It’s the time of year to revel in plentiful supplies of good food, and thankfully the traditional Christmas menu has plenty of skin-loving properties.

But if you’re not over-indulging, there’s a Santa’s sack worth of products inspired by seasonal fare to help feed, brighten and nourish your skin.

As Helen Ambrosen, co-founder and product inventor of Lush, explains: “We love to use beautiful ingredients in our products and find great inspiration from lovely seasonal foods such as cranberries and satsumas.”

Whether you want to eat the real thing or indulge in the beauty alternative to save on Christmas calories, here’s how to reap the benefits of your favourite festive foods.

Stocking sensations

Traditionalists will always appreciate a stocking stuffed with time-honoured Yuletide treats.

Satsumas, usually found lurking in the toe of stockings, are a popular festive fruit celebrated for their refreshing and uplifting beauty properties. And let’s not forget the oranges which spice up mulled wine.

Made with a blend of mandarin oil, try Lush’s festive Satsumo Santa Bath Ballistic, £2.95 (www.lush.co.uk), to add some zest to your Christmas bathing.

If chocolate coins and candy canes are your stocking vice, give yourself a break from sweet treats and grab a handful of nuts instead, advises Fiona Hunter, Simple skincare’s nutritionist.

“They’re stuffed full of essential fatty acids and vitamin E to help improve skin elasticity, preventing fine lines and wrinkles,” she says.

For a sweet stocking filler without the calories or dentist bills, try Philosophy’s Gingerbread Girl Ornament, £7 (Boots).

Dinner table delights

When it comes to sitting down for turkey and all the trimmings, you’ll find plenty of beauty-friendly ingredients on your plate – including your meat feast.

“A 100g serving of turkey contains almost 75% of an adult’s Recommended Daily Amount (RDA) of protein,” Hunter explains.

“Protein is important for the manufacture of collagen – the main structural component in the dermis, one of the lower layers of the skin and essential for keeping the skin toned and supple.”

Don’t even think about passing on the sprouts because they’re packed full of vitamin C, which helps to stimulate collagen growth in the skin.

Pile those carrots high too. “Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, which is important for the manufacture of new skin cells,” Hunter says.

Enhance your see-in-the-dark superpowers with Yes To Carrots Eye Can C Clearly Now Eye Contour Cream, £12.25 (www.beautybay.com); or cheat your way to glowing skin with The Organic Pharmacy Carrot Butter Cleanser, £34.96 (www.theorganicpharmacy.com).

Festive treats

Not many people can keep their paws out of the chocolate tin at Christmas. But if you want to indulge AND benefit your skin, go for the dark stuff.

Hunter suggests: “Satisfy your cravings with dark chocolate, which contains a group of phytochemicals called flavanols which can help protect the skin from damage by free radicals that are known to cause wrinkles and ageing.”

Bathe in the stuff instead with N-Spa Indulgent Chocolate Waffle Bath Syrup, £3 (Asda).

Winter berries like cranberries and pomegranates are one to watch in the fruit bowl if you fancy a sweet treat that gives benefits in return.

“Berries are bursting in antioxidants which help to strengthen the walls of tiny blood vessels and can help prevent thread veins and keep skin looking radiant and youthful,” says Hunter.

Slather your skin with berry goodness using Burt’s Bees Bee Pampered Spa Set, £19.99 (www.burtsbees.co.uk), crammed with juicy cranberry and pomegranate extracts.

Seasonal selection box

Try these Christmas beauty crackers to boost your regime for the festive season and beyond.

• For the beauty equivalent of a winter warmer, cosy up in the bathroom with Origins Ginger Treats, £29 (www.origins.co.uk).
• Figgy pudding might be better known as a line in a carol, but you can be a fruity beauty with Korres Fig Shower Gel, £7.50 (0870 850 3868).
• No need for a second helping of pudding for a sweet Christmas. Go berry mad with Dr Organic Pomegranate Perfect Complexion set, £20 (Holland & Barrett).
• Shake off festive stress by melting in the tub with Jo Malone’s Nutmeg & Ginger Bath Oil, £38 (0870 034 2411/www.jomalone.co.uk).
• Toast the New Year – and glowing skin – with LCN Golden Care set, £45 (www.beautyconcepts.co.uk), with luxurious Champagne Bath Nectar.

Tried & tested

• Celebrity Secrets home spray tan, from £15; mobile therapists available nationwide (0333 456 4678/www.celebritysecrets.co.uk).

Buy it now

Christmas beauty is experiencing the Midas touch. The latest transformation is Max Factor’s best-selling mascara, decorated in limited edition gold tube. False Lash Effect Gold is available nationwide in Black only, £10.99, while stocks last.

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