13 new, natural beauty products that will save your skin this winter
S.W. Basics Cream Scrub, $17
If you can’t make it to a real-deal hammam, this simple—but powerful—organic sugar scrub does the trick. With just four organic ingredients (like fair trade shea butter and olive oil), your dry skin will be exfoliated into oblivion. Even better? The ultra-moisturizing head-to-toe blend doubles as a moisturizer. Multitasking FTW!
Naturopathica Matcha Brightening Decollete & Hand Cream, $49
My number one winter beauty problem is dry hands—East Coast winters are brutal! Just a dab of this hand cream has kept my hands moisturized all day. Thank you, matcha and cacao seed butter. It absorbs quickly, brightens with Indian gooseberry over time, and is nourishing enough for the delicate skin of your decollete, which like the back of your hands can be the first get sun-damage spots. My hands are super smooth, like they are in all the other seasons.
Daughter of the Land Sage and Grass Face + Body Oil, $48
As an oil obsessive, I know from experience that it’s tough to find an ultra-rich version that seeps in quickly and won’t grease up your pillowcase—but this stuff gets it done. Once you get past the slightly medicinal scent (which fades swiftly), you’ll be impressed by the moisturizing power of avocado, mint, and sage oils in this Brooklyn-made wonder formula. Winter-parched skin will drink it right up. And the gorgeous packaging is just too special to resist.
Alba Botanica Hawaiian Detox Sheet Mask, $4
Sheet masking can sometimes feel like a fun activity you do at night with a glass of wine—not a skin-care step that actually achieves something. This mask, however, shows you it’s working: After 15 minutes of marinating in the paraben-free formula (boosted with detoxifying volcanic clay), my skin was rosy, clear, and downright glowy—not unlike the way you look after a full facial. The clay works to extract gunk from your pores, while antioxidant-rich yerba mate provides a calming effect. If you’ve got sensitive skin, you should probably steer clear—but otherwise, it’s a must-try during your next Netflix marathon.
Mullein & Sparrow Complete Chakra Set, $108
Whether you’re a serious yogi who’s all about the body’s seven energy centers, or you don’t know your chakras from your Chaka Khan, this set of essential oil blends (one for each chakra) gives you a ton of fragrance options in a few small packages. You can pick a different sunflower oil-based scent each day, based on your mood, or if you want to give some love to your heart chakra, for instance, you can dab on the corresponding scent, Heart (here with notes of rose and bergamot). Plus, each one, from Root to Crown, also has instructions for how to apply the oil for optimal effect. Here’s to the (energetically balanced) New Year!
Mahalo The Unveil Cleanser Melt Concentrate, $70
This makes cleaning my face actually fun—one small scoop of the green balm (from matcha) literally melts into your skin and feels like an oil cleanser. Once you add water, it turns into a creamy foam that leaves your face ultra-soft—and mascara-free. Starring anti-inflammatory fragonia (an Australian plant) and exfoliating papaya enzymes, this tropical, buttery blend is perfect for a nightly refresh of your skin, particularly if you’re too lazy to use a few products for the job.
Cocokind MyMatcha Moisturizer Stick, $8
With only three (organic) ingredients—coconut oil, beeswax, and matcha powder—this do-it-all moisturizer freshens cold-weather-frazzled skin in a flash. Use it as a highlighter, chapstick, under-eye balm—wherever you need extra hydration love. The best part? It’s super portable, so you can carry the magical multitasker anywhere.
Red Flower Aromatherapeutic Body Oil in Italian Blood Orange, $34
Red Flower’s known for its “genius ability to translate exotic spa traditions into body-care products” and its passion for creating natural fragrances (which also star in its cult-fave petal-topped candles). And this new collection of light, nourishing oils is already angling for skin-care stardom. The one I fawned over works like an anti-depressant—orange blossom, grapefruit, Italian blood orange rind can do that. And the blend of avocado and sweet almond oils hits the mark of quickly absorbing, yet super nourishing. Adopt the habit of a few post shower drops for a healthier glow and perhaps even state of mind.
Laurel Plant Organics Spiritual Warrior Roll On, $80
This is more of a spirit guide in a bottle than a beauty product. When the going gets tough, this roll on finds its way to my pulse points. It’s part plant oils (plumeria, sandalwood, and black pepper), part gemstone essences (celestine, amethyst, and black tourmaline), and part companion. I’ve been carrying around this ethereal anointing oil for a month or so now, that’s meant to “bring peace, wisdom, and solace to the spirit and soul,” says founder Laurel Shaffer. And I am so not putting it down.
One Love Organics Skin Dew Coconut Water Cream, $58
One Love excels at making products that deliver serious hydration to your skin in really simple, creative ways, and this new moisturizer showcases its fight-the-dryness skills. It uses hydrating coconut water and a blend of acacia, jojoba and sunflower, which form a light “protective barrier to help lock-in hydration and defend skin against environmental aggressors.” My combination skin is not only more luminous, if I do say so myself, it’s pretty much devoid of freakouts and redness, a seasonal first.
Pai Head-To-Toe Buriti Balm, $30
This is like the Ghostbusters of beauty ingredients—it’s who you want to call when there’s something seriously strange going on with your skin. Think flaky elbow patches, wind-whipped cheeks, or ultra-dry lips. Kukui and buriti oils add much-needed moisture to winter-chapped areas as the touch of vanilla extract gives it a nice, subtle fragrance.
Acure Organics Purifying Fruit Peel, $23
It’s hard to avoid dull skin at this point. Thankfully, this active peel can remove all that winter debris in five minutes. That’s because it has papaya and pineapple enzymes plus willow bark (in the salicylic acid family), which work symbiotically to gently exfoliate while they unclog pores and promote cellular turnover—something that’s undoubtedly on your wish-list come January. It’ll slightly tingle, but once you wash the peel away, your skin will appear incredibly refreshed.
Cosmos Botanicals Lavender + Witch Hazel Toner, $28
Cosmos is all about high vibration skin-care, made from the wild world plants and zero chemicals, at about half the price of its luxe line, Earth Tu Face. And it’s easy to fall under its spell. The facial toner is one of those double-your-pleasure mists that improves the clarity of your pores (with witch hazel) while balancing and hydrating it (with rose water and lavender), and no other ingredients. I’d say it’s magic, but it’s really just solid skin-improving alchemy.
Missed last month’s picks? Catch up on the 9 game-changing new beauty products perfect for the cold weather. And these were this year’s all-stars: The best beauty launches of 2016.
