I participated in the Pass The Puffs blog program as a member of One2One Network. I received compensation but all opinions are my own.

This winter has been brutal for those of us in the mid-Atlantic and New England states! As most of you know, I live in the Poconos. For those of you not familiar with the area, it’s smack dab in the middle of the journey between Philadelphia and NYC, about 90 minutes from Philly and maybe 75 minutes from NYC, depending on traffic.  So basically, I’m right in the middle of two areas on high alert for flu outbreaks. Yay me!

I’ve also been getting hammered with snow storm after snow storm. I shouldn’t complain there, NYC got it much worse. Still, my son hasn’t been to school on a Monday in about a month. It’s snowing again as I write this. It’s also incredibly windy, with wind chill factors causing temperatures to plummet to -25 degrees. Um, that’s like polar bear weather!

My backyard after the last snow storm

With frigid temperatures and one of the worst cold & flu outbreaks in my lifetime, I’ve been kind of miserable lately.  I kid you not, I’ve had some sort of cold since October. Knock on wood, I haven’t had the flu yet, but I’ve had sinus infection after sinus infection for months. I’ve also had two bouts of bronchitis. I just can’t kick it. One clears up and my son brings home another plague from school. I blame him because, really, where am I going to catch anything? I work from home.

With all these colds, I spend a lot of time blowing my nose. I should probably take out stock in Puffs, I’d be a rich woman by summer! So how do I keep all those sinus infections from making me look like the most famous reindeer of all? Check out my tips for looking your best during cold & flu season!

5 Tips for Looking Your Best When You Have a Cold or Flu

• Rest up as much as possible. Although I have a hard time sleeping when I’m sick, I do try to relax as much as possible.  I curl up on the couch with my favorite soft blanket (a gift from my aunt), my new iPad (a gift to myself!) and my Puffs tissues. I play games that don’t require much concentration, look at funny cat pictures and basically just let my body rest.
• Use the right tissue. Yes, this is a Puffs-sponsored post, but the only reason I opted into it is because I am a faithful Puffs user. Their Puffs Plus Lotion tissues are strong enough to not cause any “ewwww’ moments, but oh so soft on my poor, irritated nose. When you go with a soft tissue, you seriously reduce the amount of redness that you have to deal.
• Chill out. Yes, it’s like a million degrees below zero outside, so it sounds like a horrible idea to slap cold compresses on your face right now, but trust me, it works! If your feeling puffy, putting a chilled eye mask over your eyes will work wonders!
• Get steamy! On the flip side, if you’re feeling all stuffed up, give yourself a steam facial. You remember those, right? We used to do it all the time when we were teenagers! Drape a towel over a steaming pot of water (not boiling, and BE CAREFUL) and let the steam open up your pores. It also opens up your nasal passages. If you have it, I highly recommend adding a bit of peppermint essential oil to the water. Just a drop or two will do it. Tea tree oil also works well. When you’re done, give your nose a good blow to clear out the gunk.
• Conceal, conceal, conceal. Sometimes you just have to cover up your illness with good, old-fashioned makeup. Make sure you start with moisturizer, as winter and colds can dry your skin out. You don’t want that caked look, now do you? Use concealer to hide those dark circles, add some blush to breathe life back into your face.

Puffs Plus Lotions tissues really do make all the difference when it comes to keeping your nose as comfortable as possible during cold & flu season. I’ve been faithfully using them for years because they don’t leave me feeling raw and flaky. I received two boxes for this post and they were gone within three days, just because that’s how bad it’s been here lately. Yet my nose doesn’t look any worse for the wear.

Puffs is also the only national brand that is dermatologist-tested to be gentle on skin.Visit Puffs.com to learn more. Like Puffs on Facebook to keep up with news.

 Do you have any tips to look your best during cold & flu season? Share them in the comments!