dailynewsnblog
I just did the largest beauty purge… ever. It was half a result of the Marie Kondo–style closet clean-out I did last weekend, and half a very necessary step towards mental stability as my product-crowded room threatened to either suffocate me or send me into a makeup-inspired spiral. Though I no longer needed the full-coverage foundations and powders that I relied on during a chilly events season (why do all the galas and award shows happen in the winter?), I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of them just because the weather was warming. Instead, I stored my winter beauty essentials away with my fur coats and gloves, bidding adieu until next winter and making space for the new.
It turns out that I wasn’t the only one in spring cleaning mode these past few weeks—my fellow editors have also been overhauling their beauty stashes in favor of lighter, simpler, and more sun-effective products. Below are all of the beauty products we left behind in winter and the swaps we made for the sunny days ahead.
Spring Cleaning, According to Beauty Editors
Ditching: Winter Perfumes | Keeping: Spring Scents
Henry Rose
London 1983 Eau de Parfum
As a fragrance-obsessed beauty editor, it wouldn’t be the start of a new season if I didn’t dedicate a new signature scent to it. I proclaimed my love for D’Orsay’s Holy Berry for winter 2025-26, but I’ve since shelved her for next December and moved onto a new, fair-weather favorite: Henry Rose’s London 1983 Eau de Parfum. This musky floral shrouds the wearer in a sheer mist of fig, black pepper, water lily, and jasmine before deepening with whispers of blonde woods and vetiver. The result is an effortless, cool-girl spring fragrance that ties notes of skin musk, subtle wildflowers, and sweet fruits into one big, chic bow. Because, let’s face it… Florals for spring? You have to add an unexpected element to make it groundbreaking.
Ditching: Rich Moisturizers | Keeping: Cooling Water Creams
Aestura
Atobarrier365 Cooling Hydro Soothing Water Cream
I’m a moisturizer enthusiast. For some reason, even though I have characteristically sensitive skin, I’ll hoard almost every formula that’s sent my way. I fell in love with Dr. Diamond’s Hydro Bioactive Hydrolipid Barrier Moisturizer this winter (and honestly, I will probably still use it before bed), but my daytime routine requires something a bit more cooling this time of year. The daytime cream I’ve subbed in is Aestura’s new AtoBarrier365 Hydro Soothing Cream: an ultra-lightweight, refreshing water cream that reduces redness and cools your skin by 9°F. Plus, it’s a great base for makeup.
Ditching: Matte Foundation | Keeping: Natural-Finish Foundation
Chanel
N°1 de Chanel Revitalizing Foundation
“I love living in the midst of the matte-foundation renaissance. In fact, I wore velvety, modern-matte formulas all winter long (long live the “cloud skin” trend!),” says WWW beauty editor Kaitlyn McLintock. “I’ll never outright ditch these formulas, but I will swap them out now and then for lighter, glowier options. Enter Chanel’s No. 1 Revitalizing Foundation. Its serum-like texture melts onto my skin, delivering a hydrated, glowing finish. Even though it’s moisturizing and featherlight, it also offers good coverage (rosacea, begone). It’s only natural to return to this beloved item as the weather warms up.”
Ditching: Dated Nail Colors | Keeping: Flattering Spring Polishes
OPI
Nail Lacquer in OPI’m a Bubble Bunny
Ditching: Liquid Foundation | Keeping: Tinted SPF
This season, WWW assistant beauty editor Sabrina Talbert is ditching her regular liquid foundation for tinted sunscreen. Merit’s The Uniform is her blurring, UV-protecting base of choice, which offers sheer coverage and a wash of hydration. But for spot-treatments and extra coverage, she’s reaching for something lighter than typical concealer: her go-to complexion sticks from Merit and Live Tinted.
Ditching: Hot Tools | Keeping: Air-Dry Creams
Crown Affair
The Smoothing Air Dry Hair Styling Cream
“Okay, I’m not actually giving my hot tools away—imagine!—but I am hiding them in the back of my closet for the foreseeable future,” says WWW senior beauty editor Jamie Schneider. “When the humidity ramps up, heat styling often has the opposite effect on my curly-wavy hair. Sure, my blow dryer and flat iron might smooth my strands in the short-term, but they also strip their natural oils (sorry, no matter how you slice it), and thirsty hair leads to more frizz. Rather than trying to coax my hair into sleek styles, I like to lean into my natural texture and stick to lightweight air-dry creams, such as these stunners from Crown Affair and Rōz.”
Ditching: Powder Blush | Keeping: Liquid Blush
Juvia’s Place
Blushed Liquid Blush
“Now that we’re approaching summer, aka glow season, I’ll be swapping my powder blush for liquid,” says branded content editor Aniyah Morinia. “In the colder months, I opted for a more matte and frosty look, but I’m finally defrosting and ready to add some glowier products to my lineup. Juvia’s Place never fails me in the blush department. Aside from being extremely pigmented with a strong color payoff, it adds a glow that eliminates the need for highlighter.”
