Winter layering: six nourishing balms to envelop your dry skin in luxury

When the temperature drops, mastering the art of winter layering is a must. From enveloping swathes of cashmere and oversized outerwear to supple leather gloves and boots, sartorially staving off the cold is a seasonal art form.

But lest we forget that our skin also needs wrapping up warm, with nourishing balms to protect from the biting wind and frost. Here are six of the most luxurious balms, for skin, hair, and body, courtesy of Tata Harper, Hermès, Dior Beauty, and more.

Winter layering with nourishing skin balms

Dior

Contained in an ergonomically pleasing and compact squeezy bottle, embellished with the Dior couture logomania motif, this multifunctional balm is silky smooth and lightweight, and absorbed rapidly wherever it is applied. Don’t let this description fool you, however: it packs a punch when it comes to hydration, with shea butter, glycerin, and squalene for optimum skin nourishment.

Dior Beauty Le Baume multi-use balm, £50, selfridges.com

Hermès

‘As artisans we are dedicated to the beauty of useful objects. Beauty contributes to this enchantment,’ said Pierre Dumas, artistic director of Hermès, when the house launched its beauty line in 2020. So it’s no wonder that this Hermès Beauty lip balm has been included on our fashion features editor Jack Moss’ seasonal gift guide. With a clear matte texture, concentrated with beeswax and candelilla wax, the white and gold tube is refillable, in keeping with the entire lip product range.

Hermès Beauty, Rouge Hermès Lip Care Balm, £62, net-a-porter.com

Olio E Osso

Olio E Osso’s brand founder Paola LaMorticella concocted the formula for its signature range of balms with one thing in mind: gentle simplicity. The result is a balm stick containing as few natural ingredients as possible, ensuring no irritation to delicate skin. Alongside the clear variation above, there are also tinted versions, providing a dewy flush of colour on cheeks and temples when required.

Olio E Osso No. 1 balm in clear, £27, niche-beauty.com

Tata Harper

All of Tata Harper's products are made on the brand's 1,200-acre organic farm in the Champlain Valley of Vermont. It suggests that this balm, in its signature green packaging, is used as a body mask for 15-20 minutes as part of a pre-bathing ritual. And, when returning home from a day in the bracing cold, what could be more enticing than slathering your skin with the moisturising butters and firming antioxidants contained in this balm, before sinking into a steaming bath?

Tata Harper + NET SUSTAIN Redefining Body Balm, £122, net-a-porter.com

Kjaer Weis

Danish make-up artist Kirsten Kjaer Weis started her namesake organic brand after a career spanning from the Christian Chauveau School of Artistic Makeup in Paris, to editorial shoots around the globe. The packaging and visuals were dreamt up alongside Marc Atlan (who has worked on beauty visuals for YSL, Prada, Comme Des Garçons and more. (He also created Helmut Lang's 2000 fragrance campaign, in collaboration with Jenny Holzer). This brightening and illuminating eye balm is luxury manifest.

Kjaer Weis the beautiful eye balm, £67, kjaerweis.com

Aesop

Your seasonal haircare regime should mirror your skincare regimen; just as we need lighter formulations in the summer months, during winter strands can become as brittle and dry as skin, if left dehydrated. Enter Aesop's hair-shaping balm, a finishing product that also injects a dose of moisturisation. With carrot oil and lavender stem exract, its earthy aroma is intoxicating.

Violet Leaf hair balm, £25, harveynichols.com and aesop.com