winter beauty essentials

Aside from a good coat (and requisite accessories like gloves, boots and scarves), no one really warns you about the other cold weather essentials. The beauty kind. I was prepared to be tan-free in December for the first time in my life, sure. But I wasn't ready for my skin to get so dry! Since realizing this, I've been reading up on some of my favorite beauty blogs to find out what girls out there are doing to keep their skin glowing throughout the winter months. I've started adding to my winter beauty reperturar and have found some amazing products. 

Here are some of my favorite winter beauty essentials. What are yours?

*Lip Balm - The first place I really started feeling the effects of the harsh winter cold was my lips. Suddenly, a layer of lipstick just wasn't enough to keep my lips from getting dry and chapped. Though this amazing Rosebud Salve lip balm isn't a new discovery to my life, I find myself putting it on a few times a day now and falling back in love with the smooth texture and faintly floral scent. If you prefer the kind of lip balm you can put on like a lip stick, I also really like Nivea's Kiss of Smoothness.

*Hand Cream - I felt the dryness on my hands second. I now keep hand cream, not shown here, in my drawer at work and apply this a few times a day too. I like Philosophy's Hope for Hands.

*Moisturizing Body Wash - I learned quickly that bar soap tends to strip your skin of moisture, no matter how good it is. I switched to the luxurious Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash and noticed a difference almost immediately.

*Moisturizer - I was never a moisturizer kind of girl. With all the humidity in Miami, I never really needed to be. I've tried out a few different kinds over the last few months though and love this one from Dove for every day. For an extra dose of moisture and a pretty vanilla scent, I slather this thicker Bath & Body Works cream in Warm Vanilla Sugar on once a week.

*Exfoliating Scrub - Again, I was never the type to really exfoliate anything other than my face but I've grown to love salt scrubs. I love that this one smells like Argan Oil and doesn't leave my skin feeling too greasy after use.