“I’m (…) years old, my skin tends to be (…), I’ve been really stressed and my hormones feel like they’re out of whack. What would be a good brand for me?”
I love those questions. Because there are so many variables in the mix: the season, your state of mind, your health, how much you exercise, the climate and pollution levels where you live, hormones, diet, exposure to toxins, age, hormones, cleansing routine, smoking, sleep, sun exposure, blue light exposure, whether or not you’re having cancer treatments like chemo, sugar intake, how often you detox (nutritionally or in a sauna for example)…the ramfications are endless.
What do I usually recommend?
99% of the time, an A-List facialist-created brand is one of your best bets if your skin’s calling for a change (think Sarah Chapman/Skinesis, Emma Hardie, Su Man, Jane Scrivner…).
Expert facialists – unlike a lab – are hands on with skin, it’s what they do, they’re constantly working with multi age, multi skin type clients. A really good facialist understand skin’s “inside-out” living, breathing, ageing process.
What every one of the ten brands I’ve chosen for this post have in common is potent ingredients, efficacy and a strong brand identity/USPs.
From pioneering Geneva-based dermatologist Dr Philip Levy to wellbeing-centric Inlight Organic Beauty down in beautiful Cornwall, the 10 Winter Skincare Brands who made this list come in at different price points, as I’ve indicated below.
So, to kick things off:
1. THE SWISS SKIN PIONEER :: DR LEVY SWITZERLAND.
With 10 ultra-potent skin enhancers in Dr Philip Levy’s patented ArganCellActiv® Complex, if you’re cynical about reversing the signs of ageing, have been too stressed lately or you’re coming up to a landmark birthday starting with a “5” I can vouch for the fact that Dr Levy’s products really work. The technology here is about activating dermal stem cells, encouraging them to produce collagen for smoother, firmer, more “elastic” skin.
My pick: The Enriched Booster Creme. A turnaround for skin that needs serious help. This product has saved my skin every time after periods of unavoidable excessive stress or overwork.
Price point: £££+
2. THE “PROBIOTICS MEET BOTANICALS” BRAND :: AURELIA
What’s in British brand Aurelia Skincare’s pink boxes will make your skin sing. If you’re a fan of plant-powered products that feel clean, luxe, and ultra-comforting – and have an aromatherapy essential oil element to them – it’s not an exaggeration to say Aurelia Probiotic Skincare’s range is pretty much a dream discovery.
My pick: The 4-piece Starter Set (Miracle Cleanser, Revitalise & Glow Serum and Day and Night moisturisers plus a muslin cloth) £65
Price point: ££ to ££+
Tip: Aurelia’s baby range Little Aurelia is adorable! Earmark it for a friend who’s just had a baby.
3. AYURVEDA WITH A MODERN TWIST :: SAMAYA AYURVEDA
Three ranges (kapha, pitta, vata) and a major award straight out of the box (winner,” Best New Skincare Launch – BRAND” in the 2017 Beauty Shortlist Awards), these formulations are in a league of their own.
At the core of this range is the whole goal of balance (and rebalancing). Each collection features a trio of: a) hydrating cleanser (b) moisturising cream and (c) treatment oil according to your dosha type. If you’re not sure what yours is, head over to samayaayurveda.com to find out.
My pick: Try the cleanser – they’re liquidy, balmy, ultra-nourising, sweep off waterproof mascara and can be used as a hydration mask as well.
Price point: ££+
4. THE PHYTO-BALM EXPERTS :: INLIGHT ORGANIC BEAUTY
Formulated by Dr Mariano Spiezia who’s dubbed the Nicholas Culpeper of our time, Inlight hails from Cornwall. Trained in homeopathy and phytotherapy, Dr Spiezia fuses herbal formulations to create energetically alive skincare (my words not his) alongside some of the best beauty balms you could treat your face, body (and feet) to.
Ever wondered about the symbols on Inlight’s glossy black jars and bottles?
“Health and science have a beauty within them,” says Dr Spiezia. “The beauty which stems from chemical and physical processes at the basis of life itself; there can be no finer beauty than that of atoms dancing together in the mesmerising harmony of laws which stabilise this planet and which are in constant evolution …. Every symbol on the Inlight products is the visual expression of that unique, vibrational ‘dance’.”
