Our Perfect Winter Skincare and Makeup Bag

The seasons have changed and so has your skin, probably. The big makeup brands are readying up the campaigns for their Christmas gift palettes – all dark, rich colours and smoky sparkle. However, we’d like to suggest that what you really need in your makeup bag this winter is a small handful of products to keep your skin moisturised, your eyes wide awake and your lips smooth, with just a hint of colour.

Weleda Skin Food is the best cream for dry skin you could possibly hope to find. It works best on slightly damp skin, so use it right after washing your hands to let the moisture help the oils sink into your skin. You can buy it in a handy travel size or a family-sized tube.

A cream blusher is a great way to put some colour back into winter-chapped skin without having it look dry and tired. Conventional powder blushers can look a little chalky. What’s the point of wearing blush if it just leaves skin looking even more drained? Plenty of brands sell cream blush, our favourites are by Boots No.7, Mac and ‘natural’ brand Liz Earle.

Forget wearing a lot of eye makeup in the rain. The grey light outside makes heavy makeup seem mask-like. Just the opposite of the effect you want! Pack a pair of eyelash curlers in your makeup bag and curl your lashes once a day to make your eyes look wide-awake and perk up your overall appearance. It’s that simple, plus you won’t have any eye makeup to wash off at the end of the day.

This wouldn’t be a winter makeup bag article without a lip balm recommendation. Our www.secretsalons.com favourite is the Burt’s Bees Pomegranate lip balm, which is available pretty much anywhere. It has a lovely fruity taste and just the faintest hint of colour. Best of all, it actually works and is great at prepping your lips for lipstick.

This kit has an emphasis on skincare and makeup and grooming that’s easy to maintain when you’re skidding down an icy street in gale-force winds. Best of all, these products should be time-savers. Assemble the right kit and you’ll always be prepared.

We recommend toting your products around in one of Muji’s extremely functional makeup bags instead of the impractical and over pink-ified makeup bags they sell in many stores. Functional on the outside, functional on the inside!

Amy Wright is a writer for www.secretsalons.com