Maybe it’s because of the viciously dry air, or my skin getting thinner by the minute, but I’ve taken to applying lightweight eye cream in the middle of the day with the same fervour that I swipe on lip balm.
Eye cream is such Goldilocks skincare. Many are so rich you look freshly buttered and constant reapplication can leave you with under-eye bumps (milia) that need to be lanced by a dermatologist with a very sharp blade. Or they’re so lightweight they feel great but don’t do anything. Weleda’s new Smoothing Eye Cream, $45, well.ca) has caffeine to depuff and rosa moschata oil (rosehip) which is loaded with fatty acids and vitamins, to calm redness and strengthen the skin barrier. It’s perfect when you need to fight the ridiculous seasonal chill and low ambient moisture air. Damn you, winterface! (Shakes fist at sky.)
My latest ‘get home after being frozen solid outdoors’ routine is to plug in the kettle (obviously, that’s before anything) and then spray my face with La Roche-Posay Cicaplast B5 spray for a dose of soothing and skin barrier protecting madecassoside and panthenol. (Full disclosure: the spray is available in Europe and the US. Not Canada. In the meantime, just slather on Cicaplast B5 Soothing Relieving Balm.)
Then I dab dab dab a few drops of the Weleda Smoothing Eye Cream on my upper cheekbones and the outer corners of my eyes. I’m not in an office with other people, so I could conceivably spend my days unmoisturized and wizened, but why would I do that? This combo gives me a midday lift and makes me feel less desiccated which is my favourite word and so apt this time of year.