Cold Weather Essentials For Big Babies Like Me

Y’all, I hate the cold. Like, I really hate it and I’m a huge baby about it. I live in Louisville where the weather is unpredictable and we can have all four seasons in one week. Earlier this week, it was almost 70 degrees but we were under a winter weather advisory and all the schools had already canceled for the next day. Crazy. So, I was forced to mentally and physically prepare for a huge shift in weather and decided to compile a list of my favorite cold weather essentials. All photos link to where you can find the products!

No smiles in the snow.

Lip Care:

There are few things in life we can say everyone on the planet has suffered through. I’m pretty sure having chapped lips is on the list. These are my favorite products to not feel like my lips are sandpaper all winter.

Handmade Heroes Cocolicious Lip Scrub

This stuff is a game changer. I have mixed feelings about lip balm so I really like this option. Instead of just putting lip balm on top of your chapped lips, this exfoliates them and leaves them super smooth.

The formula is all natural and cruelty free so that’s awesome. And back to that whole moisturizing thing, many lip balms contain alcohol that actually leads to drying your lips out more. This scrub contains almond oil, olive oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E. If that doesn’t moisturize your chapped lips, I don’t know what will.

It’s $9.90 which might seem like a lot for a lip scrub, but I’m telling you mine looks like it hasn’t been used. It takes such a small amount I’ll be able to pass this same little glass container on to my first born. I don’t know what else to tell y’all but to order this because it’s a game changer.

Burt’s Bee’s Lip Balm

I love Burt’s Bee’s products in general, but their lip balm is a constant staple in my life day in and day out. I think I have six sticks of their tinted lip balm in Red Dahlia at any given moment. I always make sure I have it on me. If I’m wearing “daily” make up I usually use the tinted lip balm instead of lipstick. It’s perfectly tinted to the point that you have some color but isn’t opaque enough to have to worry about sloppily putting it on without a mirror. I haven’t tried any of their other colors because I fell in love with this one, but I’m also a fan of the original lip balm as well.

Awkward cropped picture of Red Dahlia withstanding a huge cheeseburger and several hours.

The only reason I don’t reach for their original as much is because I find the peppermint a little overwhelming at times. Again, I love that its derived from natural ingredients and doesn’t have alcohol or anything else that’ll make your situation worse.

Aveda Lip Saver

The name isn’t lying. I’m a big Aveda fan and this is the other lip balm I use and love. The main ingredients to fix you up are cinnamon leaf, clove and anise oils. Like everything else Aveda makes, it smells amazing and makes you feel like you’re at a spa. This is a thicker formula than Burt’s Bees but it doesn’t have that waxy feel that some lip balms have. If the peppermint oil from Burt’s Bees is too much for you, this is a good alternative.

Skin Care:

Aveda Tulasara Renew Morning Creme

As I said in my GlamGlow post, I kind of suck at skincare routines. I have super dry skin and instead of following a routine to deal with it, I usually just complain and sporadically try to fix it. Regardless, I use this product a lot, not every day like I promised myself I would, but a lot.

When I bought this, I assumed it wouldn’t do anything it claimed it would. To my surprise, it made my skin so bright as soon as I covered my face. This is another one that’s pretty expensive but it hardly looks like I’ve used it. It takes about a fingertip’s worth to cover your entire face.

These two pictures were taken within like 1 minute of each other. The left is no make up and nothing else. Just my skin how I woke up. The right is a fingertip amount of the morning creme. This is the same exact location and lighting (I couldn’t make my hood look stupid like that twice in a row). My skin always looks way brighter and more even with such a small amount.

It leaves my face moisturized all day without feeling heavy or greasy. It feels like a little spa session every morning that I use it. Winter and cold weather do not look good on me, so anything that brightens my skin and makes me look more alive than I am is good in my books.

Dr. Jart+ Hydration Lover Rubber Mask

Alright y’all, this thing is scary. There’s no way around it. Like, if you have children make sure to do this after they go to sleep or they will have nightmares. My dog won’t even look at me when I do this mask. Aside from that, there are very few flaws with this mask.

See you in your nightmares!

This is a two-step mask, which makes me feel super luxurious. The first step is a serum you put on your face and honestly there’s enough to cover your face at least twice. After you’re covered, you place this terrifying rubber mask over the serum. The rubber mask essentially locks the serum into your skin and makes sure nothing can evaporate while you’re relaxing and everyone around you is terrified. This ensures that the serum is really penetrating your skin.

When I take this mask off I feel like a new person. My skin is so soft and hydrated. I really like that there’s nothing to wash off. You can just rub the rest of the serum into your skin after you remove the rubber mask, or wipe it off if you feel inclined.

My biggest complaint about this mask, other than looking like a psycho killer, is how fragile the rubber mask is. A lot of other reviews complain about their masks tearing as they’re trying to peel it out of the packaging. I have had one tear and, while it’s a bummer, the mask will still do its job. I always stay away from sheet style masks because I just don’t like them and feel like they’re constantly falling off. This one stays on for the most part. The one that tore seemed to slide off a little bit but nothing too terrible.

