Wonky weather is as much of a beauty battle as it is a sartorial one. And of all the seasons, spring seems to be the biggest offender. With chilly winds, sudden downpours (April showers are about to hit, you guys!) and rising humidity adding to the unpredictable forecast, your skin, hair and nails have a tendency to freak out. But they don’t have to if you know how to combat spring’s biggest beauty problems. So, we’re helping you tackle them right here, right now (because spring beauty should really be all about playing with dreamy pastel palettes). Scroll through to find out how to slay the most troublesome beauty issues of the season.
1. Dry Skin: Ever-changing weather makes it nearly impossible for you skin to acclimate, and the results aren’t pretty (think: flaky, dry and dull skin). To get that dewy, quintessentially spring look, use a gentle exfoliant like Change Soap Cleansing Grains ($22) to cleanse and brighten your skin. Packed with powdered ingredients including almonds, oatmeal and rejuvenating pink clay, it promises just the right amount of tough love: a nourishing deep-clean without stripping your skin.
2. Chapped Lips: The two-faced forecast (sun one day, rain the next) can wreak havoc on your lips, extending the winter-long chapped streak well into spring. Hack healthy lips with Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask in Champagne ($26), a mega-hydrating tinted balm that soothes and softens your lips in just one swipe.
3. Peeling Nails: Not even your stash of pastel polishes can mask the unpretty effects of transitional weather on your nails — there’s nothing more annoying than peeling tips ruining your just-DIYed manicure. Add Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter ($17/ 1.5 oz) into your skin care routine to nourish your nails and so much more. The thick beeswax-packed formula promotes healthy, strong nails while softening your skin’s roughest patches, and all with a fragrant, energizing lemon scent.
4. Smudgy Makeup: Don’t let a surprise rain storm or a warmer-than-expected commute turn your makeup into a hot mess. Sure, waterproof liner is a seasonal must-have, but what’s stopping the rest of what’s on your face from running away too? The solution: apply a primer to your face first to keep your makeup in place. Japonesque Radiance Primer ($32) is an in-house favorite for its strong-hold, yet lightweight formula that gives your skin a photo-ready radiant glow.
5. Frizzy Hair: Stop your mane’s inevitable fine-to-frizz-ball trajectory when the humidity hits with a tress-taming protecting spray. KMS California HairStay Anti-Humidity Seal ($16) is a triple threat, blocking those unwanted effects, protecting your strands from the heat, and leaving your hair silkier and softer than before.
6. Puffy Eyes: Allergies might make you feel like you’re not on top of your game, but even when your eyes are watery, itchy and puffy all at the same time (how is that possible?!), you can certainly look refreshed. Dab Benefit Cosmetics Puff Off! ($29) under your eyes and smooth the slightly cooling gel with its quirky flat iron tip to banish those bags and look more awake.
7. Red Nose: Seasonal sniffles mean that you never leave home without a pack of travel-sized tissues and this: a color-correcting concealer that will mask any redness around your nose or other irritated areas. The green shade of the dermatologist-tested Maybelline Cover Stick Concealer ($5) will neutralize red discoloration, including blemishes, like magic.
8. Wind-Blown Hair: With gusty winds in the forecast, your initial reaction might be to go heavy on the hairspray to keep your strands as perfectly in place as possible. We say, don’t fight the elements — after all, messy hair is all the rage right now. Use a sea salt spray like Change Soap Pink Sea Salt Hair + Texture Volume Spray ($14) to enhanced that textured, tousled style, then let the wind do the rest.
9. Bare Legs: Drugstore shaving cream might have cut it when you were covering your legs with the biggest new denim trends. But when hemlines start getting higher, it’s time to give your sticks some spa-worthy love. Try a non-foaming formula like Whish Shave Cream ($20). Made with organic shea butter, green tea and moisturizing coconut oil, the lush lather will leave your legs nourished, hydrated and ready to slip into shorts.
10. Sheltered Skin: Eek! It’s been a six-month skin hibernation and now off-the-shoulder tops are a thing? Tint your pale skin to a sneakily sun-kissed look with Too Faced Royal Oil Coconut Body Bronzer ($35). Apply a thin layer of the fast-absorbing bronzer over your bod to get a subtle glow (or cake it on to go full-on spring break beach babe) and hydrating protection thanks to the exotic combination of mangosteen fruit and coconut oil.
11. Toes Out, Finally: After sticking with socks and boots for two entire seasons, we can’t remember the last time we thought about painting our toes. Before you pounce on a pair of spring’s breeziest shoes, be sure you have a pedi plan in place. Start the open-toed season off on the right foot with a vegan, 5-free-formula polish in a glamorous, wear-anywhere shade like Habit Nail Polish in Hussy ($18).
12. Hat Hair: Beanie weather is almost officially behind us (yay!) but we’re not quite as excited for what’s left underneath: dull, weightless hair. Add some life back into your mane with a modern twist on an old-school hack (remember Sun-In?!) with John Frieda Beach Blonde Sun Streaks Lightening Spray ($10). A few spritzes and some time in the sun later, and your hair is lightened with dimensional streaks like the best of the beach babes — it happens to be Lauren Conrad’s secret to her covetable locks.
What products help you battle spring’s biggest beauty problems? Share your secrets in the comments below.
