Beauty, from hand-to-mouth

Winter weather can be hard on hands and lips, Xu Junqian looks at some of the best products to keep you looking fresh in the colder months.

Healing hands

As much as you try to protect your hands in gloves or tucked inside extra long sleeves, they will still be exposed to the harsh winter cold. Before your hands, the "second face of a woman", crack, flake, or even bleed, give them a moisturizing layer of weatherproof protection.

For cracked skin: Crabtree & Evelyn Gardeners

100g / HK$ 157.5 ($20.3) (the price is a Christmas special on the company's Hong Kong website)

As its name suggests, the deeply nourishing collection was created for people who like to work in the garden. The product is a best-seller, has won awards and has become a must-have for many housewives, office workers or anyone looking for a thirst quenching hand cream. It is infused with shea butter, a proven natural emollient and moisturizer, which clinical studies have shown to be able to make the skin softer, smoother, and younger looking within four to six weeks.

The scent may appear rather masculine for those used to the fragrance of flora and fruits, but it is by no means unpleasant.