Clothes:

Munki Munki Plush Pajama set

The house I live in is 117 years old so while it has a lot of charming characteristics, insulation isn’t one of them. It doesn’t help that my furnace, that might also be 117 years old, decided to stop working as soon as the temperature started dropping. I would wake up to my house being between 48 and 54 degrees. So, while I waited on my furnace to come back to life I had to try to stay warm.

These pajamas were literal lifesavers. The top might be the softest thing I own. It feels like I’m wrapped in a really warm cloud. I got mine at Target but they have their own website with even more options. I have two sets of the plush pullover and jersey bottoms. They have a lot of cute prints on their website and you can mix and match tops and bottoms. There was like a two-week period when, if I was at home, I was wearing one of these sets. I would wake up in them, put on “real” clothes to brave the world, and get right back in them as soon as I got back home. For sure recommend to anyone who likes lounging in warm, comfy clothes.

Harlowe and Graham Velvet set

Alright, velvet is my favorite material of all time and I would wear it every day, year around if it was an option. I used to get made fun of because velvet wasn’t cool, but now everyone’s on board and I’m here for it.

I got this set at Nordstrom Rack (the greatest store on earth) and I’m obsessed. I originally bought the joggers and fell in love. I wear them around my house but they’re also nice enough to dress up some and not look like you’re wearing pajamas in public. They’re also my go-to travel pants for this same reason. I love these pants so much that when I thought I lost them (couldn’t find them for 30 minutes), I got in my car and bought a backup pair at the Rack. It’s serious. Unfortunately, they’re currently sold out online but I know our Nordstrom Rack still has them.

There is an almost identical pair from XO MANDYSUE that you can get for 35% off with my code KYA35. Although it would be nice, I don’t get paid for any purchase y’all make. It’s just a nice little promo from XO MANDYSUE for anyone who follows me or reads my blog. All of their clothes are super cute and affordable. It’s one of the only places I’ve ever ordered a bunch of clothes from and every. single. thing. fit. That’s unheard of. Made me a fan really quick.

On another weekly trip to the Rack I noticed the matching sweatshirt and jumped on it. I decided to get it in a wine color instead of black, the color of the joggers, so it didn’t look like a legit sweat suit. I refer to this outfit as my fancy sweat suit and it’s definitely a go-to.

There are two XS sweatshirts left in the wine color but more sizes available in cream and black.

The velvet sweatshirt makes walking my dog in a snow a little more bearable.

SmartWool socks

I have terrible circulation and my feet are always freezing. These socks save my life. I’ve tried a lot of socks because I lose a lot of socks. My sock collection is always changing because one, or both, go missing. Regardless, I have tried a lot of socks. When it comes to warmth these Smartwool Larimer Crew socks are my new faves. I bought them for my stepdad for Christmas, but when my heat went out and I couldn’t find socks I opened them for myself and now they’re mine. The pair I have are a men’s large and they fit me fine because I have massive feet.  I’ve been wearing them pretty much nonstop this winter. They’re thick enough to keep your feet warm but breathable enough that you’re not walking in a puddle of your own sweat. I wear them with everything from boots to converse as soon it starts getting cold.

Featuring Munkni Munki PJ pants.

I also really love the Trekking Heavy socks. Pro tip: you don’t have to do any actual trekking to love these socks. I wear them to trek from my bed to my couch and they work just fine. They’re also the perfect thickness for optimal warmth and comfort.

Patagonia Down With It Parka

When you need a big, thick jacket, this is the one. Yes, it’s expensive but it’s also amazing. When I wear this it legitimately feels like I’m wearing a sleeping bag, which I consider a good thing. I swam in high school and we had team parkas that I lived in during the winter. I’m not sure why it took me until my Junior year of college to buy a parka that wasn’t blue and gold and socially acceptable to wear on a daily basis, but I haven’t looked back. It may sound stupid, but the difference between a jacket that hits you at the hips and one that hits you at the calves is huge. This jacket runs small since it’s a slim cut so I got an XL to be able to fit my huge sweaters underneath. Also, Patagonia is a great company and stands behind their products which is always nice. I’m always more likely to shell out the big bucks on products when I know the company thoroughly backs them.

A living, breathing sleeping bag.

XO MANDYSUE Windswept Jacket

While I love my parka, sometimes I want to wear something that keeps me warm but doesn’t look like a sleeping bag. I love this jacket and all the details on it. It’s corduroy with a faux Sherpa collar and cuffs. It’s super warm while also being super cute. Olive is also one of my favorite colors and I consider it a neutral, not sure if it actually is, but I think you can wear it with pretty much anything. Its super easy to dress up or down. It’s only $65 but with my code KYA35 you can get it for 35% off!

Do y’all feel ready for the tundra now? TBH, I’m never ready for the cold no matter how much velvet and lip balm I have, but I hope this helps y’all make it through the rest of this winter. Let me know what’s on y’all’s cold weather essentials list so we can all be a little bit more comfortable.  Stay warm out there, folks.