Winter Skincare Routine Guide

The past few days, mother nature seemed to be indecisive on whether or not Toronto should be blanketed with snow. There would be early morning frost on the grass, but everything would’ve melted away by the time the sun comes up.

But on Monday it finally snowed, so let’s make sure your skin is ready for the cold.

Frankly, it’s not as bad as it seems. Winter skincare (for me) just means adding a layer of serum, and a layer of moisturizer on top of my morning routine. I usually only stop at Emulsion in the morning otherwise, but my skin gets really dry if I do that during the winter.

Here are some tips (and products) to help you make changes (if need be) to your skincare routine for the winter months.

I don’t really think you’d need to change what toner to use during the winter, because you can probably layer it on. If you’re using a toner with a more watery consistency, I think you’d benefit from layering up or changing your toner for the winter months. I personally use the Rice Ceramide toner from The Face Shop, and it’s close to being syrup-like.

I skipped mentioning emulsions because I’ve yet to personally see an emulsion that’s moisturizing yet, so until then I guess, let’s get on to serums. Not all serums are created equal in my opinion, the few I’ve tried throughout the years were pretty moisturizing but I’ve noticed something that may or may not help.

In the winter, I’ve always used TFS’ Calendula serum (discontinued)  and it’s got this syrupy-watery consistency and essentially looks like a lotion. It made the biggest difference during the winter in my opinion, because it was thicker. I think there’s been some more innovations in formulas since then, so I wouldn’t be looking at thicker serums before trying any of these first.

First recommendation, is Innisfree’s Green Tea Seed Serum. At first I thought it wasn’t as efficient but that was only because I was still getting used to the texture and difference in how heavy/light it is. After a bit more time using a sample, I can conclude that it’s pretty moisturizing but I don’t think it would be enough for someone with dry skin. I’d recommend getting a hold of a sample to test it though.

I haven’t tried it, but with 4 different types of pressed serums, and having the consistency of cream or gel, what are the chances that it’s good?

As of late, eye cream has become very important in my routine. I can’t tell if the eye creams became more important because I need to cover the evidence of my lack of sleep. . .oh well lol.

I’m currently using the Jeju Orchid Eye Cream from Innisfree and loving it. I switched over to this just before the cold weather hit and I’m loving it so far, it’s much thicker than eye creams I’ve used in the past though. I don’t find that to be a bad thing, especially because I like how moisturized my eyes feel in the morning.

I haven’t used a vast variety of eye creams, so the next two are recommended based off of reviews and/or trying them on my hand in stores. One of them is Laneige’s Eye Sleeping Mask, so far I’ve had great experiences with Laneige products so I would expect this to be pretty good.

Laneige Eye Sleeping Mask (regular sephora page, not an affiliate link)

Even if you don’t want to change every product in your routine for winter (you really don’t have to), I would just recommend looking into a more moisturizing face cream. For me, I go to college really far north of Toronto and the winter air is much colder and harsh on my skin (especially the dry parts) so all pieces of armour (skincare) are needed.

I’m currently using Laneige’s Water Bank Moisture Cream, and I highly recommend it. I don’t think it was made for combination skin, but it’s great for those -10*C and lower days. However, the price is pretty steep especially if your max budget for 1 product is $50, because I think it costs $45 at Sephora. *quick correction, it    used     to cost $45 at Sephora Canada, but after the revamp it’s now $50.*

Laneige’s Water Bank Moisture Cream (regular Sephora Canada link, not affiliate link)

I originally had a third recommendation, but I found notes that I took about it and turns out it’s actually better for the summer!

I hope this little post helps you adjust/prepare your skincare routine for the winter! You don’t have to adjust/change your routines at all, there’s no unsaid rule that you have to. This list can also be seen as a list of products that I find are pretty moisturizing when compared to a good chunk of other products. Let me know what you think in the comments below!