Let Your Skin Glow

The sun may be hiding behind the clouds more often here in the Pacific Northwest, but that is no excuse to lose the glow from your cheeks. The transition from fall to winter can wreak havoc on one's complexion with the blustery winds outdoors and cranked artificial heat indoors, but with a few tweaks in your beauty routine it's possible to avoid that dried out, flaky, dull winter skin.

The magic combination for great skin is cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing. I admit I have a horrible habit of not always washing my face before bed, but during the times that I consistently keep it up I notice an incredible difference in my complexion. I am a huge fan of Clean & Clear's Continuous Control Acne Cleanser. It's cheap and it gets the job done. I follow up with Proactiv Solution Repairing Lotion to prevent breakouts.

Twice a week or so, it's good to give your skin a good scrub down with an exfoliating regime. Sloughing off the dead skin cells will leave your skin feeling softer and looking healthier as well as prepping skin to better absorb moisturizer. I am a huge fan of the Mary Kay Microdermabrasion Set. My skin went from dull to glowing in only 2 uses.

Once you've exfoliated, the best thing you can do in the winter is moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. The products I have been happiest with include the Mary Kay TimeWise Day Solution Sunscreen, TimeWise Night Solution and Clinique's Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief andDramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. These products have helped my skin stay fresh all day even while hitting the slopes on my snowboard with the wind whipping at my face.

If you have some extra money burning a hole in your pocket, I recommend splurging on the Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Set. It's a bit spendy but incredibly worth it. My skin never looked so dewey and healthy as when I was able to use this for a week. Another great alternative is just the Caudalie Beauty Elixer To Go. I always have this little guy in my purse and it's an instant refresher while out and about.