I’m building up quite a collection of soothing creams for wintery, stressed-out skin. I tend to suffer from little patches of problem skin – chapping around the nose, on the lips, and rough, sore skin on my hands. I also like to use something quite heavy duty if it’s bitterly cold outside and I know that I’m going to be outdoors for a while – if I use any of these under makeup, though, I leave them to sink in for a fair while. About twenty to thirty minutes does the trick for me.

You can just about see L’Occitane’s Fabulous Serum creeping into shot – this isn’t really a rescue balm, which is why it’s been cropped out. It’s lovely, though, for very dry skin. I did a bit of a shea butter bonanza last week – you can read that in a separate window HERE. The Barefoot SOS Cream and the MONU are both really very affordable. The MONU can be used as an all-over moisturiser, it’s nice and light and smells wonderfully rosy! It’s £16.25 with free worldwide delivery at FeelUnique.com. The Barefoot SOS cream is slightly heavier and really packs a bit of a moisture-punch. It is lightly fragranced and costs £10.50 with free delivery.

Moving on over, and creeping up in price we have Darphin’s Intral cream. Bit of a beauty editor favourite, this one! I use it as a night moisturiser, sometimes, when my face just feels battered by the elements. It’s excellent – really soothing and unfussy. If you wanted to boost this one up a bit for a night treatment then it works beautifully with a touch of face oil mixed in! Intral cream costs £38 with free delivery.

Selexir – I’ve written more extensively about this one HERE. The Peace Balm is new onto the beauty market and has had brilliant trial results. I think that it’s fabulous – it really seems to soothe and make the skin instantly more supple. Prices for this cream (which is actually more of a thick balm) start at £20 for 15ml – it’s not an all-over face cream by any means, unless of course you have eczema or skin condition covering an extensive area. Best to warm this one and press onto the skin, I find, and then a little goes further.

Next, All For Eve’s Balm. Sat up there in the right hand corner, looking very handy and compact, I must say! This is a multi-purpose balm for small areas – chapped lips, dry cuticles, tips of noses! I find these multipurpose balms more difficult to like, but only because, I think, I prefer a tube. They also (and by they, I mean the Liz Earle version, the Antipodes Saviour, the Trilogy one) tend to have this herbally scent and taste that I have gone off over the past year or so. It’s just a personal preference kind of thing! Anyway, I’m including Eve’s Balm because I’ve never mentioned it before and the proceeds of each sale go to charity. You can find it here.

Ah, saving the Cicaplast until last, you will notice! Do you remember what a fan I am of the original version? That one is great for targeted skin repair after a chemical peel, or if you’ve overdone your facial scrubbing, or if you’ve stayed out in the sun a little too long. The new Baume B5 contains 5% panthenol to soothe irritated skin and it comes in a chunky 100ml tube. It’s more suitable for general calming and comforting of the skin, I’d say – it has a far creamier, more satisfying texture. Fragrance and paraben free, and contains antibacterial agents (as does the original version) so it’s suitable for minor cuts and grazes. An excellent cream to have in the first aid kit to treat those random itches and scratches that we all sometimes get. Cicaplast Baume B5 costs £15.50 and you can get it with free delivery from Escentual.com

Any winter skin saviours of your own? I have missed a good few out, but I’m planning a bigger post and video so do tell me your suggestions!