5 Winter Makeup Essentials For Dry/Very Dry Skin

Doing your makeup during the harsh cold winter months can be challenging for dry/very dry skin types. Your skin is already sensitized from dryness, so stacking layers of makeup can further strip your skin of its natural oils and cause irritation or flaky patches of skin that peel through your makeup (especially around the mouth and cheeks). A winter makeup routine should focus on keeping your skin hydrated as well as providing adequate coverage, so here are five winter makeup essentials that I think will make your makeup life a lot easier (and everything mentioned in this post is affordable and easy to find at any drugstore or mass retailer)…

1. A Hydrating Moisturizer

For dry/very dry skin types, the perfect start to your makeup routine is to load up on hydrating staples like serums and essences on your skin and lock everything in with a nourishing moisturizer to seal in the moisture and keep your skin supple all day. I recommend Neutrogena Hydro Boost Fragrance Free Hyaluronic Acid Gel-Cream (for extra dry skin. $19.57 for 1.7 oz.) for hydration that does not feel sticky or greasy under your makeup.

2. A Hydrating Primer

Prepping your dry skin well before going in with makeup is essential. This will ensure that your dry skin will not show up from underneath the layers and using a hydrating primer on top of your moisturizer will keep your makeup intact for hours. I recommend Maybelline Master Prime Hydrate & Smooth Primer ($7.18 for 1 oz.) This primer provides hydration, evens out skin tone and smooths the skin while giving the skin luminosity.

3. A Dewy Foundation

We dry-skinned gals should stay away from matte foundations! Stick to creamy or oil-based formulas that will give your skin an even-toned, hydrating, and dewy finish. I recommend Loreal Age Perfect Radiant Serum Foundation w/ SPF 50 ($12.64 for 1 oz., comes in 30 shades). This provides all day hydration while providing medium coverage and a radiant finish on the skin.

4. A Liquid or Stick Concealer

Picking the right formulation of concealer is crucial for dry skin types. Any kind of powder-based, stick or mattifying concealer can lead to crease lines (especially around your eye area). I recommend Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Concealer Stick ($11.92 for 0.12 oz. stick). This concealer has hyaluronic acid, covers dark circles well, isn’t cakey under the eyes and comes in 5 shades.

 5. A Tinted Moisturizer

On days when you need minimum coverage, but feel that your skin needs extra hydration, go in with tinted moisturizer (or bb cream) instead of a foundation. I recommend Maybelline Dream BB Fresh Skin Hydrating Balm ($7.44 for 1 oz.) This bb cream blurs imperfections, enhances, brightens, adjusts to skin tome, smooths, hydrates, has no oils or heavy ingredients and bonus, helps protect skin with SPF 30. (I also really love Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Perfector 4-IN-1 Glow Makeup, $9.98 for 0.68 oz. This provides hydration, light coverage, and all-day radiance that I absolutely love and sometimes when I want a little more coverage, I will combine this with the Maybelline BB Fresh and I get light medium coverage and radiant skin at the same time).

Honorable Mentions

Cream products like contour/bronzer, highlighter and blush are all fantastic for dry/very dry skin. I recommend Wet n Wild Megaglo Contour Sticks ($4.49 ea.), Wet n Wild Megaglo Blush Sticks ($4.49 ea.) and Wet n Wild Hello Halo Liquid Highlighters ($5.99).

I hope these tips and recommendations help you find the right makeup products for your dry/very dry skin. Also, what are your favorite makeup products you use for your dry/very dry skin? Let us know in the comments below and until next week, be happy, healthy, and beautiful!

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