Prep Your Skin for the Dry Winter With These Drugstore Beauty Essentials
I cannot believe we’re already near the end of the year and transitioning into winter! The year really has gone by in a flash!
Winter brings cold, dry weather, which means dry skin that requires extra love and care!
In addition to the cold, dry weather, winter brings lots of holiday parties/social gatherings that we need to attend when we’d rather be at home bundled up on the couch with a nice hot chocolate in hand.
So, how do you prep your skin to look its best during the dry winter? Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today!
Especially if you’re a makeup wearer, keeping your skin hydrated and healthy during the winter is very important so your glamorous holiday makeup can look its best throughout the holiday season!
A glowing complexion that would seem almost impossible to achieve in the harsh cold of winter is the goal and these drugstore beauty products are just the way to do it!
Without further ado, let’s get started!
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Drugstore Beauty Must-Haves for Winter
Very Hydrating Moisturizer
Moisturizer is hands-down one of the most important steps in your skin care (and makeup) routine, regardless of the time of year!
Different times of the year just require different types of moisturizer!
Winter is definitely the driest time of the year, which means our skin NEEDS extra love during this season.
Unless you have very oily skin or have pores that are easily clogged by creams, I’d recommend a cream moisturizer for most skin types during the cold winter months.
For night creams, it’s important to use a product that will lock in moisture throughout the night (when the air is super cold and dry!) and not dry out halfway throughout the night.
For a daytime moisturizer, a lightweight option that locks in moisture without making your face feel greasy is perfect, especially if wearing makeup on top of it.
For night:
- No7 – Lift and Luminate Triple Action Night Cream // Amazon | Ulta
- CeraVe – PM Face Moisturizing Lotion // Amazon | Ulta
Can be used before makeup:
Lip Mask
I don’t know about you, but I hate having dry, chapped lips! It not only makes it difficult to wear lipstick, but it’s painful!
A great solution to dry, chapped lips is definitely putting a lip sleeping mask on night.
In the cold winter months, I find myself breathing through my mouth when I’m asleep because my nose gets stuffed up. And guess what that does to my lips? It makes them even drier!
Applying a lip sleeping mask before I go to sleep ensures I don’t do too much harm to my lips while I’m asleep!
These lip masks aren’t technically drugstore products, but they are just as affordable!
- I Dew Care – Plush Party Buttery Vitamin C Lip Mask // Amazon | Ulta
- Mamonde – Lip Sleeping Mask // Amazon | Ulta
Lip Scrub
If you do happen to get chapped lips and need a way to get them smooth again, a lip scrub is the answer!
Especially if wearing a matte lipstick, which tends to emphasize each and every crack on your lips, a lip scrub is a great way to smooth the texture of your lips.
I don’t actually know of any drugstore lip scrubs that I can recommend, but these are great affordable options:
- Tree Hut – Sugarlips Lip Scrub // Amazon | Ulta
- Frank Body – Lip Scrub // Ulta
- Fizz & Bubble – Lip Scrub // Ulta
Lip Balm & Treatment
Lip balms are actually my preferred everyday lip product during all seasons just because they are so hydrating and comfortable to wear!
If you are a matte lipstick fan and can’t give it up even during the winter, I have a little trick for you!
As the last step in your skin care routine before applying your makeup and after the lip scrub (if you do a lip scrub), apply lip balm to your lips.
Keep the lip balm on while you’re doing your makeup, until you’re ready to apply your lipstick. You’ll notice your lips are super moist and ready to receive the matte lipstick!
Here are a few great options for keeping your lips hydrated!
- Mario Badescu – Lip Balm // Amazon | Ulta
- Jack Black – Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25 // Amazon | Ulta
- Aquaphor – Lip Repair // Amazon | Ulta
Hydrating Primer
In my opinion, primer is one of the most important steps in any makeup routine!
Using the correct primer can extend the wear of your makeup and it preps your skin to create the perfect surface for foundation application.
Because our skin changes in the winter, it’s natural that the primer that’s right for our skin also changes in the winter.
During the summer, I would recommend a mattifying oil-free primer because at that time of the year, our skin naturally produces more oil than at other times of the year.
So, during winter, when the air is cold and dry, making our skin dry, I recommend a hydrating primer to give our skin back some of the moisture it needs!
Here are a few great hydrating drugstore primers:
- NYX – Bare With Me Hydrating Jelly Primer // Ulta
- NYX – Honey Dew Me Up Skin Serum & Primer // Amazon | Ulta
- e.l.f. – Jelly Pop Dew Primer // Ulta
Fresh Hydrating Foundation
Unless you have very oily skin or live somewhere that doesn’t get cold and dry in the winter, I’d definitely recommend a hydrating foundation for the winter.
Matte foundations can appear too dry on your skin during the winter, revealing fine lines and dry spots, which is definitely not cute!
Of course, foundation is probably one of the most personal makeup products and the type of foundation that is right for one person may not be the type that’s right for another person.
So, try to take notice of how your skin is reacting to your current foundation as the weather starts changing.
