Guest Post: Smooth and Sexy Winter Skin!

Hey beauties, I’m so excited to star as a guest on Opal Steven’s blog! Allow me to introduce myself: my name’s Stephanie - a fan of all things glamorous and a self-professed success maniac... and I’ll be showing how you to keep your skin sexy smooth all through Winter! After all, there are times that we don’t feel the need to be under wraps (or wearing ten jumpers, a hoody and a scarf!) such as intimate moments with the boy...and when Spring comes along we’ll be glad of the self-nurturing we gave ourselves through this period of “skin hibernation”. So let’s get started! 

In Winter your best tactic is to work top to bottom. Your face and lips are always going to be exposed to the harsh conditions - weather that’s rain, central heating or diabolical wind storms (especially if you live in Scotland). The most popular tactic in the aim to protect your skin from said aggravations is to moisturize. Many people don’t realize that actually, there is a step before this - exfoliation! This will slough away all the dead skin cells that have essentially given up and will allow your new, smoother skin to come through. Moisturizing without exfoliating is a pointless exercise in most cases, as the moisture will only be reaching already damaged skin! 

With that said, invest in a good performing facial scrub. As it’s Winter, why not purchase a self-heating one? Then the skin perfecting process will be more cozy than ever before! I’ve picked out my long-time favourite from Olay, the Daily Thermal Skin Polisher. 

I use this every day in the shower to enjoy the mini-peel effect which comes with regular use. I notice that make-up glides on easily after using this. Accompany this with a jolly good body scrub that wakes you up and feels so fresh like Original Source Mint and Walnut Super Scrub. I trust this brand as it’s 100% natural and make from mint leaves and walnuts!

When the smoothing and blitzing regime is over, your face will essentially need a drink. For this, you can’t go wrong with the classic Cold Cream from Pond’s. This has been around for centuries and is known as a reliable multi-tasker: cleansing and softening with no need to rinse! If you have oilier skin you may want to rinse but this is entirely up to yourself. Patting on gently and leaving overnight will leave your face feeling baby soft in the morning.  

Don’t forget to pay attention to your lips. Especially if you spend a lot of time puckering up. Buy a lip scrub especially designed for this area - Lush do an amazing natural sugar scrub which you can actually eat (it’s hard not to lick your lips when applying this...) and smells of a divine chocolate and mint mix. All of Lush’s products are 100% natural and even have use-by dates to to gain optimal benefit from the freshness. 

After giving your lips a good scrub keep reapplying a lip balm to keep the new skin layer soft and kissable. Using Nivea is a good way to keep your lips moist without strands hair sticking to your lips in the wind! The flavors are very girly, giving a glam sheen and a dash of color - my personal favourites being Soft Rose and Pearl Shine. 

You may also want to pay some attention to your feet. The amount of dry skin built up on the heels during this time is unbelievable. A good tip is to soak your feet first, perhaps in a hot steaming bath, and use a pumice stone to remove the dry layers. Then moisturise and pop on some socks. By morning you will be walking on clouds! 

All of this is great advice but the way to gain maximum results is to compliment this with the advice given by Opal in her latest skincare post - you need your vitamins and you need water for your body to repair itself and see well through Winter. 

I hope my advice will see you through a smooth and sexy Christmas and New Year. Remember when you’re blitzing away all the bad things in your life that New Year is a fresh start - both for beauty regimes and life. 

About Stephanie

Stephanie is a student with a keen interest in self-development and exploring the world of glamour. Aiming for the best and always reaching for the top shelf, in all areas of life, is something she believes in firmly. For more tips on being glamorous, as well as achieving success in life, visit www.theglamguide.com.