Wellness is a big part of Inlight’s offering so you’ll find ointments, tea infusions and there’s a range for men, too.
My pick: The Deep Moisture Balm, a rich drink for dry skin…or dip your toes in with the try before you buy 6-sachet Inlight Discovery Set, £9.50
Price point: £+ to ££
5. THE FACIALIST RANGE :: JANE SCRIVNER
Up there with the best of them, Jane’s unctious and now legendary cleansing balm, her creamy sunshine orange OO Cream Moisturiser (wear it over oil “OO” or alone) and her fab Skinfoliate (an easy sweep on, sweep off resurfacing exfoliator) would probably be my favourites from Jane’s continually expanding range.
It’s like having a best friend who’s a facialist, who’s designed a bespoke range for you – yet the beauty of JS is that most products suit most skin types.
Start now and your skin will be glowing by Christmas.
My pick: Jane’s Nourishing Cleanser balm is an absolute “don’t miss” if you are a cleansing balm fan…but there’s also the Discovery Kit and a special full size Discovery Festive Skincare Set**. Then again, Skinfoliate has really brightened and “resurfaced” (gently!) my skin.
What to choose?! Intelligent formulas packed with natural oils and plant extracts created by a skin expert…a win-win. Can’t recommend this range enough.
** The Jane Scrivner SKINCARE 5 A DAY addresses each and every need of the Barrier Function and Acid Mantle, nourishing, regulating, balancing and replenishing them both, every day, twice a day.
Price point: ££
6. THE EXOTIC HERO INGREDIENT BRAND :: DR JACKSON’s
Founded on essentially one main hero ingredient, Baobab, I’ve been following Dr J from Day One. His amber bottled skin potions include oils, multi-purpose oils, a foaming cleanser face wash, creams, teas and more.
A man after my own heart, Dr Jackson spent over 20 years studying indigenous plants and chose Kigelia, Africa’s potent medicinal “sausage tree fruit” as the foundation for his innovative nature-centric brand.
As Dr Jackson’s site emphasises:
“Our goal is to continue creating the best formulations, drawing on cutting-edge ethnobotanical research from scientists around the world. Working closely with our global network of green-credential suppliers in all areas of the production chain, we have established an ecologically-minded company that promotes the principles of pharmacognosy in the cosmeceutical industry.
“It is our mission to continue developing an innovative, ethical and sustainable company, working with likeminded people who wish to make a positive impact on our planet and inspire future generations.”
My pick: Dr Jackson’s 03 Everyday Oil (for both skin and hair) £30/25ml. It’s a light-in-feel, rich and deeply hard working multi-oil with skin singing ingredients. Use 3-5 drops, massaged in, once or twice a day.
DR JACKSON’S 03 EVERYDAY OIL (INGREDIENTS)
PRUNUS AMYGDALUS DULCIS (ALMOND) OIL, TRITICUM VULAGRE (WHEAT) GERM OIL, HELIANTHUS ANNUSS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, ROSA CANINA (ROSEHIP) FRUIT OIL, OENOTHERA BIENNIS (BAOBAB) SEED OIL, ANDANSONIA DIGITATA (BAOBAB) SEED OIL, ARNICA MONTANA FLOWER EXTRACT, SCLEROCARYA BIRREA (MARULA) SEED OIL, CALENDULA OFFICINALIS FLOWER EXTRACT, PELARGONIUM GRAVEOLENS (ROSE GERANIUM) FLOWER OIL, ANTHEMIS NOBILIS (ROMAN CHAMOMILE) FLOWER OIL, POGOSTEMON CABLIN (PATCHOULI OIL), TOCOPHEROL, CITRAL, GERANIOL, CITRONELLOL, LIMONENE, LINALOOL
Also check out Dr J’s eco beauty Christmas gifts including bespoke health tea blends, a refreshing escape from December’s over-indulgence and a larder staple this time of year.
Price point: £+
7. THE WINTER SKIN SOS BRAND :: CONNOCK LONDON
Amanda Connock’s love for Kukui oil (dry skin, goodbyeee!!) was the catalyist for the launch her luxe brand (if you love the signature scent, you’ll adore her candles and room diffusers)
Her parents’ background was horticulture and biochemistry and early on she already had a strong connection to nature, making her own floral waters and scented bath salts.
