Winter can be quite harsh to anyone’s skin: lack of vitamins, especially the vitamin D, cold temperatures, chilly winds, rainy weather outside and dry warm air from the central heating indoors do their best to irritate and dry the skin out. My skin is very temperamental throughout the year (I have very sensitive and dry skin that tends to flake like crazy, and I also have rosacea to add the cherry on top) and for years I have been struggling to find the skincare products that would work well for my skin. I have gone through so many different brands of skincare products over the time and have managed to find a few products that suit my skin and address some of my major concerns.

I like quite a few products from the Antipodes, it is a great brand born in the beautiful country of New Zealand, they use organic natural ingredients in all their stuff which is great – the last thing I want is tons of chemicals that irritate my skin even more!

Antipodes dominate my skincare routine

I usually only wash my face at bedtime using either the Antipodes Grace Gentle Cream Cleanser or Juliet Skin-Brightening Gel Cleanser – they are both very gentle, but the gel cleanser give that extra exfoliation boost that comes from the kiwi fruit enzymes it contains. I find that washing my face twice a day is a bit too much for my skin and the second reason for this is that I prefer to have an extra 15 minutes lay in after my alarm goes off 🙂 Yep, I know, I am lazy… I apply the Grace cleanser all over the dry face, massage it gently and then wash off with the muslin cloth soaked in warm water. When I use the Juliet cleanser, I apply it onto the moistened skin so it foams up slightly, then I let it soak into my skin for a few minutes and use the muslin to polish off any dry skin flakes I have, so I do not look like some kind of crocodile in the morning 🙂 I have a stash of Liz Earle’s muslin cloths – I think they are great to use for gentle exfoliation.

I usually apply a few drops of the Apostle Skin Brightening Serum next, it is water based, so light and smells divine, and helps to even out the tone of my skin as I do have some redness around my nose. If I have any break outs, I rub a couple of drops of Divine Face Oil in my palms and apply it all over my face – it seems to really help to heal the skin quicker.

Origins’ Dr Andrew Weil Mega Bright serum is the only non-Antipodes product I currently use, it worked great at fading out the sun spot I have near my right eye. I have almost used it all up and will be trying the La Roche Posay’s Pigmentclar serum next and see how that one performs at keeping my sun spot at bay.

I apply the Antipodes Vanilla Pod Hydrating day cream most evenings as it hydrates and nourishes my skin well enough (I prefer its scent to the Avocado Pear Nourishing Night Cream), but if I feel that my skin needs that little extra nourishment, I apply the night cream.

Antipodes day and night creams

I apply a little Kiwi Seed oil eye cream around my eyes to keep the delicate skin hydrated – it works well for me. It lasts for ages and ages too (this is my second jar and I was using the first one for over a year!).

Other products last me a long time too as I use them only once a day- I think I bought the jar of Vanilla Pod cream about 4 months ago and I am not even half way though it yet!

These are pretty much all the skincare products I use during the winter – I try to keep it fairly simple, although it may seem like a complicated routine to some people. I have a couple of facial masks in my bathroom cabinet but never really get around to use them. I take primrose oil capsules and multivitamins to give that extra support to my skin and hair from within – hopefully it is working. Of course, vitamins are not to be used to replace a varied diet – in my case, there is no danger of that, as I eat a lot of different foods! 🙂

What are your favourite Antipodes products? I wonder if any of you have used Origins Dr Andrew Weil Mega Bright serum – did it help you tackle the dark spots? I am looking forward to trying out the La Roche Posay Pigmentclar serum to see how it compares to Origins (it sure is quite a bit cheaper, for starters).