5 Hydrating Skincare Products My Mom, Sister, and I Use Every Winter

Over the holidays, my family — including my parents, my sister’s family, and my brother’s family — traveled to Costa Rica together for a relaxing getaway. One night at dinner, my mom, sister, sister-in-law, and I (ages 42 to 75) were talking about our skincare routines (both to protect from the hot, drying sun on vacation and repair from the dry, cold temperature at home), so I decided to pry. After all, I’m a shopping editor, so it would be a disservice for me not to discover and spill their anti-aging secrets. 

After our chat, I walked away with five beauty finds loved by some of the women in my family, which offer anti-wrinkle, plumping, and moisturizing benefits to repair skin. They shared their secret to minimizing crow’s feet with eye serums, keeping their face hydrated and protected with SPF creams, and reducing the appearance of fine lines with face masks. Here are some of their skincare must-haves that they swear by and use daily, especially during the winter, and they’re all available at Nordstrom.

My Family’s 5 Skincare Favorites at Nordstrom

Dior Totale Super Potent Eye Serum

This Dior eye serum is a go-to for my 50-year-old sister-in-law, and she calls it her “favorite.” The cooling roller ball applicator that gently targets every angle is just as rewarding and effective as the ingredients, according to my sister-in-law, thanks to its ability to instantly soothe tired and puffy eyes. She also uses it to brighten her circles and reduce the appearance of wrinkles with ingredients like niacinamide to smooth skin, peony root extract to nourish skin, jasmine extract to calm inflammation, and more.

Clinique Moisture Surge Broad Spectrum SPF 28 Sheer Hydrator

Though my mom lives in Florida and doesn’t have to contend with dry winter winds, she does have to protect her skin against equally damaging and drying rays from the sun, so she insists on using Clinique’s moisturizer with SPF to cover all her bases, a product she calls “essential.” A longtime fan of the brand, my mom applies the lightweight cream after using cleanser to keep her skin feeling soft. It contains ingredients like hyaluronic acid and aloe bioferment to lock in moisture and provitamin D to protect skin against damaging free radicals.

Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Recovery Lip Mask

Thanks to my mother’s influence, my sister and I are fans of Fresh’s Sugar lip care line, including this lip mask. We used it to heal sunburned lips on vacation and kept up our use once we returned home to colder temperatures — which are equally drying on the lips. If there’s one thing I like to avoid at all costs, it’s flaking, chapped lips, and applying this lip mask each night helps me (and my family) do just that. Ingredients like shea butter and hyaluronic acid not only keep lips hydrated but also help create a plumper, healthy appearance.

Sisley Paris Black Rose Cream Mask

While on the pricier side, my mom also keeps this face mask in her beauty arsenal and uses it for its “plumping” benefits. She said it “makes your skin smoother and more moisturized” while giving your complexion a brighter and more glowy appearance overall. My mom uses the anti-aging mask one to two times each week, which makes it last longer, and she applies it to her neck for more youthful-looking skin there, too. The black rose extract makes your skin’s texture smoother, according to the brand, while provitamin B5 makes skin softer and healthier.

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5

I admit to having discovered The Ordinary’s ultra-affordable skincare products from my tween, TikTok-obsessed daughter, but after sharing this find with my family, we all agree it’s a must-have for less than $10. It takes just two to three drops each morning to keep our skin deeply hydrated from the cold and sun, and it’s also helped to fill in the little cracks and crevices of fine lines around our most problematic areas like the forehead, eyes, and lips. I love that it feels weightless and non-sticky, and it gives my dull, winter complexion a soft radiance.

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