Beating the winter blues...

Right about now, I'm all set with winter. I hate it. I hate being cold. I hate runny noses. I hate the static I get wearing a million layers and scarves etc. I hate how parched and dry I feel..from my hands, to my face, I feel like a cold, crackly mess. It's right about now that I try and convince Mr. Allan that we should move to a warmer climate since our summers are so short and our winters suck in New England.

So, here's my middle of the winter survival products that help me bring me out of my winter slump. The weather sucks outside so go and grab yourself a little beauty pick me up.

My hands are so dry right now..to the point where I'm surprised my knuckles aren't cracking. Some of it's an occupational hazard..I work in probably one of the most dirty germ infested buildings in RI...Family Court. I must purel my hands 10-20 times a day and vigorously wash them the same amount. So, in an effort to keep germs away, I kill my hands. This is my favorite hand cream..I've blogged about it before and I'm mentioning it again because it works! I've tried Neutrogena, Kiehl's, Eucerin, you name it and nothing compares to this.

Gardner's Helpers Hand Therapy by Crabtree and Evelyn

Besides my hands, my feet get totally shafted during the winter. I keep up with pedicures when I'm showing them off during the warm months, but in winter, they get neglected. One product I love is Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream. I love to put this on my feet right before I go to the gym. I slather this on, put on my white gym socks and then my sneakers and my feet get a treat while I go to the gym and work out. It helps prevent gross cracked heels and keeps my feet smooth during the winter months.

When it comes to my body..during winter I have dry weird white legs...I feel like I could put on a whole bottle of moisturizer and they're begging for more. I have two favorite go to moisturizers...one smells nice and girly the other is a no nonsense product.

My first favorite is L'Occitane Shea Butter Body Lotion. I discovered this when we were on our honeymoon. We were staying at the Four Seasons in Maui and our lovely marble bathroom the size of my bedroom at home was stocked with L'Occitance products. They had this awesome shampoo and conditioner that I haven't been able to find many places but this body lotion was to die for. My skin was a little weathered from the Hawaiian sun. We'd been in Hawaii for about a week by the time we go to Maui, lots of time by the pool and hiking and this replenished my skin. My apologies to housekeeping at the Four Seasons..I had to steal about 5 bottles of this stuff...bad I know, but I kept taking it with us for the day and shoving it in my purse only to come back to our room with a new bottle waiting!

The skinstore.com has pretty good prices on L'Occitane stuff...www.skinstore.com

My more luxurious lotion I love...Fresh..it comes in a couple different scents I love..like Brown Sugar, citrus scents, lemon etc. It's my girly I'm going out with Mr. Allan tonight type lotion...when you're feeling like a little more than just the regular stuff.

While we're on the topic of Fresh...they have  a face scrub that phenomenal. My face gets so dry my nose peels like I have a sunburn. I need to exfoliate a couple times a week and this is my go to product..it smells great and does the job.

If you're not up for going out and buying some pricey products...there are things in your pantry you can use as well. There was a great article in my local paper on Sunday with some home remedies for beating the havoc that winter can take on your body. Here are a couple home grown recipes and solutions.

Home made Body Scrub
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of an edible oil such as olive, grapeseed, or coconut oil.

Mix together in a mason jar and lather on body and rinse off.

Home Made Lip Scrub
1 tsp of brown sugar
1/2 tsp of butter

Mix together and rub on your lips. Wipe off and then follow with a lip balm.

Some other tips....to make your bath extra hydrating, add 1 can of coconut milk. Shake well and add to your bath water. For a hydrating easy face mask..use honey. Clean your face and then rub honey all over it. Leave on for 10-15 minutes and then wipe off and moisturize.