Ditching: Lip Oil | Keeping: Hydrating Lipstick
Westman Atelier
Hydrobalm Tinted Lipstick
In the cooler months, I need every bit of hydration that I can get. My skin slurps up rich moisturizers and my lips are constantly lacquered in a glossy lip oil or peptide balm, but with the rising humidity levels and warm spring air, I’m finding myself shelving those overly glossy products and reaching for hydrating lipsticks like this pick from Westman Atelier. The luxe formula is buttery, buildable, and deeply moisturizing—meaning I can get a watercolor wash of color plus comfortable wear without my hair getting stuck in the Venus fly traps that are lip oils and glosses.
Ditching: Glowy Body Balm | Keeping: Lightweight Liquid Highlighter
Hourglass
Unreal Radiant Glow Liquid Highlighter
I shall not name names, but I tried a glowing body balm last summer that made me look ultra radiant, but left my skin feeling unbearably sticky. The thought of layering a necklace over my balmy chest made my skin crawl, and the substance left residue on my tops after just a few minutes of wear. In short, I needed something that gave me lightweight, non-sticky radiance STAT—and this new Hourglass highlighter is the answer to my prayers. Though intended for your face (it looks absolutely angelic on the highest points of the cheekbones), I’ve been enjoying swiping whatever’s left on my brush onto my décolleté and shoulders for an extra touch of radiance. Perfectly shimmery and never sparkly, this stuff is like bottled sunlight.
Ditching: Exfoliating Pads | Keeping: Exfoliating Self-Tanning Pads
Dr Dennis Gross
Alpha Beta Glow Pad Self-Tanner for Face
I’ve become quite a fan of exfoliation pads in the last year, and they did me wonders this winter when my skin looked (and felt) dry and dull. But after three trips to warm climates this spring, my face is not loving straight-up exfoliation pads anymore—a subtle burning sensation let me know that these acids were too strong for my sun-exposed skin. However, my sensitive complexion consistently reacts well to Dr. Dennis Gross’s Alpha Beta Glow Pads, which gently slough the skin with a chemical combination of AHAs and BHAs, simultaneously revealing the glowing skin beneath my dead cells and offering a sunless bronze. A gentle skin overhaul that results in a sunless tan is the stuff a beauty lover’s summer dreams are made of.
Ditching: Hair Serum | Keeping: Shine Oil
Redken
Naked Gloss Lightweight Hair Oil
Don’t get me wrong, I love a shine-boosting, strand-loving hair serum just as much as the next. However, my hair holds onto moisture much better in warm weather (if you didn’t know, NYC gets very humid), which means that my locks don’t require as much hydration as they do in the winter. I rely on a few serums to supplement my dry, brittle strands in the cooler months, but a lightweight oil like Redken’s Naked Gloss is the perfect smoothing, shine-boosting elixir for my summer frizz. It’s a heat protectant, frizz-fighter, and color reviver all in one. Essentially, it’s replacing half of my hair product lineup this spring.
Ditching: Regular Lip Liner | Keeping: Long-Wear Lip Liner
Wonderskin
360 Contour Lipliner
Once the sun peeks its head from out of the clouds, spring becomes a busy social season. My calendar is often filled with beauty events and dinner plans with friends, often in the same day, which then lends itself to whatever adventure the city wants to take us on after. Safe to say that I’m not focused on keeping my lip combo pristine throughout my time on the town, so I need my products to pull their weight. I love regular lip liner as much as the next (and hoard them like no other), but I’ve officially swapped most of my shades for long-wearing formulas like this pick from Wonderskin. Through hours-long drinks and dinner parties, I can trust it to stay put with minimal, if any, touchups.
Ditching: Liquid Highlighter | Keeping: Powder Highlighter
Dior
Backstage Glow Maximizer Face Palette
“I’ve avoided using powder highlighters for a while now. Blame it on the shocking, shimmer-filled formulas that were popular circa 2016, but I needed a long break,” says McLintock. “In their absence, I moved liquid and cream highlighters into my lineup. Recently, though, the tide is turning back. I’ve been inspired by the likes of Zara Larsson to embrace a bolder (yet still not overly done) highlight. Suddenly, I’m dabbling with powder products again—namely, Dior’s iconic Backstage Glow Maximizer Palette, Sweed’s Aurora Highlighter, and RMS’s Redimension Hydra Dew Luminizer. A little on the cheekbones, the inner corners of the eyes, and the tip of the nose is enough to totally transform and elevate my look.”
Ditching: “Debloat” Gummies | Keeping: Colostrum
I’ll admit it, I’ve fallen for the sugary gummies that promise to calm inflammation and “debloat” the gut in record time, but I’m swapping them for Armra’s colostrum for the time being. These powder sticks, which you can mix into any cold drink, have been proven to encourage the speed of your metabolism, expedite the recovery process after a tough workout, and can even inspire hair growth and glowier skin (to name a few benefits). Though I haven’t made the switch yet, I’m looking forward to reaping the benefits of these nutrient-rich packets that can help me feel my best on the inside ahead of summer.