Kukui Oil in a nutshell (it’s a nut) is one of the most potent moisturisers around. Connock’s Hand & Body Lotion is almost transformative,it’s a delicious winter skin SOS.
PS: A little side note here, the Kukui Nut Tree (also called Indian walnut, candleberry or candlenut) was named Hawaii’s state tree in 1959.
My pick: Once again it’s a Discovery Set (I know!!) but the Hand Cream is manna from heaven if your hands get a bit dry like mine, in winter.
Connock’s 3-piece set is £22 and includes a:
50ml Nourishing Hand Cream
75ml Hydrating Hand & Body Lotion
75ml Comforting Body Wash
Price point: £+ to ££
Below: Connock’s Wonder Balm – a nourishing, multi-purpose handbag staple
This firm, “clean” balm…
– Contains a nourishing blend of Kukui Oil, Monoi, Cocoa Butter, Mango Butter and Beeswax.
– Hydrates, soothes and deeply moisturises dry skin.
– Calms irritated skin.
100% natural ingredients.
Ideal for areas of dryness such as lips, cuticles, elbows, knees, heels.
8. THE PROBLEM SOLVER :: MURAD SKINCARE
The Beauty Shortlist Awards are in their 8th year (save the date, and join us from breakfast time onwards on Friday 1 March!) and in those eight years Dr Murad’s ranges still eclipse so many others from an efficacy perspective.
Innovation, age and skin type targeting are this US brand’s shining strengths and when there’s a new launch I’m all ears.
Whatever skin issue is plaguing you, or if you just want optimal tesults and optimal skin, there’s a Murad range, product, combo or system to recalibrate, “reset” or restore skin’s innate health and vitality.
My pick:
It’s almost impossible to pick just one from Murad’s extensive line-up, so here are two:
1) Murad’s City Skin™ Overnight Detox Moisturizer
From Murad’s website:
“Did you know that every day your skin is damaged by environmental aggressors, including blue light from electronic devices? This damage can cause visible signs of aging, including uneven skin tone, dullness, and fine lines and wrinkles. In fact, 4 days in front of a computer is just as harmful to your skin as 20 minutes in the mid-afternoon sun.
This breakthrough moisturizer detoxes your skin from pollutants that accumulate during the day and combats signs of aging:
Super-charged antioxidants neutralize toxins while optimizing skin’s natural repair and defense system.
A concentrated form of Vitamin C helps fight signs of aging by brightening skin, evening tone, and helping correct sun damage.
A botanical blend of Sunflower, Cucumber, and Barley nourishes skin’s moisture barrier to reverse pollution related dehydration, restore youthful texture, and smooth lines and wrinkles.
This product is:
Clinically tested by an independent laboratory and proven safe for sensitive skin”
And (2)
City Skin™ Age Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 50 PA++++
Murad Skincare says:
“Goes beyond UVA/UVB protection to shield skin from blue light, pollution, and infrared radiation.”
I think we’re not talking **nearly** enough about HEV/Blue Light damage, EMFs, and the dangers of 5G which go way (way) beyond skin. We know blue light is a skin and sleep disruptor and one of my goals is to spend less time in front of screens in 2019, it really isn’t good for us.
2019 HEALTH GOAL: LESS INTO DIGITAL, MORE INTO NATURE
Anyway, I swear by Murad’s SPF products and have tested them in climates with strong sun (eg southern Morocco) so two thumbs up for those and it’s nice to see urban anti-pollution and indoor blue light protection products included as an ever more important part of the Murad range. Dr Murad has been leading the way for years.
Price point: ££
8. THE “FLY THE FLAG FOR LONDON” AWARD WINNER :: OSKIA
Georgie Cleeve, who founded OSKIA, is British skincare’s Jo Malone (imo). Leagues ahead of the pack when she first launched OSKIA, her brand is *still* one of the ones I always recommend to someone “looking for something more effective now”.
Georgie comes from a family whose business was health and wellbeing and she’s harnessed the power of ingredients like MSM, infusing them into her beautifully spa-esque and nutrient-centric topical skin products. Skinfood at its peak.
