizer. With all the options out there, there's no excuse to walk around with a dry and flaky complexion -- but we do.
"Many times, women don't change their skin routines" between seasons, said Debbi Hartley-Triesch, national director of beauty and fragrance for Nordstrom. "And your skin absolutely changes. ... Just like fashion, beauty does need to change with winter."
The change may be as simple as going to your favorite cosmetics counter, asking if they carry different moisturizers, then substituting a more nourishing cream moisturizer for your airy summer lotion to help your skin stay strong, she said.
"Working with creamy textures works well with drier skin," said Hartley-Triesch. "It gives you that pretty, dewy look you're trying to achieve."
Another option might be adding an extra moisturizing step to your daily regimen. You can do this with the Elemis Cellular Recovery Skin Bliss Capsules or other such moisturizing products, said Hartley-Triesch. CoverGirl celebrity makeup artist Molly R. Stern favors Elizabeth Arden's Cermide Gold Ultra Restorative Capsules.
For more severe winter-skin conditions, such as redness, blotchiness and irritation, it might be useful to try products that treat while covering up. The new Clinique Redness Solutions series aims to do that, hiding redness and irritations with green tinted creams and lotions. "With this line you get a system of products that work together to not only provide skin the daily care that it needs but also comfort the sensitivities that come along with highly reactive skin," said Dr. Tom Mammone, director of Clinique research and development.
If the weather is in flux, as it has been in recent weeks, it is particularly important to pay attention to your skin's needs. Even when the weather warms up dramatically for a few days, "you're still walking into heated rooms," said Hartley-Triesch. "Knowing your skin and what it needs is the best advice I can give. ... In my own case, I have more than one moisturizer in my bathroom anyway."
When applying moisturizer to your face, make sure not to forget your neck and dry parts of your back, said stylist Maxine Siegel. Siegel trains cosmetics representatives for Ahava, a mineral skin-care line.
No matter where you apply it, "always, always go up with application," she added. "But you don't need to tug. Your skin is sensitive, and it has elasticity. You want to maintain that elasticity, so don't pull on it, especially around the eyes.
"You're going up against the pull of gravity," she added. "Because gravity does not need any help."
Neither do your lips need any help getting chapped, cracked and flaky in the winter. Instead of trying to cover that up, Siegel suggests a gentle method for creating a cleaner cosmetics "palette."
"Pick up a really, really soft baby toothbrush, and use that gently to exfoliate your lips," she said. "Just brush the dead skin off, and you will have a beautiful palette to put your beautiful lip colors on."
Lip balm also helps, but if you apply only lipstick or lip gloss during the day, Hartley-Triesch has a good overnight fix.
"I would say to every woman that before you go to sleep, apply some lip balm," she said. "Just doing that every single night will help you prevent chapped lips."
Keeping your lips moisturized will be key in coming months, since bright lip colors are one of this winter's beauty trends.
"This is the time to go for it, and be a little bit more dramatic," said Hartley-Triesch.
You also can go for bold, metallic eye shadows, dark cream eyeliners and some of those lash-lengthening mascaras new to the market.
"We're seeing a lot of neat innovation in mascaras," said Siegel. "There are some great mascaras coming out with new technology in the applicator that are lengthening and thickening and making your lashes look really bold."
But keep in mind, she added, that you should only make a statement in one part of your face.
"If you're going to go for a bold eye or a bold lip, keep your other features simple," said makeup artist Stern.
E-mail: shih@northjersey.com
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