Latest Oil-Based Dry Skin Saviours

So as you know by now, I'm always looking for products that can help my super dry skin, especially at this time of year when it's not quite Spring yet and the wind threatens to nip the top layer off your face at any random moment.  

I'm mostly relying on a double mix of oils and hardcore body moisturisers but I mix them up a lot so that I don't get too bored with any particular fragrance or finish.

"Latest" here obviously means latest to me, these have all been around for a little while.

Here's what I've been using for the last couple of months:

Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm. 

This is a mini size and I'm already a bit obsessed, with plenty of product left in the pot. This is a cleansing balm similar to the likes of Eve Lom, with Emma Hardie similarly being a firm blogging favourite. It looks like Vaseline in the pot but when you scoop out a small amount and warm it in your fingers, it turns to an oil that you then massage onto your face. 

It effectively melts your make up off. I know. Magic. 

Then I use a muslin cloth that's been soaked in warm water to remove it all and I'm left with very clean, non-tight/dried out skin. Using an oil for your first skincare step means you're not stripping your skin the way you can with some cleansers. Also, it smells absolutely delicious. 

When this is empty I will definitely be buying a full size, available from Marks & Spencers. 

The Oils!

Josh Wood Radiant Shine is a hair treatment oil to be used prior to shampooing. I'm not a big fan of weighing my hair down with oils because my hair is super fine but I only use a little of this on the ends where it's most dry. You can also use it after drying to smooth any wild patches (happens to us all!)

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Oil. I've yet to actually use this fella as it was part of a gift but I'm looking forward to trying it. If 8 Hour Cream is that good for your dry skin patches, what the hell is this gonna do?!

These two from The Body Shop were also minis but I've been loving them for the last couple of months. I'm really onto overnight masks at the minute so it's perfect timing for the Oils Of Life Intensely Revitalising Sleeping Cream, which I apply first, followed by a couple of drops of it's counterpart, the Intensely Revitalising Facial Oil. Together they're both very comforting and if I'm not mistaken, there's a hint of lavender in there to get you off to sleep!

I've been after the Huile Prodigiuse from French skincare brand Nuxe for a while now. This is a dry oil so you get the best of both worlds- it's moisturising but dries quickly once it's on the skin so you're not left all stickily and oily. I mostly use this on my legs where my skin is driest, in alternation with the This Works Oil. 

I love Crabtree & Evelyn and it's fair to say I'm more than a little obsessed with this body butter. The mix of avocado, olive oil and basil makes for the most delicious, summery I-want-to-eat-you-right-now scent of all time. It also helps that it's very soothing on the skin and is the goldilocks of body butters; not too thick, not too thin. Perfect. 

So I used to be the sort of person that suffered from dry, itchy legs. I know what you're thinking, how did this woman remain unmarried for so long?! No body moisturiser worked and I had all but given up on being able to apply tan without extreme patchiness. 

In stepped Sharon from Behind Green Eyes, who sent me a bottle of This Works Skin Deep Dry Leg Oil. This has been a game changer for me. My legs are actually so moisturised now from the last time I used the oil that even directly after a shower they don't feel dry. No mean feat! It's probably not surprising as it does contain 9 different essential oils, but this actually does work!

In combination with this, I've been using the Ultimate Care Body Lotion with Baobab Oil for very dry skin from Burt's Bees. I picked this up in New Orleans last year so every time I smell it I think of that (very good memories!) and it is honestly, just an excellent moisturiser. It's thick enough so it requires a deft hand to work it in but it's worth it.  I've been scraping the last remnants of it out of the bottle but it's pretty much time for me to accept it's gone, so I'll have to hunt down a new one!

Lastly then and not in any way an oil so very much the odd one out, is the Clinique Sweet Pot Lip Scrub & Balm. My amazing friend Eileen bought me one of these to celebrate my graduation last year (I'd been after one for ages) and in the shade I wanted; Candied Cassis. I haven't tried the others but the shade of this comes out a light purpley-pink and is super flattering. 

Before I get to that part though, I use the scrub side first. It's a sugar scrub so if you swallow a bit you're not gonna die and that nicely removes any dead skin cells that are hanging around. With me, they're always hanging around. I could drink two litres of water a day and I'd still have dry lips, so a scrub is a necessity. Handily then, the balm is on the other side so as soon as you've exfoliated, you've got that lovely moisturising, flattering balm. I love it. It comes with me on all holidays, nights away etc. The perfect prep pre-matte lipstick!

And that's the lot!

Have you tried any of these?

What do you use for dry skin?

To the comments!

XX