In the winter months, it is super easy to look in the mirror and hate your makeup. It can feel and look like all moisture has been sucked out of your skin. There are definitely skincare products that help you get through the winter because your makeup can only be as good as the skin underneath. Although, even if you're using the best skincare products and drinking a gallon of water a day, some people just have dry skin. Which, unfortunately, gets worse in the winter.

Luckily, the Pretty Pros have easy tips and tricks to help you battle the winter cold while looking fabulous at the same time!

As we said, it all starts with skincare. So, if you haven’t read our story, 5 Ways To Remedy Dry Skin, Click Here.

Hydrating Primer

It usually depends on who you ask if they recommend priming the face or not. In the winter, when your skin is unusually dry, we feel that a hydrating primer is a must! Powder products can easily make you feel dry and crusty in the winter. That is why we’re going to be recommending lots of cream products for the winter. Adding a hydrating primer is going to help your cream products to last all day without setting them with powder. It also adds another layer of hydration to your skin, so it is prepped and ready for the makeup that is coming next. When looking for a hydrating primer, look for moisturizing ingredients such as hyaluronic acid!

Liquid Foundation

For foundation in the winter, we like to stay with a liquid foundation. Liquid and cream products tend to hold moisture better than powders. When applying your liquid or cream foundation, make sure to apply it with a damp makeup sponge. To dampen your sponge, hold it tight underwater, let it absorb into the sponge, then ring it out completely. Using a brush, buffing the foundation into your skin, could cause flaking or irritation of dry winter skin.

In the winter, try to stay away from foundations with matte finishes. Matte products usually include oil-absorbing ingredients such as silicone and talc. These ingredients will make skin look even drier than it might already be.

*Pretty Pro Tip: If you find your damped sponge lifting makeup off your face, simply, bounce the foundation on your sponge before using it on your face. This lets your makeup bounce against itself and not soak up into the sponge.

Mixing In Hydration 

You can also choose to mix in some of your hydrating primer or moisturizer with your foundation. This will give your skin a dewy finish that makes your skin look alive!

*Pretty Pro Tip: If you still want more moisture, and you don’t have acne-prone skin, you can bounce your makeup sponge in beauty oil to add even more moisture to your skin. To do this, put one drop of beauty oil on the back of your hand and bounce your sponge in the oil until it is fully absorbed. After the oil is all absorbed, go over the dry patches on your skin and watch them vanish before your eyes. 

Cream vs. Powder

Cream products vs. powder products in the winter is always a huge question. The coveted answer isn’t an easy one because it all depends on age and skin type.

In short, here is our advice.

While you’re wearing makeup during the day, you cannot constantly apply moisturizer to hydrate your face, as you might drink water to hydrate your body. So, naturally, your face dehydrates. Powder products that have ingredients like talc and other drying minerals cause your powder to settle into your fine lines, which can make you appear older. This is why for people with more fine lines we recommend cream products or powders that have moisturizing ingredients, such as glycerin. Cream products give the skin a supple and youthful glow, while powders can make it look dry and tired.

The same answer doesn’t go for people with oily skin. Cream products applied over oily skin are super hard to keep on all day long. Applying a product with a slippery consistency to a slippery base will cause the makeup to slip and slide all over the face. This is why even in the winter we still recommend powder products being used for people with oily skin. 

If you have combination skin, with it oily in the center, and dryer on the perimeter. Try going in with a translucent settler powder over your cream products where your makeup tends to break up throughout the day due to oil.

If you have no oil, what so ever, on your face you have dry skin. Dry skin, on the other hand, can have the same issues as skin with fine lines. Dry skin has the disadvantage of already looking dehydrated, even if it isn’t. So, we recommend a mixture of cream and powder products for dry skin. 

Hydrating Finishing Spray

To finish your winter makeup look and set it in place all day, spray a hydrating finishing spray. Not only will this help all the moisturizing products stay all day, but it will also give your face an extra shot of moisture to seal the deal! 

So, there are our easy tips and tricks to help you battle the winter cold while looking fabulous at the same time!