five winter beauty essentials

As the days are getting shorter and we're getting well and truly into winter, I tend to switch out a few products in my beauty regime. Since I end up favouring certain items over others I thought I would share with you my top five essentials for this season!

1. Hand Cream

I've never really suffered with dry hands, but recently I seem to be reaching for some kind of hand cream rather a lot - I guess central heating does take it's toll!

My hand cream of choice is a miniature one by Lavera, it absorbs quickly, has a nice natural scent and delivers just the right amount of moisture. The other two shown in the above photo are also minis and are by Balance Me and L'Occitane.

2. Lip Scrub + Balm

My lips are always dry, but come the winter the dryness goes up to a whole new level - think how dry the Sahara is and you're halfway there.

As well as the self-explanatory Carmex lip balm, lip scrubs are also an essential to me to keep all the excess dry skin at bay, and although it's pretty simple to make your own (granulated sugar mixed with honey and a bit of water) the ones from Lush taste so good, although I must admit they are a bit overpriced.

As you can see my Bubblegum Scrub is looking rather worse for wear, I'm almost at the end of it though. The Lip Dip Scrub (discontinued) isn't as exfoliating, but it does taste like sherbet so that makes up for it.

3. Dark Nail Polish

I must admit, I do like my bright nails and I usually shy away from anything darker but lately I've really been enjoying my navys, dark reds and dark glitters. Pictured are Ciaté Wait Until Dark, Orly Ruby, Nails Inc Motcomb Street (freebie from this month's Glamour, more info here) and an Essence duo in Front Row or Backstage? and Ticket To The Show.

4. Body Lotion

As well as my hands, my body also feels the difference in weather and every few days I look forward to slathering some body lotion or other on as the next day my skin feel so soft, especially if I've shaved my legs the night before.

At the moment I'm using the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion* which is more moisturising than a normal body lotion, I'd say it was on par with a body butter, except it doesn't take as long to sink in. The main reason I like this though is the scent. Imagine the smell of cake batter and times it by a hundred and two and you have this. Ohmygod it is amazing.

5. Dark Lipstick

For me, berry colours and the colder months go hand in hand. I feel that they compliment my paler skin as well as playing a big part in making me look more awake and less zombie-ish.

My two favourites of the moment are 107 from the Rimmel Kate Moss Matte range and Urban Decay's Trainwreck. I'd say that the Urban Decay colour is the lighter, less pigmented version of the Rimmel lipstick (which I thought was rather strange, Urban Decay products are usually packed with pigmentation) so I use Trainwreck if I'm going for a more subtle look.

The Rimmel Matte Kate Moss lipsticks seem to be talked about a lot here in the blogging world, and I have to say I'm impressed! I took the photos above about a week ago, when I'd just bought it and so far I've worn the colour four times out of seven (and two have been non-makeup days).

Another product which I think deserves an honourable mention is a thick moisturiser, in the summer I have no need of one but in the winter I pile that stuff on to keep away those dreaded dry patches!

*PR Sample. All opinions are my own.