One of the downsides of holidaying in cold weather is the toll it takes on your skin. Here are a couple of tips to help get over the most common winter beauty woes.

Using a cleanser with alpha hydroxyl acids every day helps to encourage cell turnover by removing those dead cells that accumulate on the skins surface.

Today’s alpha hydroxyl formulas are gentle enough to do their work without causing skin sensitivity. A better formula than their predecessors.

Manual exfoliators such as scrubs with beads or grains should be used no more than once or twice a week and just on the t-zone for all but the oiliest of skin types. Having cleansed, apply a rich cream moisturizing which contains skin-quenching ingredients such as beeswax, squalane, petrolatum or shea butter. Applying your moisturizer immediately after drying your face but whilst the skin is slightly damp will allow you get the most benefit.

For those with dry skin, moisturizing make-up formulas are your best friend in winter as these creams are oil-based. Check for products that say “formulated for dry skin” or that they list ingredients such as sodium hyaluronate, (bonds moisture to skin), and petrolatum (creates a creamy consistency) making sure you use powder sparingly or avoid it altogether at this time of year.

If your skin takes on a sallow Kermit-like tinge, then counteract it with a bronzer or self tanner. Remember you are paler at this time of year so use a lighter shade than you would use in summer.

For those with ruddy nose and cheeks try a hydrating face mask with soothing ingredients such as cucumber, chamomile or calendula to help calm the red skin.

Another more obvious feature that tends to standout against pale winter skin are the purple-green circles under the eye’s. The problem can be corrected by using a combination of two shades of concealer. Apply a layer of pink-toned concealer, blend it, and then layer a yellow-toned concealer over it.

Obviously with cold wind irritated teary eyes, water proof mascara is a must.

And finally don’t lick your lips or you’ll end up with dry, chapped lips, smoothing eye cream on the lips then exfoliate them with a toothbrush or facecloth helps get rid of dry skin. Try a heavy-duty lip balm with ingredients such as avocado or shea butter and stay away from matte lipstick formulas which can be very drying; instead stick to lip gloss or a tinted balm.