Editors’ picks: May’s best natural beauty launches

Memorial Day weekend has finally come, summer’s around the corner, and we’ve been checking out the brand-new natural beauty products that let us (and our skin) celebrate the tank-top-friendly temperatures.

What’s come across our desks and bathroom sinks? A new Tata Harper detoxing mask, Cocovit’s brilliant hydrating coconut water facial mist, and cult-fave Frank’s new coffee body scrubs—for starters.

This month’s best new beauty products will officially help your skin emerge from its cold weather hibernation beneath oh-so-heavy creams with lighter, sun-savvy picks.

Keep scrolling for the best new natural beauty products that have our editorial seal of approval this month.

Meow Meow Tweet Deodorant Stick, $22

How do you improve upon a cult-favorite beauty product? If you’re the indie Brooklyn brand Meow Meow Tweet and the product in question is a cream deodorant that’s beloved by many (but not by all—let’s be honest, not everyone is into the hand-to-pit connection), you turn the vegan, mostly organic formula into a stick. And then you make the packaging not only ridiculously awesome (yes, that’s a cobra lifting a weight), but biodegradable as well.

Root Science Discovery Kit, $125

It’s almost impossible to hear the story behind Root Science and not wish that Gigja Hlin Wesneski was your sibling: She first got into handcrafting beauty products as a way to help her sister, whose acne was so severe that not even strict diet changes helped her. Wesneski eventually landed on a serum that not only cleared up her sister’s skin, but became the basis of her line of small-batch, organic products, launched this month. The serums and powdered exfoliants and masks are made with exotic cold-pressed oils (think prickly pear), superfoods, and herbs (from turmeric to chaga mushroom), and carefully sourced clays that will perk up your skin, even if you’re not considered family.

Frank Body The Grind High Club, $22.95 (for 4)

We’r calling it now: coffee grounds are going to the be new sheet mask this summer. That’s because Frank Body—the brand behind the buzzy (particularly on Instagram) body scrubs—is launching its signature dry skin-sloughing formula in travel-sized packets. Which means that whether you’re heading out to Montauk or hiking in to Ojai, you can spend the summer bringing your favorite self-care ritual with you…and then showing off your brown-speckled face and body to all of your far-flung followers.

Aurelia Probiotic Skincare Aromatic Repair & Brighten Hand Cream, $52

Finding a good go-to natural hand cream is no easy feat. They’re often too fragrant, too oily or, ironically, not oily enough. Which is what makes this one from Aurelia such a unicorn. It delivers the right amount of moisturizing (but not too greasy) with a pleasant botanical scent (thanks to a blend of vetiver, ylang ylang, and lavender), but it also helps do away with signs of aging. Sea daffodil targets sun spots, and potent plants like baobab and kigelia fruit hydrate and firm. Keep one in your bag at all times.

Province Apothecary Enhancing + Replenishing Eye Serum, $32

First, it was face oils, and now it feels like eye serums are the beauty formulation du jour. This one is full of good stuff like collagen- and elastin-boosting rose otto; eyebright, an antioxidant herb known to reduce puffiness; and green tea, which naturally increases blood flow (thanks caffeine!), protects from free radicals, and reduces dark circles. Pro tip: mix 2-3 drops of serum with a few drops of water in your palm (to increase absorption) and then gently tap it on around each eye.

Nubian Heritage Abyssinian Oil & Chia Seed Body Wash, $13

Steaming hot showers are my nightly time to de-stress, so a body wash that feels luxurious is a shower-time must. Abyssinian oil, the main ingredient in Nubiran Heritage’s latest product line, is said to be moisturizing and reduce wrinkles. I can’t speak to the wrinkle reduction (at 29, my body is blessedly wrinkle-free and I’ve only been using it a week), but the body wash really did feel silky on my skin. The fragrance reminded me of something that would be wafting through the air of a Moroccan palace, and now I experience those vibes every time I walk into my bathroom.

Goddess Garden Face the Day Sunscreen and Firming Primer, $18

If you’re looking for an extra pick-me-up on early mornings, the main two ingredients in this moisturizer may just do the trick: Chicory root offers an immediate firming effect, leaving you with smooth and supple skin, while the antioxidant buddleja (AKA butterfly bush) is has anti-inflammatory powers and helps protects against UV-damage. The light fragrance and sheer SPF 30 don’t hurt either—making it the perfect summer makeup primer or wear-alone product.

Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream, $60

Just because they dub this cream “retro” doesn’t mean it’s anything like your Grandma’s heavy night cream. Whipped into a lightweight formula, this cream uses a blend of African oils, plantain extract, and fermented green tea to intensely hydrate and firm your skin for hours. While the formula feels thick and creamy in the jar, it actually absorbs effortlessly and is light enough to use morning or night, leaving your skin looking soft, plump, and glowing.

Votary Cleansing Oil, $72

I’d never used a cleansing oil before, and after trying this one I’m hooked. Arabella Preston always made oil-based products in her kitchen until her friend Charlotte came on board with a vision of taking Preston’s oils to a larger market. This UK-based brand uses rose geranium and apricot to cleanse, which give you such a luxurious, silky feeling while you massage it in. It comes with a cotton towel, which you soak in hot water and then apply over your face to really let the oils seep into your pores. Once you gently wipe the oils off, your skin looks perfectly dewy and seriously clean. It’s not just a cleanser, it’s a ritual.

Rahua Elixir Daily Hair Drops, $105

My masses of curly, coarse hair go frizzy at the slightest breeze or change in temperature, so I’ve given this new concentrated blend of Amazon nut and palo santo oils the job of hair-smoother-in-chief. Eco-chic Rahua has very successfully tamed my tresses before (the Finishing Treatment is amazing). However, given my lazy styling habits and the price point for these Daily Hair Drops, I’ve been inspired to use it every other day. Happily the nourishing elixir’s still been shown my badly behaving locks who’s boss.

RMS Beauty Contour Bronze, $36

I’m forever using bronzer as a blush and eyeshadow and for contouring, so it’s like Rose-Marie Swift read my mind with this new multitasker. It adds the sun-dappled glow I love (without one iota of sun exposure), and “doubles as realistic contour,” says Swift, with no red-orange hues. It’s one of several new products the natural makeup artist-founder debuted this month for her cult-fave brand, such as two new Uncover Up concealer shades ($36) in a super pale to golden tan, a nude-dusty-rose Lip2Cheek ($36), and Content ($25), a berry red lip shine that’s not over-doing it for summer.

Cocovit Coconut Water Hydro-Mist, $32

This chic glass bottle is your hydration-boosting and oil-controlling mist of summer 2016. Made with coconut water, aloe, and witch hazel, it’s really helped my skin drink in the facial oils and serums I apply right after and keep my pores from looking giant. I can see it becoming a summer must-have for cooling my beet-red, post-workout face, too. (A smaller beach-tote size is coming soon.) The mist has a light tropical, but not pina colada, scent, and the work Cocovit creates in India makes it a do-gooder choice, too.

Tata Harper Purifying Mask, $65

Clean and clear skin? Check and check. If you’re going for detoxing, de-clogging mask that won’t leave your skin feeling tight and dry (hello, freak-out-prone or combination skin types), this luxe natural beauty brand’s new mask is the one. My skin looked both blackhead-free and brighter after one use, and it felt surprisingly nourished. I’m thanking the gentle white clay for that, along with the plant oils, probiotics, and broccoli extract. And compared to many of Tata Harper’s floral products, this one has a neutral botanical scent.

Try one of these 11 updated ponytail styles to show off your summer skin. And if you missed last month’s beauty picks, you can catch up here.