Struggling with Sensitive Skin?

A ski in the Gatineau Hills or a skate on the Rideau Canal skateway on a sunny brilliant blue sky winter day sounds pretty dreamy.

While we enjoy spending time outdoors, winter isn't very kind to our skin, especially if it's sensitive. The cold temperatures, harsh winds and indoor heating exacerbate sensitivity by zapping moisture and depleting our skins natural defences. The result is often red, dry, chapped, irritated cracked reactive skin. 

Are you struggling with sensitive skin? Unsure how to care for it in the winter?

Keep your skin care simple with products that nourish and strengthen your compromised skin. Here are our recommendations for daily skin care that include cleanser and moisturizer in one, free of essential oils and specially formulated for compromised skin from Laurel, a calming serum,  and true calming and nourishing Eminence moisturizers.

We've also included our favourite skin care products for the outdoors. It's important to provide a protective barrier and extra support for the skin while enjoying the outdoors. 

Daily Skin Care

Laurel Essential Lipids Oil Cleanser - don't be fooled by the name, is a cleanser + moisturizer in one. Formulated without essential oils, it's ideal for sensitive, compromised skin. 

Laurel Hydrating Elixir II is a toner that helps calm, support and recover dehydrated, sensitive, rosacea, acne and pigmented skin. It hydrates the skin and allows for better product absorption.

Laurel Unburden Serum is a healing oil serum and sun protection oil in one formulated to support and strengthen the most sensitive, reactive skin. 

HUNA Calendula Healing Oil is a gentle, nourishing oil rich in calendula to soothe and heal irritated, sensitive skin while providing deep moisture.

Skin Frequency Enrich Balm EO Free + CoQ10 is an essential-oil-free balm enriched with CoQ10 for deep nourishment and antioxidant protection, ideal for sensitive and compromised skin.

Eminence Linden Calendula Treatment Cream is a winter favourite. It's a day and night cream, as well as an overnight treatment cream to soothe sensitive, cracked or chapped dry skin.

Eminence Kombucha Microbiome Leave-On Masque is a probiotic-rich leave-on masque that supports and restores the skin’s microbiome, strengthening the skin barrier and calming sensitivity and redness.

Blissoma Peace Evening Calming Elixir is a lightweight healing and calming night cream and treatment that soothes and hydrates reactive skin.

Blissoma Pure Sensitive Care Complex is a moisturizer ideal for ultra sensitive, dry, reactive skin. It reduces redness and inflammation and helps rebuild skin's protective barrier.

Eminence Calm Skin Moisturizer is a lighter texture to the Linden Calendula Treatment Cream. It's ideal for calming and revitalizing sensitive, rosacea skin.

Eminence Pure Forest Collection

The Eminence Organics Pure Forest Collection is specifically designed to repair and protect the skin barrier against modern environmental stressors  like blue light and pollution and emotional stress, which can cause redness, dryness, and inflammation. It achieves this through a powerful combination of adaptogenic botanicals (ashwagandha, reishi, tulsi, snow mushroom) and forest-derived ingredients (birch water, shiitake) that together soothe, deeply hydrate, and strengthen skin.

This collection offers adaptogenic support for protection, repair and recovery — perfect for sensitive skin navigating the challenges of winter.

Forest Collection Products:

• Eminence Tulsi & Snow Mushroom Cleansing Milk is a gentle, nourishing cleansing milk that removes impurities while calming and hydrating sensitive skin with the power of adaptogenic tulsi and snow mushroom.

• Eminence Shiitake & Ashwagandha Bi-Phase Mist  is a two-phase mist that delivers a burst of hydration and stress-relieving adaptogenic support to strengthen and revitalize the skin barrier.

• Eminence Ashwagandha Ultra-Rich Restorative Cream is a deeply nourishing cream that uses ashwagandha to restore and protect the skin barrier, reducing the visible effects of stress-related redness and dryness.

• Eminence Snow Mushroom Moisture Cloud Eye Cream is a lightweight, intensely hydrating eye cream featuring snow mushroom to plump, brighten and protect the delicate eye area.

• Eminence Snow Mushroom & Reishi Masque is a deeply restorative masque combining snow mushroom’s intense hydration with reishi’s adaptogenic, anti-inflammatory properties to calm and strengthen stressed skin.

Our favourite skin care products for the outdoors

It's important to consider you skin when outdoors by providing a protective barrier, extra support and nourishment.

Laurel Recovery Balm is a MUST HAVE for everyone, especially those with extreme eczema, dermatitis, cystic acne and sensitive allergy-prone skin as well as for cuts and scrapes. This multi-functional healing balm reduces redness, swelling and irritation.

Skin Frequency Warmth Zinc Balm is a protective outdoor balm with zinc to shield sensitive skin from the elements — wind, cold and sun — while nourishing and calming the skin. A great companion for winter adventures.