Unless you're new around here, you'll know that my specialities as a beauty director span across three categories: fragrance, self-care and low-effort products. It feels needless to explain, therefore, that winter is my time to thrive. Staying indoors and whiling away my days indulging in a luxury skincare routine, swaddling myself in comforting scents, from body creams to perfumes, and generally revelling in the joy of it being too cold to go outside? Sign me up.
Although winter hasn't technically started, the less-than-ideal temperatures mean that it's felt like winter to me for many weeks already. As a result, I have already started work on my selfish winter arc. With party season about to kick in, I've been prioritising some me-time before my social battery starts to drain—and I highly recommend you do the same. I have been hitting the saunas in a bid to both boost glow and settle my mind, treating myself to facials to make sure I'm stepping into the festive season with my skin's best foot forward, indulging in multi-step bodycare routines as though it's a form of meditation and perhaps most shockingly to those who know me, actually keeping on top of my manicures.
And so, all of this beauty work that I have been putting in behind the scenes means that I have been testing and trialling heaps of new products, and some of them have really impressed me. In fact, I'd go as far as to say I think everyone deserves to experience at least one of them over the next few months.
So, here it is, my edit of the best winter beauty products around right now.
1. Merit The Winter Set
I make it no secret that I am perhaps Merit's biggest fan. Seriously, this is a brand that knows how to do lazy-girl makeup better than any other, and it's chic as hell, too. However, when I first got my hands on this winter set, I thought I might pass it on to a friend—after all, I already own all of the products inside. Or so I thought. On closer inspection, I realised that inside was a mini Flush Balm, Signature Lip Liner and Shade Slick Sheen in a limited-edition shade: Courmayeur. As soon as I realised that, I tore straight into the box to get a closer look. Within seconds, they were on my face.
Truly, this brick-toned brown/red is the perfect winter makeup shade. The flush balm has graced my face every single day of December so far, and every single day I have received compliments on how full of life and glowing my skin looks. If you've been waiting to try something from Merit, this is your sign.
2. Saltair Golden Hour Body Butter
Nothing says winter quite like cocooning yourself in an unctuous body cream, and hear me when I say that Saltair body butters are just the product for the job. The formula is rich and hydrating, but never thick or too greasy. My favourite scent in the line-up is Santal Bloom (sadly sold out), but this one comes in close second. It smells like coconuts, exotic flowers and tropical beaches, making it the ultimate escapist product for a cold winter's day.
3. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer
Trying to faux any sort of skin health during the winter months has long proved a near-impossible task for me. If my skin isn't dry and crusty, it's oily and textured, and if it's not red and blotchy, it's pale and sallow—I just really struggle to get it to behave. This glow-boosting bronzer from Hourglass is, without question, the hardest-working product in my makeup bag right now. It adds a bronzy glow so natural-looking that a colleague asked me if I had been on holiday just last week.
4. Rhode Peptide Lip Tint
Winter 2025 will go down in history as the season I finally caved and got a Rhode phone case. And don't get me wrong, I've always adored the Rhode Peptide Lip Tints and Treatments, but something about getting this case and always having a lip balm to hand has made me fall totally head over heels for them—and this one in particular. Toast doesn't just smell great (like torched crème brûlée), but the sheer, rosy-brown hue also makes for the ultimate everyday lip colour, too. Every time I apply it (which is approximately one million times a day), I'm filled with joy.
5. Acqua di Parma Panettone Candle
Nothing, and I mean nothing, fills me with pure elation quite like a great winter candle—and Acqua di Parma Panettone is the cream of the crop. As I'm writing this, its wick has let out its final puff, and I feel great sadness knowing that no other candle on my shelf will be able to fill the hole it has left in my heart. Panettone smells like creamy, honeyed festive treats stacked up tall on a warm kitchen counter, but it remains light, delicate and surprisingly fresh on the nose. It's a seriously special buy.
6. Manucurist Hollyhock
I don't have too much to say about this other than Manucurist Hollyhock isn't just my non-negotiable winter nail colour, it is also (in my opinion) the best winter nail colour to ever exist. This red is so deep, it's almost black, and no matter how many times I sit in a salon and ask the manicurist to see if she can create a gel-blend from another brand to deliver the same finish, I always feel let down—nothing can beat the original.
7. Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask
I want it to be known that I take my luxury beauty recommendations very seriously, and whenever I recommend a product like this, it's not to say I think you need it. That being said, if a £100+ price tag on a face mask doesn't faze you, then add this to your basket and never look back. The bliss I feel after slathering on this creamy face mask and revealing the most plump, juicy, glowing skin of my life goes unrivalled.
8. The Virtue 1987
I recently discovered this perfume in the all-new Boots Fragrance concept store in London. Despite being a fragrance connoisseur, I had never heard of New Zealand-based fragrance brand, The Virtue. It was the minimalist packaging and chic aesthetic that first drew me to it, but my gosh, it was the scent that kept me invested. 1987 smells like a freshly snipped bouquet of velvety white florals, but not in the usual heady, powdery sense. Instead, the addition of white musk delivers a cool iciness that keeps things feeling bright and sparkling, like a heavy dusting of snow glittering on the ground. Plus, the parfum blend means just one spray lasts all day. If you want to give it a go without committing the full £107, there are 15ml options available for a fraction of the price.
9. Medik8 Pro-Collagen + Peptide Cream
My, oh my, this moisturiser is truly as good as everyone says it is. I am now on my second tub of the stuff, and my dry skin is lapping up every bit of its goodness. Formulated with heaps of high-tech peptides, it really does boost collagen levels, plumpness and skin firmness (seriously, it's proven to) to reveal a winter glow I never knew I was capable of. Plus, the best bit is that it's genuinely wonderful and sensorial to use. The thick cream feels undeniably luxurious.
