Whichever mountain you find yourself on, skiing, sledging, snowboarding or throwing snowballs is all the more enjoyable when your skin feels comfortable. Make the most of your beauty cabinet and enjoy your well-earned holiday, from morning through to après-ski.
However high you climb, the humidity in the mountains is a good deal lower than down in the valley. Dry air combined with sun reduces the level of the substances that keep skin hydrated, leaving the skin dry. If you don’t moisturise well, skin can even start to flake, so take a good, hydrating face cream with you. The Oxygen Cream, Essential Shock Intense Cream and C+C Vitamin Cream by Natura Bissé have a rich texture and give the skin powerful hydration. Conveniently, the creams now come in a 50 millilitre tube. Easy to take anywhere.
The clean mountain air means the sun’s UV radiation is stronger there than average. The white snow also reflects the UV rays, so the face catches sunlight from every direction. On top of that, the wind and cold often mean you don’t realise you are burning, so apply a high-factor sun cream first thing in the morning. Ideally one with an oil base, as the summer sort, which is water-based, can freeze at extremely low temperatures. The Skin Insurance SPF 50+ Tinted by Sarah Chapman also has your make-up covered. This factor 50 sun cream is tinted and uses a blurring technology that evens out the skin beautifully.
Large swings in temperature and extreme weather can leave lips so dry that they feel sore. When they lose a lot of moisture, the skin can crack and start to peel. Try not to bite them, and care for them with a lip balm containing lanolin (wool grease), honey or glycerine, and during the day with a naturally tinted lipstick or a balm with SPF. The Rose Amélie Lip Cream by Benamôr is enriched with rose extract, coconut oil and shea butter. Glycerine restores the moisture balance through its hydrating properties, so the cream also helps to purify, firm and revitalise the lips. The No Makeup Lipstick by Perricone MD is a lipstick with SPF 15. Its lightweight formula does more than protect: it nourishes and hydrates at the same time.
Chapped elbows and stiff ski boots pressing against your shins: the Ultra Dry Skin Cream by The Organic Pharmacy sees off these little woes within five seconds. Its formula contains soothing ingredients and cares for, soothes and protects even the most sensitive skin. The cream is the best possible ally against irritation, dryness, redness, dry patches and bruising. The Hand Cream by Santa Maria Novella is lovely to keep on your bedside table. It is a protective, softening and hydrating hand cream with the fresh scent of lemon. The light cream absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy film behind.
Finished with the slopes and ready for a mulled wine? A dry shampoo refreshes hair that has spent all day under a helmet and adds a little volume too. The Gold Lust Dry Shampoo by Oribe comes in a travel size, so it is easy to take along. Thanks to Oribe’s signature scent, your hair not only looks good again but smells wonderful. Bamboo and rice extracts leave the hair soft and smooth, myrrh repairs damaged hair, and lavender and camomile hydrate and soothe an itchy, dry scalp. BDK’s Gris Charnel also comes in a smaller size and is handy to have with you, since you never know where you will find yourself taking off your snow boots or hired ski boots.
Straight from the slopes to the bar? The De-Stress Muscle Gel by Aromatherapy Associates is ideal after an intense workout. The gel cools on contact and then warms the muscles. With a comfortable, supple body, you are ready for the après-ski.
