I completely ignore the skin on my body in winter, on the basis that it’s hidden away under many layers of clothing. (I also shave my legs much less, which is really unattractive in my view. I say “in my view” to avoid accusations of being hairist. My legs, my hair, you do you.)
In fact winter is the perfect time to pay attention to your skin. Whatever unguents you apply will sit there happily, under the layers of clothing, quietly improving things. No one’s dipping them in sea water, no one’s boiling them in the sun — they can just get on with it. So whereas I am more than happy to use cheapo body lotion in the warmer months, the upcoming fallow period is usually the time I up my game a bit, so that when my limbs emerge in the spring they are in optimal shape. The idea is to avoid them emerging at the first sign of sun looking slightly withered and parched. We want plump, hydrated skin. Glowing, ideally.
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This means bringing out bigger boys than, for example, shea butter, so I am steering you to Nécessaire The Body Retinol (£55, spacenk.com). It not only contains retinol, friend of mature skin, but also 10 per cent AHAs and some vitamin C, all ingredients that I use on my face. The retinol here does what it always does, namely boost skin cell turnover and collagen production, which translates into helping with fine lines, pigmentation marks, uneven tone, lumpy pores and texture generally. It’s not going to eradicate these things, obviously, but it really does help.
I have a dark mark on the back of my left leg from where I spilt a bottle of Cacharel scent (in my great-aunt’s beach hut, talk about dedication) when I was a teenager. I didn’t think anything of it, but when I went out to sunbathe, the spillage sort of baked in and turned into this dark splodge. Annoying, but quite useful several decades later in terms of monitoring the success or otherwise of products that claim to fade dark marks. This is fading it. Very little! Don’t get overexcited. But noticeably to me, which in terms of this particular mark is a lifetime first.
I also think my skin is firmer (I have been using the product for just over three months) — again, not dramatically, but noticeably. More to the point, it is incredibly soft and smooth. The thing I like best of all — see earlier remarks about layers of clothing — is that this is a body serum, meaning it’s not heavy or claggy.
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Sometimes I actively like quite a heavy body cream, but not when I’m wearing tights, a T-shirt, a jumper, woollen trousers and a coat, when the idea of anything sticking under all those would be both claustrophobic and unpleasant. I want something that sinks right in, that I can forget about while it works its magic. Same thing in bed — I don’t want anything adhering to my cosy flannel sheets. This is that product. Not cheap, but it works and feels extremely luxurious to use (as well it might).