A Rosacea Girlie's Go-To Winter Skincare Products

If you performed a skin analysis on my face in the winter, I’m quite confident the results would tell you that my skin composition is about 75% lotion and 25% skin.

For the first time ever, I successfully warded off winter’s flakes and flurries, and now that we’re in the home stretch, I figured it was the perfect time to share what has actually worked for me this season.

This post is not sponsored but contains some gifted product and commissionable links. As always, all opinions here reflect my own experiences as a consumer, and I highly recommend seeking out professional care to build your own skincare routine if possible. Thank you for reading along!

Now that I’m firmly in my mid-thirties, my skin has become noticeably more temperamental. Rosacea has long been a struggle (I’ve written about my battles with redness here), but lately, my skin has also become more sensitive than ever. Gone are the days of my perpetually oily teenage face—if I skip my skincare routine even for a day, I’m left dealing with dryness, irritation, and itchiness.

With that in mind, I’ve fine-tuned a winter skincare routine that keeps my skin feeling comfortable and hydrated. If you’ve been struggling with keeping your skin calm this season, it might be time to do the same.

MY WINTER SKINCARE ROUTINE

Eight skincare products the author uses during winter

My current skincare routine always begins with a cleanse using Cetaphil’s Gentle Skin Cleanser* and a clean, soft washcloth. This has proven super gentle on my skin while very lightly exfoliating and removing any makeup from the day (I still like to dermaplane my face in the winter to remove peach fuzz and flakes, but I try to stretch it out to once a month, as it can take my sensitive skin a day or two to recover). It might take some getting used to if you’ve been washing your face with something more bubbly, but I promise you won’t miss that itchy-tight feeling after washing with a drying cleanser.

After cleansing, I move onto a rotating serum + moisturizer + squalane routine, topping it off with makeup if it’s during the morning or occasionally a mask or night cream before bed (but a humidifier in my bedroom has really helped me cut down on this, yay!). Here’s everything that’s holding me together this winter:

DERMA E Vitamin C Concentrated Serum | Generally the advice for people with rosacea is to skip Vitamin C products, but by late fall, my dull skin had me on the hunt for something to help brighten things up. This option from DERMA E has been such a help, even though I use it sparingly (and not on days when I apply a retinoid/retinol).

iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Calm the Red Down | This is the newest addition to my skincare lineup, so while the jury’s still out on if I’ll see the same results as their impressive before-and-afters suggest, the serum does seem to help calm my skin down a bit on extra red days. As a bonus, the second chamber in the pump has a green-tinted redness corrector, and it’s just a bit more subtle and easy to apply than the Dr. Jart Color Corrector that I sometimes sub in for foundation (reviewed here).

VETTED Dermlab R Retinoid Serum | I’m hoping to delay the decision on whether or not to get Botox as long as possible, and over the past six months, I’ve been slowly introducing stronger formulations into my routine. I can’t really say if this derm-backed serum has reduced my fine lines, but I’ve definitely seen an improvement in spots with uneven pigmentation. The only drawback to such a clean product? The smell. Without preservatives or fragrances, it’s not the most pleasant scent (there’s something vaguely chlorine-ish about it), but it fades quickly. Save 15% with code WAYWARDBLOG15.

Remedy for Healthy Aging | I was a little nervous when the team at Remedy reached out and generously offered to share their new retinol treatment with me, after trying the classic wrinkle-fighting ingredient a decade ago with adverse results. But what a difference time and research makes, because this formula hasn’t aggravated my skin in the least. Still, I haven’t worked up the courage to use it nightly, and instead am alternating between this and the retinoid above to help slow the effects of aging.

Tula 24-7 Power Swipe – Hydrating Day & Night Eye Balm | This travel-friendly eye balm is my current go-to under-eye product. With squalane, caffeine, peptides, and collagen, it has a little bit of everything needed to moisturize the thin skin in this area while helping me look a little bit more awake. It glides on easily, and I always work from the outer eye to the inner eye—a trick I learned from someone with very few wrinkles around her eyes for her age.

VETTED Dermlab M₂ Rich Moisturizer | According to the brand, “This is packed with barrier restoring and deeply moisturizing essentials- ceramides, phospholipids and cholesterol,” but to me, it’s just a really freaking good, rich moisturizer. It’s spendy, but a little goes a long way. Save 15% with code WAYWARDBLOG15.

The Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Squalane | Finally, an oil for my combination skin that doesn’t look greasy! I’ve been using this budget-friendly option from The Ordinary for several years now, and on the rare day I don’t have access to it, I miss it so much. It’s a great last step in my moisture routine, sealing in the products above and settling in nicely. For my acne-prone friends, good news: this baby is non-comedogenic.

Mario Badescu Lip Balm | I’ve tried so many lip balms over the years that it feels like I must have tried every single option on the market by now. This squeeze tube holds an emollient-rich formula with ingredients like cocoa butter, shea butter, and coconut oil and applies so smoothly. Other lip balms I’ve tried feel great going on and then flake off in an hour, but this one sticks around for good.

Not pictured: Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen | *facepalm* Sunscreen! I can’t believe I forgot to include my sunscreen in the photos above. I have zero desire to open up the can of worms that is the sunscreen debate, but with my sunburn-prone skin (and the active ingredients above), sunscreen is a must.

While I reach for a mineral formula for beach trips, at home, I find I’m most likely to use a truly invisible sunscreen. This formula goes on ghost-clear and doesn’t cause my makeup to pill. Looking to save? You can find a pretty dang good dupe at your local Trader Joe’s.

*I also like the ones from CeraVe—they’re essentially interchangeable to me

TRAVELING WITH SKINCARE IN THE WINTER

Obviously, I can’t fly with my entire skincare routine—the bottles are far too large for the TSA restrictions and I refuse to check a bag. Instead, I streamline things a bit by ditching the retinol/retinoid, and decanting the other too-big bottles into travel-sized containers.

I’ve been disappointed in many travel containers over the years (they’re often too bulky, awkward to refill, or the most egregious sin, they leak), but finally found some that I like from MUJI. These petite tubes come in a wonderfully tiny 0.4 oz size and are my favorite for just about every type of serum or oil. The pump bottles are a little more expensive, but I’ve found them useful for heavier lotions.

But if you’re considering placing a MUJI order I recommend skipping the cream containers, which have all leaked on me, and proceeding at your own risk with these flip-top cylinder containers (some have been great for me and and some have leaked). And a heads-up, you can save 15% off your first MUJI order with my referral link.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON WINTER SKINCARE

Eight skincare products from assorted brands for winter

As we inch closer to spring, I can already see my skincare routine shifting a little. Soon, I’ll be swapping out my richer moisturizers for something lighter (I have this one ready to go) and dialing back on retinol as those longer daylight hours make sun sensitivity more of a concern. But for now, I’m finally at a place that feels good—my skin feels balanced, hydrated, and well cared for, which is no small feat in the depths of winter.

Of course, skincare is always a moving target, and I know I’ll always be keeping an eye on how my skin adapts to the changing seasons and the passing years. But for now, this routine has been a game-changer, and I’m happy to wind down the weeks of winter with a routine that actually works.

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Questions for you

Do you make a big skincare shift for winter?

What are your biggest skin struggles?

Next steps: giving one of these related posts a read

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The Winter 2025 Skincare Edit