:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/recirc2-322a0ae9c3914e5b86a1eb1eb794d136.jpg)
Madeline Hirsch / Hallie Gould / Jasmine Phillips / Design by Tiana Crispino
Our beauty product needs naturally change from season to season—and especially once winter ends and spring begins. The weather plays a huge part in our skin, hair, and makeup needs (think: rain, humidity, sun, and the like). So, we've begun to think about the products we'll be retiring now that spring is coming and winter is almost a distant memory (can we all let out a collective sigh of relief?). For the most part, we use thicker moisturizers during the cold weather, due to the dryness in the hair, and the same goes for haircare as well. Everything is a bit more nourishing, protective, and hydrating. Then, once spring rolls around, we need lighter options that keep sweat and sun damage in mind. And, with makeup, it's always a time when we start to feel more in the mood for brights, pinks, and natural-looking options.
With that in mind, I asked the other Byrdie editors to sound off on the products they're coveting for spring. It's a mixture of good things—mascaras, highlighters, hydrating creams, and many other gems you're going to want to try.
Hallie Gould, editor in chief
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/hallie-b7e43c6bbc5f4b10878259a2e78e6e46.jpg)
Hallie Gould / Design by Tiana Crispino
The TikTok fame of this product is not lost on me (it's been sold out for months following massive virality on the app)—but I've been a fan since day one. The glossy, non-greasy finish, the otherworldly glow, and the sheer tints of color all come together to make this one of the most epic lip formulas I've ever had the pleasure of trying. Ahead of warm-weather season, Dior has launched my favorite flavor of the bunch: a glassy cherry tint. It's the perfect mix of subtle and a little sexy as it softens and hydrates your lips.
Once warmer weather comes around, it becomes increasingly clear how much I've neglected my body—I'm dry, scaly, and not the least bit soft. Luckily, Kate Somerville launched a body version of their cult classic Exfolikate formula to take care of all my needs. The three-in-one treatment offers a physical scrub, chemical exfoliating peel, and mask to smooth and polish your skin. It has all the good stuff: lactic and salicylic acids, super-fine pumice, pineapple enzymes, and aloe.
I have always been a thick-brush girl when it comes to mascara. That all changed when I first tried Byredo's sculpting mascara with a short, precision-based brush. It's just small enough to get into all those hard-to-reach places and give your lashes the longest, most separated look possible. Every individual lash gets the Byredo treatment, leaving you with super defined and soft, fluttery eyes all day.
Here's where I wax on about needing a new highlighter every time spring rolls around. There's just something about the dewiness and glow a fresh formula can bring each year. This time, I'm obsessing over Armani Beauty's Neo Nude A-Highlight. Dubbed "watercolor makeup," the formula offers water-based liquid color that melts so beautifully into my skin—I barely have to blend. It's subtle, but glowing, and provides that spring refresh I'm always hoping to find.
It's vital to find an SPF that works, of course, but I also want something that feels like a pleasure to apply. I'm way less militant about sunscreen when it feels greasy or uncomfortable on my skin. Enter: Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Watery Sun Gel, a chemical formula with hydrating, soothing, and strengthening ingredients (hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and centella asiatica), an SPF of 50, and a glowy finish. It's super lightweight, absorbs quickly, and looks great under makeup.
This season all I want makeup-wise is a soft, etherial color palette. Luckily, Pat McGrath's Divine Rose shadows check every box. There's a mix of velvety, iridescent, and metallic options in various pinks and plums with a watercolor-like finish. It's absolutely stunning and I can't wait to feel spring-ready with every application.
Madeline Hirsch, news director
Madeline Hirsch / Design by Tiana Crispino
Things I love about spring: warm weather, sunlight, flowers, greenery. Things I hate about spring: inflammation caused by all of the above. Call it hay fever, seasonal allergies, or just the natural order of things, but I get a little puffy this time of year. As such, I reach for face tools to keep me in check. An old favorite is this ice roller. It stays cold (seriously, I've rolled this thing in front of the tv for 20+ minutes straight) and avoids the mess that actual ice causes. Think of it as the fancy tool version of Grandma’s tried-and-true puffy skin hack.
My skin tends to break out as it adjusts to changing weather. These Zitstika patches calm, reduce redness, and speed up the healing process for any acne incurred during this transformative time of year. They're not the cutest zit patches on the market, but they work like a charm—and that's really what I'm after.
