My feet are in bits! Skiing may give you gazelle-like thighs and a bottom of steel, but your feet are crammed into oversized socks and Terminator-style ski boots—and they leave their mark!

Winter holidays are nearly here—the season when most people head off to ski, escaping to pristine white slopes for the joys of skiing and snowboarding. And the mountains mean freezing cold, snow, fierce UV and icy wind: all hostile to skin and hair. At Beauté Femme, we're keeping it practical and have put together a mountain-survival beauty kit for you. Inside, you'll find comforting, protective and repairing textures to give your body the care it deserves. A quick note: if you're among the less lucky ones who won't set foot in the mountains, this kit also works for urban cold snaps!

An open weekend bag on a bed, filled with toiletries, a beanie and gloves
The beauty kit slips into the weekend bag with your beanie and gloves

To avoid feet in bits, the best thing is still to pamper and rehydrate them with a dedicated foot treatment, applied every evening after a long day.

On clean feet, before bed, apply a generous dollop of cream to each foot, massage it in to relax the muscles and boost circulation, and once your feet are barely sticky any more, pull on a pair of cotton socks to give the cream time to finish the job. Soft, repaired feet by morning!

A tube of foot cream on a towel next to cotton socks
Rich foot cream and cotton socks: the evening repair duo

The product to reach for: Pedi Relax Regenerating Cream with essential oils, specially formulated for very dry, damaged feet.

My hands are like crocodile skin

You can rely on mittens all you like, but it takes very little to leave you with rough, crocodile-skin hands, plus prickling, chapping and redness.

So once again, bring out the heavy artillery: every morning before heading for the slopes, and every evening when you get back and again before bed, coat your hands in a thick layer of rich cream and massage it in.

The bonus is the cocoon your mittens create after you apply your morning cream, giving it time to work while protecting your hands from cold and dryness.

A tube of arnica hand cream next to woollen mittens
The arnica cold-weather concentrate to tuck into your pocket with your mittens

The product to reach for: Yves Rocher arnica cold-weather concentrate—lovely smell, impeccable texture and it genuinely works. The tube is small and handy, so you can even take it onto the slopes for an extra application.

My cheeks are pure Heidi, the mountain girl with scarlet cheeks

Cold, UV bouncing off the snow, wind, going from hot to cold... nothing is worse for sensitive facial skin, which dries out, tightens, reddens and burns.

An open golden pot of honey lip balm on a light cloth
Rêve de Miel balm: the comforting texture you leave on all night

To avoid that, a high-protection sunscreen is essential—SPF 30 minimum, or higher for very pale and sensitive skin. Apply it every morning without fail and reapply regularly during the day.

And, as a bonus, before your sunscreen in the morning and after your bath in the evening, apply a soothing, repairing cream to get soft, comfortable skin back.

From behind, a woman smooths Lazartigue protective cream through the ends of a loose braid
Loose braid and protective cream: the anti-static ritual

The product to reach for: Avène Cold Cream, applied to stressed areas after your day or night skincare. Made with thermal spring water, beeswax and paraffin oil, it soothes, nourishes and protects thanks to a rich texture. That said, it's not an everyday cream: because it is very rich, keep it for crisis moments and for damaged areas of the face or body.

My lips are in tatters

Yes, same story as facial skin: lips take a real hit from cold and UV, all the more so because they are a particularly sensitive area of the face.

So from morning to night, apply your lip balm conscientiously in a thick layer, reapplying as often as needed—that is, whenever you feel your lips starting to tighten again.

But as a bonus, at bedtime, choose a very rich texture, apply a good layer and let it work all night.

The product to reach for: Nuxe Rêve de Miel Balm, formulated with honey, beeswax, shea butter, calendula oil and sweet almond oil, among other ingredients—it is the ultimate comforting, repairing texture.

The open pot of Nuxe Rêve de Miel lip balm on a bathroom shelf
Rêve de Miel: the comforting texture that repairs lips overnight

Crisis situation: no hefty lip balm and your lips are in distress? You can also apply Avène Cold Cream in a thick layer to your lips before bed—it works and is multi-purpose.

My mane is rebelling

Yep, extreme cold plus sun dry out hair too—especially if you've also opted for a synthetic beanie—and you end up looking like a wild woman: dry, unmanageable hair standing on end.

To start, the essentials: a gentle shampoo and a deeply nourishing hair mask, such as Garnier Ultimate Blends Avocado Oil & Shea Butter, left on for a good 5 minutes on towel-dried hair—not dripping wet, mind.

But also go for a protective care cream that includes sun protection. Apply it in the morning through the mid-lengths and ends, and tie your hair in a loose braid.

The product to reach for: Lazartigue Protective Day Cream. It moisturises, provides a sun filter and banishes static by coating the hair fibre.

The tube of protective day cream for hair on a wooden shelf
Sun filter and anti-static: the cream to slip into your rucksack

I ache all over!

Ah, skiing, snowboarding and the rest certainly build muscle, and when you're not really a sporty type at heart, the aches are brutal!

Weleda arnica massage oil
After a bath, an arnica massage relaxes muscles put through their paces

So there's no secret: start gently, especially in the first few days, to avoid sprains and other nasty injuries—don't launch yourself onto a black run as soon as you arrive! Ideally, also do a few warm-up moves before putting on your skis, just to warm up the muscles.

On top of all that, go for a good massage after a hot bath when you get back from the slopes in the evening. The ideal? Ask your man to lend a hand—and, of course, return the favour; let's not be ungrateful.

The product? Weleda Arnica Massage Oil, specially formulated to prepare and soothe muscles before and after exertion.

The move that makes a real difference: apply your rich products to slightly damp skin, straight after a shower or bath—they sink in better and form a more effective protective film against the cold. And if redness, chapping or pain persists after you get back from the mountains, speak to a healthcare professional rather than piling on more cream.

Budget

A full mountain kit is still reasonable, and the differences come mainly from size and where you buy. Expect roughly £5–15 for a rich lip balm, £8–20 for a foot or hand cream, £10–25 for a facial treatment such as cold cream or high-protection sunscreen, £15–30 for a massage oil, and £20–40 for a protective hair cream. Prices vary with the format (tube, jar, refill), whether there's an organic certification, how rich the formula is and the retailer: pharmacy and health-and-beauty retailers, department stores, supermarkets for mainstream brands, and online—where refills are often cheaper.

Sources

Product pages and instructions for the brands mentioned (Avène, Nuxe, Weleda, Yves Rocher, Garnier and Lazartigue), available on their official websites.