Winter is not really a good time for me. Constantly competing with the elements and central heating leaves my skin dry and feeling quite sore. I find it so hard to keep my skin moisturised and a long time ago gave up altogether on ever having flake free skin during the colder months. I think it’s important to mention that I have extremely dry, sensitive skin; and have fought with it my entire life. I’ve tried everything I could to tame it – I’ve had creams from the doctor, covered myself in coconut oil, tried the thickest body creams I could find and have even resorted to creaming 3-4 times a day.
I remember skin flying around the room and white flakes coating the inside of my clothes. To say that it’s been a constant fight is an understatement! But this year is different. I’ve finally found something that leaves my skin feeling and looking soft, and – for the first time – completely flake free!
Nivea is one of the brands that have been around forever, and for some reason I’ve always overlooked it. I’ve gone for the more expensive creams, or newer products and never really paid that much attention to it. This year however, I thought that I’d give it a go and I am so glad that I did! At the moment I use two different products; the slightly greasier Nivea Creme for my face and the softer, thinner Lotion for my body.
Heavenly
I know that most people don’t like using greasy products on their face, but this Nivea Creme is heavenly! Nivea’s original cream, which is enriched with the skin related Eucerit, is easy to rub in and leaves my face well moisturised, but admittedly a little shiny. Personally, I really don’t find this a problem. I find that by the time I apply my makeup and powder all the shine goes and I’m left with smooth looking skin.
Normally in winter I find it such a struggle to wear makeup and as soon as I apply any I’m left with loose flakes of skin and have to add cream on top of my makeup to an attempt to smooth everything out. Then for the rest of the day my skin is constantly peeling and flaking off – looking awful and making me so self-conscious! But with this cream I never have this problem. My make-up goes on so easily over this moisturiser, and I’m left with an even complexion and nice, smooth finish.
Top Tip
My one top tip is to leave the crème to absorb into your skin for about 10-20 minutes before applying your makeup! I also always make sure that my hair is tied up or out of my face before applying the crème and I avoid applying anything too close to my hairline. Just because it’s quite greasy and I found it can make your hair quite greasy.
When I tried Nivea Crème, I will admit I was worried that I’d suffer breakouts as it’s quite a thick consistency. But I’ve been using this for around a month now and am pleased to report I haven’t noticed an increase in spots! I’m honestly so happy with this cream; I apply it to my face twice a day after washing with The Body Shop’s Tea Tree face wash and the moisture lasts all day long. My face is smooth, flake free and my makeup glides on so easily!
Sometimes it does leave your skin a little greasy, but I mostly find this at night when I slather on a little extra. I really don’t mind this to be honest because I know that this is the best way to get smooth, soft skin all winter long.
Flake Free
I found Nivea Crème was a bit too thick to use on my body; the thick consistency made it difficult to spread on large areas, such as your legs. And I ended up using so much cream because of this, that it really wasn’t cost effective.
Instead, I decided to give Nivea Lotion a go. Thanks to the thin consistency, I only need to use a very small amount; it spreads really easily and absorbs quickly leaving your skin feeling smooth and soft. With this lotion I can honestly say that I am 100% flake free, something that I have never been able to say during the winter. I’ve gone from having to cream up to 5x a day to being able to just do once, although I always aim to moisturise in the morning and evening.
I don’t know what it is about this lotion that makes it so successful. It’s soft, thin and rubs in perfectly. It leaves my skin feeling well moisturised and smooth and completely flake free. From someone with extremely dry, sensitive skin it means so much that I’ve finally been able to find a cream that doesn’t leave me embarrassingly dry with flakes of skin flying whenever I move.
Keeping It Simple
I think that this is the perfect example of why sometimes it’s best to just keep things simple. Nivea was a cream that I never really considered. I always went for the slightly more expensive brands, or the ones with flashier packaging. But this cream is honestly amazing. It’s the best cream that I’ve had – and is the only one that has successfully got rid of my horrible winter skin. Even prescribed cream couldn’t cure my flaky skin.
So, to recap: I use the thinner lotion on my body twice a day. Or if I have a particularly dry patch, I’ll apply a bit of the thicker cream instead. I’ll moisturise my face twice a day using the crème after washing with face wash, and will leave it about 10 minutes minimum before I start to apply makeup.
The Perfect Routine
I know that it may not work for everyone but this current routine really works for me. Nivea’s original crème keeps my face soft and supple and easily fights the harsh effects of Winter. The smoother, thinner cream is perfect for my body; it spreads easily, instantly moisturises and the bottle seems to go on forever.
I never thought that I’d find a cream that leaves my skin soft and flake free in the winter. But these two moisturisers are perfect. My absolute dream come true; they’re cheap to buy, smell divine easy to find and, most importantly, give the perfect results.
Rosie x
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