Oh, sweet baby jesus, the weather here has been temperamental. It went in between hovering around freezing, taunting us with the knowledge that there is something coming that we call spring that does not  require the warmest coats possible, and then gong back to blowing snow in all directions and staying at -10 plus whatever windchill going on. So the weather has been sort of unpredictable – understatement – and while I’m thankful that my skin hasn’t gone nuclear as a result (it has before) of all this cold-weather craziness, my skin has been a bit more dehydrated and irritated than usual, my eczema all broken out and my lips, once again in that wretched state.

In terms of the face, I turned to my rosehip oil from the brand, By Nature, and it sorted the irritation out, soothing the skin and providing intense nourishment. Note: I really need to stop being so lazy and remember to use this oil more as it’s a godsend.

Midway through the week, I finally succumbed and purchased the La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume, willingly shelling out the sixteen bucks for the healing balm  that I knew was missing from my life. True to its claims, it’s a multipurpose balm that has been a dream for soothing my lips and eczema patches. Because it’s not specifically designed to only be used on the lips, it does not have that typical lip balm texture, instead being a thick cream that can leave the lips looking ashy, but nevertheless it outperforms all other balms I’ve tried. It’s more of a nighttime treatment for sore chapped lips, if you ask me, than one to slap on pre-makeup. And it helps with eczema and all of its itchy glory without burning on contact. Can you tell it has this girl’s skin singing its praises?

Although you can probably gather that things are not exactly springy in my world, I found myself reading and rereading Lisa Eldridge’s “Lighten Up! It’s time for a foundation refresh”. From listening to the awe-inspiring makeup artist, I’ve learned the most on the makeup front, so her post debunking the mystery of the truth behind BB/CC creams slash revealing her lighter foundation picks was a breath of fresh air.

Continuing with that whole ‘spring is coming’ thing, Joanna’s “Spring Makeup Bag Contents” caught my attention. For one, I forever love reading these posts because I’m impaired at the whole putting together a small makeup bag thing but am interested in the endeavour nevertheless and secondly, the lovely and gorgeous, Joanna, has one of those blogs that you find yourself accidentally scouring through the archives of for hours.

Is it spring for all of you yet?

Maggie, x.