Last week you may have seen our top five winter must-have winter beauty products! We featured one of our all-time favourite moisturisers, Skin Food by Weleda, an ethical, green, natural and organic beauty brand that has been manufacturing these absolute delights since 1921.

The post had such a great response that this week, we’ve teamed up with Weleda for a special competition. You can win a trio of Weleda’s longest-running products, dating back to the 1920s, each perfect to see you through the rest of the winter: Skin Food, Revitalising Hair Tonic and Arnica Massage Oil.

All you have to do to win this very special prize from Weleda is comment in the box at the bottom of this post (please leave your real email address, it won’t be published) before midnight on Christmas eve and let us know your favourite winter beauty secret. The winner will be chosen at random by the Darling Lovely Life team and we’ll be sending someone a very special Christmas message to let them know that they’ve won! 

About the prizes

Skin Food

Weleda introduced this totally natural, replenishing cream in 1926, and it’s still going strong. Skin Food is a beauty essential our grandmothers kept on their dressing tables long before anti-peptides were even dreamt off, when soap and water was the only way to remove make up and a nourishing skin repair was needed at the end of the day.

For decades Skin Food has been an industry beauty secret, but recently it has become a firm favourite with many high-profile celebrities and now the secret’s out! The enthusiastic fan club includes singers Joss Stone and Rihanna, and actresses Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, Kerry Washington, Winona Ryder and Lili Taylor. Top models Erin O’Connor, Helena Christensen, Chandra North, Angela Lindvall, Jessica Stam, Claudia Barila and Karen Ferrari all rely on Skin Food to counteract tired or jet-lagged skin.

Top tip

Target needy areas by dabbing on and gently patting in with your finger pads rather than rubbing, to avoid dragging the skin. Gentle patting also livens up facial circulation, bringing a naturally fresh and radiant look. With its all-natural ingredients and organic plant extracts, it really is the perfect remedy for dry, winter skin!

Revitalising Hair Tonic

Formulated in 1921, this is the oldest product in Weleda’s natural cosmetics range and is the secret weapon of many haircare professionals today. This luxuriously aromatic tonic helps treat hair and scalp problems, including hair loss, thinning or brittle hair, dandruff and flaking. Rosmarinus officinalis leaf oil from the fresh leaf tips of the rosemary plant is a brilliantly invigorating ingredient. Used for centuries for its restorative and tonic properties, and particularly known as a circulatory stimulant, it was used as a hair rinse for dandruff. Rosemary helps restore the health of the scalp, making it ideal for treating hair loss and dryness, as well as helping hair regain its shine, manageability and thickness. Stonecrop and horseradish (which is naturally rich in silica) work together with rosemary to discourage microbial development and reduce inflammation.Rosemary oil gives the hair tonic a fresh, zingy scent with a woody-balsamic base note.

Top tip

Regular use helps the condition of permed, bleached or damaged hair, so if you’ve been hitting the peroxide, give your hair and scalp a luxurious and replenishing treatment.

Arnica Massage Oil

Arnica Montana is an alpine plant that’s used in alternative medicine as a natural anti-inflammatory. Over 150 active compounds have been found in arnica alone, making it a wonderful remedy for sore muscles. After a demanding session at the gym, long day at a desk, or dancing the night away this New Year’s Eve, Weleda’s Arnica Massage Oil will comfort tired, aching muscles Soothing and warming, it’s ideal for massage, and, of course, contains 100% natural and sustainably sourced ingredients.

Top tip

For pilates or yoga enthusiasts, try it before a class or work-out to keep muscles warm and flexible. The nourishing plant oils give dry skin a treat – it’s also a great for new mums to ease the usual minor post-pregnancy niggles, and is naturally fragranced with rosemary and lavender to revive you!

Terms and conditions: The competition is open to residents of the UK only. Staff members of Darling Lovely Life, Weleda and their immediate family are ineligible to enter. The competition closes at 11.59pm on the 24th of December 2013. Entries received after this time will not be counted. If you do not wish to receive communications from Weleda or Darling Lovely Life (other than to be informed if you win) please write OU (opt out) in your comment. If you win, your prize will be shipped within two working weeks. The prize consists of a trio of the listed products, Arnica Massage Oil (100ml), Skin Food (30ml) and Revitalising Hair Tonic (100ml). The prize cannot be exchanged for any other Weleda goods or cash alternatives. No responsibility can be accepted for entries lost, damaged or delayed in the post, or due to computer error in transit.

Winter is a tricky time of year for beauty. Personally, I go out less, so I honestly tend to let my beauty routine slip a little. The cold can be very drying, leaving my very curly hair in need of some desperate de-frizzing, lips chapped, skin thirsty – it can be a bit of a bleak picture. Luckily, I do have five winter products that are absolute godsends when it comes to taking care of myself.

The first thing I would suggest, before any beauty products, is staying hydrated, eating fruit and veg (who can resist a hearty winter soup?) and taking any vitamins or supplements your diet is lacking. With so many bugs going around, the heating on full blast and the stress of getting organised before the holidays, it can be easy to miss your body’s signs that it needs some TLC.

So without further ado…

My five must-have winter beauty products

For my hair – Hair Doctor hair mask, £6.95 at Lush

Nothing works faster for my very disobedient hair than Hair Doctor by Lush. It’s a fresh, stimulating hair mask made from seaweeds and mud. I have an extraordinary amount of hair and I get at least three uses out of one tub within the four-week recommended time frame that it’s kept in the fridge, so its £6.95 price tag is definitely worth it for a course of several treatments depending on your hair type. I’ve found that it really does soften and tame my hair, but it’s also really pleasant to use in the bath, it tingles slightly making it really invigorating for your scalp too.

For my lips – Carmex lip balm £2.95 at Boots

There’s no need to spend a fortune on your lips – good old Carmex is £2.95 at Boots, comes in a range of flavours (strawberry and mint are my favourites) and works just as well as the most high-end product. Many make-up artists that I know use it as a standard lip balm in their kits and I don’t go anywhere without mine – not a chapped lip in sight.

For my eyes – all about eyes £25 – £40 at Clinique

Yes, the price tag on this product is steep, but I promise you if you put a 15ml jar of all about eyes by Clinique on your wish list (£25) this year and Santa is nice enough to leave one in your stocking, it will last you ages (you only need a tiny bit each application) and it will eliminate any post boozy Christmas party bags under your eyes. A pro tip, apply all about eyes just above your eye socket, rather than directly under your eyes.

For my hands – Dr Hauschka hand cream, £12.50 for 50ml

Dr Hauschka is one of my favourite beauty brands, and this hand cream is a winter staple. It’s thick and rich without being oily, which makes it really nice to use, and as with all Dr Hauschka products, the hand cream has that gorgeous, natural scent that makes you really feel pampered.

For my face – Skin Food, £8.95 for 75ml at Weleda

Another eco-friendly brand with biodynamic and organic ingredients, Weleda is one of my all-time favourite beauty secrets and Skin Food is, in my opinion, their best product. It’s ideal for very dry, winter skin – so if you have combination skin like me, a little bit on problem areas like cheeks and your forehead should make all the difference. In fact, you can use it all over your body. Loved by celebrities like Adele, this is an award-winning simple but effective winter face cream that will last you ages and keep your skin glowing and beautiful.