Cooler Than Being Cool

Posted by Canadian Gift Guide on November 13, 2015 · 220 Comments

Winter isn’t just coming folks – it’s practically on our doorsteps. The next couple of months are prone to have a two-sided impact on our skin; first, the harsh cold wind can quickly wreak havoc on your skin’s delicate balance, causing breakouts or flaking or any other number of skin maladies. On the flip side, we’re also heading into what for many, is one of the most stressful times of year.

Enter Skyn ICELAND, the first skincare brand designed to counteract the effects stress can have on your skin. Surprised to hear of the correlation between the two? I certainly was. But psychodermatology studies have stated that a chronic level of stress leads to boosted hormones, leading to irritation and inflammation. Meanwhile, stress also draws away elements that are vital to your skin’s health, like water, oxygen, and other nutrients. The result? Excess oil. Breakouts. Dehydration. Premature aging. All of which are just bound to cause you even more stress.

So how does Skyn ICELAND get to the bottom of this trouble? First, they use a proprietary combination of Iceland-derived ingredients, including encapsulated oxygen, glacial mineral water and arctic super fruits loaded with antioxidants and vitamins. All of their products are designed to keep moisture where it belongs – in your skin – while detoxifying.

Skyn ICELAND‘s products are also free from parabens, chemical sulfates, phthalates, mineral oil, petrolatum, formaldehyde and paraffin, so you can feel better about what you’re slathering on each night and day. To add to those feel good vibes, their products are allergy-tested, vegan, and cruelty-free. Even their packaging is designed to be recycled!

Available in Canada at Murale, Murale.ca and select Shopper’s Drug Mart Beauty Boutiques, Skyn ICELAND has a pretty extensive range of products geared toward your face. Prices start at $16.50 for their Glacial Cleansing Cloths, which remove even the toughest layers of makeup (including stage makeup or waterproof mascara), and leave skin feeling cool and refreshed for hours afterward, while balancing out your skin’s unique needs.

One of the brand’s marquis products has to be their Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels ($33) and their Hydro Cool Firming Face Gels ($33), which are celebrated by notable celebs like stylist Rachel Zoe and Pretty Little Liars stars’ Lucy Hale and Ashley Benson, as well as industry-known makeup artists. They’ve also racked up several awards for their line – the eye gels nabbed Best Travel Beauty Product of the Year from Travel + Leisure, and Harper’s Bazaar named them the best morning after treatment (amongst several other accolades from other publications).

The brand goes well beyond what I’ve highlighted here. Moisturizers, spot correctors, face mists, line smoothers, masks, peels and more are de rigueur for this celebrated brand from Gloss.com founder Sarah Kugelman. If you want to get started with a fantastic gift idea that hits multiple bases, check out one of their kits, like the Quench Kit for Thirsty Skin ($49) or the Skin Hangover Kit ($28). Or for a fresh stocking stuffer, check out their Face Lift In A Bag ($21.50).

I hope all of you consider adding some stress relief for your skin to your holiday wish lists – trust me, it could use it! Now I’m psyched to announce I’m giving away $177 in Skyn ICELAND Products, including:

Hydro Cooling Firming Eye Gels
Hydro Cooling Firming Face Gels
Glacial Cleansing Cloths
Icelandic Relief Eye Cream
Arctic Face Oil

Want to win it and look your best this winter? Here’s how to enter:

1) First off: you must be a subscriber to the Canadian Gift Guide to enter this giveaway. It’s as simple as finding ‘The Gift of Gab’ box in the righthand column and dropping in your email or clicking follow. Then leave me a comment below by November 23, 2015 telling me what product you’re most interested in from the Skyn ICELAND line.

2) Entries are limited to one per person / per email address / per household (or more if you score bonus entries). A random draw will be conducted on or around November 24, 2015 to select the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen in their place.

3) Entries are limited to Canadians that have reached the age of majority in their province. Quebec is not eligible for this promotion.

4) Bonus Entry #1: Follow @SkynICELAND on Twitter and send out up to five Tweets over the contest period, tagging myself (@cdngiftguide) and linking back to this post. Please post each Tweet in a separate comment below. Limited to one Tweet per day.