Orange Blossom Special

In a perfect world we all should re-think our skincare as the weather gets colder - the dry icy air outside is our only break from the dry, warm air in our houses and workplaces, and it's not very pleasant for the skin. It's more prone to dehydration, redness, sensitivity and irritation, so you need something comforting and nourishing, but of course not all of us can run out and buy ourselves a whole new skincare routine for the time of year - which is why a good serum or facial oil is a good option - you can apply it when needed to really pump up your regular moisturizer, and use as little or as much as you choose.

For the one winter product that will give you the most bang for your buck, I love Decleor's Neroli Aromessence Oil - it's certainly not cheap, but it's incredibly high quality, and so concentrated that the tiny little bottle will last close to a year.

Decleor's Aromessence line has several specialized blends for each skin type, but the Neroli is the most versatile - a drop or two before your moisturizer both balances and hydrates the skin, and actually helps to pull the ingredients of you face cream deeper into the dermis. It gives a healthy glow, smells incredible and luxurious, and is made of the highest quality ingredients - it takes 100 kilos of orange blossoms to distill 100 g of the Neroli extract.

Its packaging is a pretty, modern glass bottle, but it's been recently redesigned - a shame I think, because it used to look lovely sitting on the dressing table - a vintage, stoppered affair that looked very decadent and luxurious. Oh well. Apparently not everyone's tastes run as baroque as mine. Regardless, it's still a beautiful product that I recommend to everybody.

Photo credits skinstore.com, gardenpictures.com