Something about the sun in the springtime makes me want to turn up the dew about four notches. Come May; I'll be gleaming, having gone from "freshly-glazed donut" to full-on "glitter fairy" courtesy of this liquid highlighter. If you're looking for a subtle shine, stop reading right now. But if like me, you prefer your skin to potentially blind onlookers, this highlighter is for you. When it comes to glow, subtlety is vastly overrated.
Holly Rhue, editorial director
Holly Rhue / Design by Tiana Crispino
Losing an hour of sleep from daylight saving time (and indulging in mimosas during more frequent outdoor brunches) means I'm super puffy this time of year. I called this BL+ Eye Serum from the bench and have been loving it as part of my morning routine. It's a lightweight serum, so it doesn't pill under my SPF like a thicker eye cream would. And the applicator has a built-in, cooling rollerball that really helps to wake up my under-eye area in the morning.
I love a natural, glowy look anytime of the year—but there's just something about spring that has me reaching for baby pink. I use this relaunched cheek stain from Tarte as a cream blush, eyeshadow, and lip color to create the perfect, daisy-fresh beauty look. It's super juicy (almost like a blush and highlight in one) and really buildable, so it's the perfect beginner product if you don't know where to start with blush. Just dab it wherever you'd like to add a natural-looking flush of color (I go for my cheekbones and the tip of my nose) and watch your skin come to life.
I'm a serious stickler about sunscreen, so I really mean it when I say this is a top-shelf formula. Somehow this product mattifies the shinier areas of my face without making me look completely flat. It leaves the subtlest non-shiny, lit-from-within glow that makes me genuinely excited to re-apply my sunscreen.
I've been loving this scent—it's springy, joyful, and doesn't take itself too seriously. It smells like the kind of sophisticated cocktail you'd only order on a luxe island vacation, and you truly just need one spritz. That, and it looks so lovely on my vanity—like a little glass suncatcher reflecting rays around the room.
Jasmine Phillips, social media editor
Jasmine Phillips / Design by Tiana Crispino
I've been on the hunt for the perfect SPF that protects my skin without leaving grease or a white cast. Enter: Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40. The lightweight formula melts into my skin for a velvety finish and mattifies the oily areas on my face like a charm. Bonus: The texture is perfect as a makeup primer.
This fragrance by Ellis Brooklyn smells like a vacation in a bottle. The notes of fruit and musk mesh together to create the perfect blend for a scent that lasts all day long. Even the neon bottle sparks joy. At first spritz, I knew this fragrance would have a special place in my heart and on my shelf all season long. Spring has sprung!
Olivia Hancock, beauty editor
Olivia Hancock / Design by Tiana Crispino
Versed's Mood Lighting Luminizing Glow Drops have been one of the best additions to my base routine. You can apply a few drops to your skin after moisturizing or mix it in with a foundation. Either way, this product always gives my skin an ultra-radiant and dewy finish.
Danessa Myricks' Yummy Skin Serum Foundation gives my skin a dewy, natural, radiant finish. It's also lightweight and feels hydrating on my dry skin, thanks to nourishing ingredients like jojoba oil, hyaluronic acid, and olive-derived squalane.
Whenever I'm doing my makeup, I love creating dewy and glowy looks. Lately, Danessa Myricks' Dew Wet Balm in the shade "Morning Dew" has helped me achieve that. The balm offers a lightweight, translucent highlight. Plus, it hydrates as it sits on your skin thanks to the infusion of jojoba oil. Bottom line: I love how it creates a beautiful multidimensional glow on any area you place it on. I consider it to be one of my spring and summer essentials.
Star Donaldson, associate social media director
Star Donaldson / Design by Tiana Crispino
I'm opting for a lighter lip these days and I've been obsessed with this hydrating gloss from CAY Skin. It is thick, luxurious, and also contains SPF 30. It's the perfect gloss to layer with a lipliner because it blends easily without being messy. It's completely sheer so the color matching possibilities are endless, but it's also very shiny and chic all by itself.
I have knotless braids at the moment, so taking care of my scalp is a big priority because so much of it is tucked away. Sunday II Sunday's Soothe Me Scalp Serum has totally transformed my routine. The formula is minty, light, and cooling, which feels amazing upon application. It has more of a serum consistency (as the name would suggest) rather than an oil, which I've found soaks into my scalp even better. It also helps to calm itchiness which has made me able to wear my braids for longer than just a few weeks.
