Sunny, Cold Day Essentials

March has now officially entered the building and the year is already going by scarily fast. I love those days in the early spring time where the sun is shining; everything looks vibrant, your mood gets instantly lifted and you start longing for the summer time, but it still feels cold outside and you can’t banish your entire winter beauty routine just yet! So today, I’ve picked a few of my favourite products to use on days like these- where you feel really happy and want to dress in pastels, but your skin still feels sore from the cold and you’re recovering from the bone-chilling winter cold.

Hydration

On days like these you don’t want to use heavy body butters that don’t sink into your skin immediately anymore, but you still want to feel hydrated and soft and banish those dry patches. The Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse dry oil is perfect for that. This oil sinks into your skin with the speed of light (okay, slight exaggeration there- but still!), but it leaves your body feeling silky smooth and super hydrated.  Another plus: you can also use this on your face, for just that little bit of extra hydration, or in your hair.

A face product that hydrates to the max but doesn’t make your face look too greasy is the Nuxe Crème Prodigieuse moisturizer. This is a sample size, but I’ve used up an entire full size of this and I love it.  My mum also swears by it! This anti-oxidant, anti-stress moisturiser still feels a little bit thick but doesn’t sit on your skin. It’s the perfect foundation base!

To banish those dry hands and lips, I’ve been using the l’Occitane Rose 4 Reines Velvet Hand Cream and the Nuxe Rève de Miel lip balm- do we sense a theme here?! The hand cream is quite thick, but, like all other products mentioned here, sinks into the hands quite quickly and makes my sore, dry winter hands feel back soft again and look less horror like. The lip balm is super moisturising and perfect to apply right before you go to sleep; when you wake up in the morning, it’s still there! Dry, flaky lips will be history and your lips will look kissable in no time.

Make up

When the sun is shining, make up gets more visible, so you want to wear a really light base. Bright eyes, lips and pastel nails are also a must to get a little bit more into the summer mood, but hydration is still key- it’s still cold outside!

For a flawless yet light base, the Laura Mercier Oil Free tinted moisturiser is an absolute must. This is the most full-coverage tinted moisturiser you’ll ever meet, but it’s still really light and doesn’t feel greasy. You don’t really want to use a powder- they are really visible in direct sunlight and can also make your skin feel a little bit dryer!

For eyes, the Estée Lauder Sumptuous Extreme mascara is the one for me. You want your eyes to look bright and awake and your eyelashes to look longer and more defined (but not clumpy!), and this mascara does all that. It elongates my lashes and makes my whole face look more awake!

Bright lips that are still moisturised are also a must. The bright colour of this l’Oréal Rouge Caresse in 202 – Impulsive Fuchsia instantly lifts your mood and really fits the sunny day theme, but these lipsticks are still really moisturising and won’t emphasize your dry, flaky lips- if you haven’t yet made them disappear with the Nuxe Rève de Miel lip balm. A pastel nail is also a lovely finishing touch for days like these. This Chanel Emprise nail polish is probably my current favourite nail polish; the colour is gorgeous and makes me really happy to look at (sad, right?) but the formula isn’t that great- I always use a top- and basecoat and two coats of colour, but after two days this starts looking really chipped and the lasting power just isn’t that great.

So with these on my dressing table for the upcoming weeks, I think I’ll be well prepared for the sunny, cold days that are to come. Today is one of those days, and I’ve been feeling really summery, but it’s not summer quite yet. Sigh. So for now, these beauty products will have to do and summer is only existing in my very wild imagination…