Every OSKIA launch is an exciting one, whether it’s OSKIA’s age-rewinding (and I don’t say this lightly) Renaissance Hand Cream which made my hands look younger the more I used it…or the iconic Renaissance Mask which leaves skin pampered feeling and velvety – possibly my favourite face mask, ever. I still remember the first time I tried it. My face felt like the most perfect baby’s bum. I was almost shocked at the result.
There’s more…plant-powered face oils, OSKIA’s “overnight success” Bedtime Beauty Boost, there’s a whole skin health skincare ritual routine to dive into – and yes there’s a soy and coconut Rose de Mai OSKIA Massage Candle, the perfect gift problem solver.
And until midnight Monday 26 Nov you’ll get 25% OFF using code FF2018.
If you haven’t yet tried anything from the OSKIA collection, Bedtime Boost will give you a good flavour of how effective this brand actually is:
BEDTIME BEAUTY BOOST £80/50ml
NUTRI-ACTIVE NOURISHING & REGENERATING NIGHT CREAM
With Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3 (Niacinamide), B5, B6, C, D, E, F, Milk Peptides, Swiss Apple Stem Cells, Hyaluronic Acid, Phytosterols, MSM, Omega 3,6 & 9.
My pick: For a Christmas gift hands it’s got to be the Rose de Mai Candle but if I was treating myself I think it’d probably be Bedtime Beauty Boost or the stellar luminous pink creamy vitamin and enzyme rich gel Renaissance Cleanser. (Massage into dry skin, add a little water so it emulsifies into a milk, then remove with warm water or a damp cloth.)
Oh and if you’ve had one too many Korean sheet masks, OSKIA’s glossy pink Renaissance Mask is a high performer and a standout in a standout collection.
I’ll always have a soft spot for OSKIA, winner of “Best British Skincare Brand” in the first ever Beauty Shortlist Awards back in 2012 and the Georgie’s intelligently formulated brand been picking up awards left, right and centre since.
Recommending OSKIA is like spreading happiness.
Price point: ££
10. COMFORTS & JOYS :: WILLOW ORGANIC BEAUTY
I love Willow. It’a brilliant pit stop for gifts – lots of candles, shimmering scented body oils and bath treats – but another reason it made this Top 10 is its prickly pear based skincare, the texture of its formulations and interesting ingredients like Red Snow Algae (as in “Watermelon Snow”) which thrives atop mountain glaciers, just below the surface of the snow. Red Snow Algae is supremely resilient in its own wild habitat (also against sun damage) and it’s a potent rejuvenation stimulator, also helping stave off further cell damage.
My picks:
1) To give: The 3-Wick Rose & Oud Blissful Peace Candle £45 (also available as single wick) it’s such a warm, deeply restful fragrance (with some chamomile and jasmine notes in the mix, too)
2) My pick: I haven’t tried Willow’s Lip Balm but it’s on my list. Part of the Prickly Pear (aka Barbary Fig, also called Cactus Pear) collection, it sounds like a luxe natura bodyguard for winter lips. I’ve eaten Barbary Figs in Morocco (not into the taste, to be honest, but the little bright orange seeds are packed with this potently beautiful, deep golden oil).
If I had to name just 3 super oils for their regenerative and reparative properties, they’d be: Prickly Pear, Argan and the other healing, scar-diminishing wonder, Rosehip.
Yes, I think this is what my lips will be wearing in December. In the snow, indoors, and last thing before bed…
Price point: £+ to ££
Willow Beauty Luxury Lip Balm
98.80% Organic Content.
Ingredients:*Prunus armeniaca Kernel Oil,*Cera
Alba,*Butyrospermum Parkii Butter,*Cocos nucifera
Oil,*Olea Europaea Fruit Oil,*Rosa Canina Fruit
Oil,*Opuntia Ficus – Indica Seed Oil,*Citrus
aurantium Flower Extract,*Calendula Officinalis
Extract,*Symphytum Officinale Root Extract,
*Citrus aurantium dulcis Peel Oil Expressed,
*Citrus aurantifolia Oil,*Coriandrum sativum
Seed Oil,*Litsea cubeba Fruit Oil, Tocopherol,
Dehydroacetic Acid,*Alcohol, Citral,*Citronellol,
*Limonene,*Geraniol,*Linalool.
There you have it. My Top 10 Winter Skincare Brands for Winter 2018/19.
Which would be yours?
#HappyDecember