Image: Martin Davidson

Winter Beauty Tips

by Tammi Ireland

What does winter mean to you? 

For me it’s digging out the coats and books, getting on top of my booklist, snuggling under a doona with my man and – most importantly – switching up my beauty routine. 

HAIR

The perfect time to experiment is when the seasons change and the fastest way to get a new look is at the hair salon.  Always had a lighter hair colour?  Go darker next time you’re in the salon.  Usually wear your hair poker straight?  Embrace winter embodiment.  Had the same look since you were in high school?  Tell your hair stylist to go crazy!  Hair changes are easiest in winter because if you end up hating it (or just can’t get used to it quick enough), you simply slip your hair under an on-trend floppy hat.  See, no excuses.  Call your colourist today.

Once you’ve had the snip or a new colour put through your locks, it’s important to look after it.  This is especially important if you’ve coloured your hair. In winter we put our hair through hell, running through rain, using endless heated styling tools, sitting in heated rooms or walking briskly in the cold.  The poor thing doesn’t know how it’s supposed to behave and so it freaks out and goes dry.  Avoid this by treating it with an intensely hydrating masque once a week.  Herbal Essences make a great one for under $10.  Smooth the conditioner through your ends and mid-section and ship your hair up into a bun.  Leave it for as long as you can (throughout the day is best, and top knots are in fashion) before rinsing it out.  Your resulting hair will be smooth, strong and shiny.  

SKIN

As a previous beauty editor, I am surprised at how many women come to me saying they don’t take care of their skin in winter because it’s covered up with tights, pants and the like.  What about when you’re with your partner and your legs are all prickly?  How about when you go to the gym?  What ever happened to just doing it to feel good for you?

My favourite winter ritual is hopping in the steaming hot shower and treating myself to a primping session where everything gets a look in.  I exfoliate with an exfoliating paste such as WA brand Franc Essentials ‘Exfoliate’ or Clinique’s ‘Sparkle Skin’, making sure to get every bit of dry, dull skin off my body.  Then I remove any body hair that needs to be gone, wash my hair with a rehydrating shampoo, hop out of the shower and slather myself in a nourishing body balm.  Local Bridget Black makes a great one; otherwise The Body Shop never fails to (ethically) deliver.  I pop a mask on my face for ten minutes, wander around towel drying my hair, rinse off the mask and apply a serum (Lancôme Génifique – wow!) over my face and neck.  Now I’m clean, shiny and new and feeling so much sexier than when I hopped in.

I always keep a hand cream on board too.  One in the handbag, one at the office, one in the car – perfect!

COLOUR

Colder seasons usually call for darker colours, if only to match your winter wardrobe.  Think about how you envisage winter and try to apply that to your colour palette.  For me, it’s all about the time I was in Central Park, NYC as the trees dropped their brown leaves and the snow began to fall.  My winter palette consists of dark browns, deep maroons and plums, black, grey and bold red.

You can mix and match with your colours, but it’s important to ensure your textures match.  I’d advise dropping the lipgloss in winter and moving on to a more elegant lipstick.  Face of Australia or NARS make great bold red and deep maroon colours in lovely matte textures that won’t have you reapplying every half hour.  Apply the same logic to your nails, ditching the bright colours that were so on-trend in summer and instead applying deep browns and periwinkle blues to your talons.  Not only will they look warm, they’ll also match many more outfits.

So whatever winter means to you, try to embrace the new season and experiment with new colours and looks.  If worst comes to worse, you can just wrap a scarf up around your face and put the floppy hat on.  But trust me, a little (winter) change goes a long way! 

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