If you notice your skin is starting to look really dry, try out a more hydrating formula! And if you notice your skin still looks normal, your current foundation may work out great during winter!
These are my favorite hydrating drugstore foundations:
- L’Oreal – Infallible Fresh Wear 24HR Foundation (This foundation has more of a natural finish, which may be a great choice for oily skin types during winter.) // Amazon | Ulta
- NYX – Born To Glow Naturally Radiant Foundation // Ulta
- Makeup Revolution – Fast Base Stick Foundation // Ulta
- Physicians Formula – The Healthy Foundation SPF 20 // Amazon | Ulta
- Makeup Revolution – Conceal & Hydrate Foundation // Ulta
Hydrating Concealer
As someone with dry skin (all year long), the first place I start to notice getting SUPER dry during the winter is under my eyes.
A dry, wrinkly under-eye area ages you really quickly, so it’s not ideal.
To help combat dry under eyes, a hydrating concealer is a must! (Applying eye cream also does wonders.)
I have really dark under eye circles, so I can’t just skip the under-eye concealer. (But, if you can, go for it!)
Here are some great hydrating concealers:
- Maybelline – Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Treatment Concealer // Amazon | Ulta
- Makeup Revolution – Conceal & Hydrate Concealer (This is a fairly new release from Makeup Revolution and I’ve been obsessed with it since I got it!) // Ulta
- Revlon – PhotoReady Candid Antioxidant Concealer // Amazon | Ulta
If you need a good drugstore eye cream, here are a few options:
- Mario Badescu – Hyaluronic Eye Cream // Amazon | Ulta
- Neutrogena – Rapid Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream // Ulta
- CeraVe – Eye Repair Cream // Amazon | Ulta
Face Powder / Setting Powder
Setting powder is kind of tricky in the winter.
If your skin is very dry and/or you don’t wear a lot of base makeup (foundation and concealer), I think you can totally get away with skipping the setting powder completely.
Or, you might opt to lightly apply a pressed powder all over your face instead of using a loose setting powder.
I wear a lot of base makeup, so I always use a loose setting powder to ensure it stays in place all day. And I apply it with a damp makeup sponge instead of a fluffy brush, so it looks less “powdery.”
Here are a few amazing setting powder options:
- Maybelline – Fit Me Loose Finishing Powder (My all-time holy grail drugstore loose setting powder! I use this every single day.) // Amazon | Ulta
- Revlon – ColorStay Pressed Powder // Amazon | Ulta
- Maybelline – Fit Me Set + Smooth Pressed Powder // Amazon | Ulta
Hydrating/Dewy Setting Spray
After applying makeup, it’s always important to set it all in place, regardless of the season!
During the winter, I love using a hydrating/dewy setting spray because it adds back some moisture into the skin.
Especially if you use a lot of different powder products when applying your makeup, a hydrating/dewy setting spray will “melt” everything together and can help reduce the “powdery look” from your skin.
Check out these hydrating/dewy setting sprays:
- Mario Badescu – Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater // Amazon | Ulta
- Catrice – Prime And Fine Dewy Glow Finish Spray // Amazon | Ulta
- NYX – Dewy Finish Makeup Setting Spray // Amazon | Ulta
- Milani – Make It Dewy Setting Spray Hydrate + Illuminate + Set // Amazon | Ulta
Intense Moisture Body/Hand Cream
This is kind of a bonus since I don’t usually include body products on this blog, but I just couldn’t leave this one out!
I think we all know how awful it feels to have dry, cracked skin on our hands, feet, elbows, and anywhere else on our bodies!
The dry air of winter calls for extra care when it comes to hydrating our skin, and that’s where body creams come in!
Especially after a hot shower, it’s super important to apply some kind of moisturizing product because hot water really dries out the skin.
A good body cream just feels so good right after a hot shower! I’ve actually been obsessed with the new Sol de Janeiro Body Cream. (Not drugstore, but I had to mention it!)
Here are a few great drugstore body creams:
- Soap & Glory – The Righteous Butter // Amazon | Ulta
- CeraVe – Moisturizing Cream for Normal to Dry Skin // Amazon | Ulta
- Neutrogena – Fragrance-Free Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream // Amazon | Ulta
The Body Shop’s Body Butter is also really good! It’s not a drugstore brand, but they are available at Ulta!
And that’s it for this list of drugstore beauty essentials for winter!
Did you see anything on this list that are must-haves for your transition into the cold and dry season that’s just around the corner?
If I missed any of your winter beauty essentials, please let me know down in the comments!
Do you have any holy grail products that you can’t live without during the winter and are just dying for me to try them out? Leave me some recommendations!
And if you are thinking of trying any of these products out for winter, don’t forget to use Rakuten (formerly Ebates) to save some cash!
SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE AND GET A $10 BONUS after you make your first qualifying purchase using Ebates!
Thank you so much for reading and until next time! <3
More Beauty Posts:
- October 2019 Beauty Favorites
- The Ultimate Sephora Holiday Gift Guide for 2019
- Best Berry-Toned Lip Shades
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