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Stock Up For Summer With May’s Best New Beauty Products

Things are heating up.

by Amanda Ross

Updated: May 27, 2024

Originally Published: May 19, 2024

Dae hair leave-in conditioner models

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Summer starts the day you slam your laptop shut ahead of Memorial Day Weekend. Three long, hot months of outdoor dining, rooftop parties, long nights, and beach days await, but there’s something you have to do before diving headfirst into those seasonal festivities. Just as you adjust your beauty routines for bracing winters and humid springs, it’s time to do a little tweaking ahead of the all the action just around the corner. Fortunately, there is a whole rash of just-released newness ready to be explored. May 2024’s best new beauty products are full of regimen-enhancing essentials and sweat-proof must-haves, but there’s also plenty of fresh picks to help you tap into summer’s biggest trends, too.

Any beauty fan will tell you everything starts with a solid skin and hair care base. Swap out your heavy winter moisturizer for a lighter alternative by True Botanicals, and disguise the toll long nights of fun takes on hair and eyes with restorative shampoos and creams from Carol’s Daughter and Dermalogica. On the makeup front, it’s all about pure fun — pumped-up Dior lashes, all-day lips, and SPATCH’s new skin-realistic concealer that lays the perfect foundation for everything that follows.

Ahead, get familiar with the very best hair, skin, and makeup launches of May 2024.

May 2024 Skin Care Launches

Best New Mask

La Mer Deep Purifying Mask

Deep Purifying Mask

Like a cooling, refreshing magnet that attracts and eliminates grime, La Mer’s newest mask is the perfect weekend reset. Despite its powerful oil-eliminating properties, it’s safe for regular use and all skin types. | Pros: Cooling sensation; helps shrink the look of pores | Notable Ingredients: Charcoal powder; witch hazel; algae extract |

Best New Toner

The Ordinary Saccharomyces Ferment 30% Milky Toner

Saccharomyces Ferment 30% Milky Toner

A texture-smoothing exfoliant balanced out by skin-soothing hydration, The Ordinary’s new toner is the ideal everyday essential to incorporate into your regular routine. Milky and emulsive, you can pat it directly into the skin both morning and evening. | Pros: Gently exfoliating; great for dry skin types | Notable Ingredients: Saccharomyces ferment; squalane; citric acid |

Best New Moisturizer

True Botanicals Ginger Turmeric HydraGlow Cream

True Botanicals

Ginger Turmeric HydraGlow Cream

One of the best things about warm, wet springs is how your skin responds to the weather. Thicker creams can be traded in for equally effective, lightweight gels, like this new release from True Botanicals. It sinks right into the skin, instantly cooling, moisturizing, and glow-inducing. | Pros: Soothing; absorbs quickly; suitable for all skin types | Notable Ingredients: Ginger; turmeric; milk thistle; tonka bean ferment |

Best New Cleanser

Sofie Pavitt Face Micellar Cleansing Pads

Sofie Pavitt Face

Micellar Cleansing Pads

Sofia Pavitt, esthetician to the stars, is back with a new form of cleanser that’s right on time for all your spring and summer travels. These micellar water-soaked pads gently clear away makeup, debris, and general grime to leave skin squeaky clean and ready for next steps, even when you can’t access a sink. | Pros: Travel-friendly; good for acne-prone skin | Notable Ingredients: Glycerin; cucumber extract; citric acid |

Best New Eye Cream

Dermalogica Phyto Nature Lifting Eye Cream

Phyto Nature Lifting Eye Cream

Demalogica’s newest launch takes a truly multifaceted approach to eye cream. Rather than focus on just lifting, firming, or fine lines, this formula targets the full spectrum — including hollowness and lack of density. In fact, clinical trials report 97% of users experience improved lift, tone, and brightness in just two months. | Pros: Lightweight feel; immediate and compounding benefits | Notable Ingredients: Quinoa seed extract; electric daisy flower; Coq10; matcha butter |

May 2024 Hair Care Launches

Best New Texturizer

Crown Affair The Texturizing Air Dry Hair Mousse

The Texturizing Air Dry Hair Mousse

It’s the secret to getting beach hair even when you’re hours from the nearest coastline. Scrunch a bit of Crown Affair’s featherlight mousse through damp hair and watch the way it enhances curls, waves, and natural texture for an effortless, undeniably summery look. | Pros: Suitable for all hair types; weightless feel | Notable Ingredients: Pink Bolivian salt; plant protein blend |

Best New Leave-In

Dae Mirage Mist Leave-In Conditioner

Mirage Mist Leave-In Conditioner

Already a viral TikTok favorite, Dae’s delicious-smelling leave-in is a shortcut to hydrated hair and smooth ends. Made of moisture-grabbing ingredients, hair dries to its smoothest, most hydrated form. | Pros: Refreshing scent; weightless finish | Notable Ingredients: Rose of Jericho; prickly pear seed oil; cactus flower extract |

Best New Styling Cream

R+co Proper Molding Paste

Proper Molding Paste

Perfect updos, pixies, and braids alike with R+Co.’s new long-lasting — yet surprisingly weightless — molding paste. Ideal for adding texture and locking in styles, the formula even acts as an anti-frizz agent and protects against humidity. | Pros: Suitable for all hair types; soft matte finish; made with vegan wax | Notable Ingredients: Larch tree wood extract; biotin; ginger extract; pea protein |

Best New Hair Serum

Dove Beauty Bond Shield Leave-In Silk Hair Serum

Bond Shield Leave-In Silk Hair Serum

Part leave-in conditioner and part reparative bond-builder, Dove’s just-released serum was made especially for stressed-out hair. It can be applied to both damp and dry hair, temporarily sealing up split ends for a smooth, break-free look that doubles as a hydrating oil and heat protectant. | Pros: Suitable for all hair types; can be used as part of four-step system | Notable Ingredients: Lentil seed extract; coconut oil |

Best New Shampoo

Goddess Strength Fortifying Shampoo

Carol's Daughter

Goddess Strength Fortifying Shampoo

When Carol’s Daughter released its new Goddess Strength line, fans cheered — the fortifying collection is all about improving weaker, thin, or damaged strands while guarding against further damage. The first step is this shampoo, which coats the hair and scalp in protective, hydrating ingredients to make them more resiliant against everyday stressors. | Pros: Formulated for wavy, coily, and curly hair types; scalp-nourishing | Notable Ingredients: Castor oil; black cumin seed oil; ginger |

May 2024 Makeup Launches

Best New Concealer

REFY Brightening and Blurring Serum Concealer

Brightening and Blurring Serum Concealer

REFY’s new concealer arrived in the nick of time — what better way to disguise the effects of those late summer nights? The featherweight formula is enriched with plant-derived squalene for extra moisture so there’s no threat of crepey creases, while its blurring effects work to camouflage under-eye circles, dark marks, and general discoloration alike. | Pros: Hydrating finish; buildable coverage | Notable Ingredients: Phytosqualane; sunflower seed oil; winged kelp extract; green tea leaf extract |

Best New Bronzer

Softsculpt Multi-Use Bronzing & Shaping Serum

MAKEUP BY MARIO

Softsculpt Multi-Use Bronzing & Shaping Serum

There are two equally effective ways to use MAKEUP BY MARIO’s highly anticipated new launch. Use the pump-style dispenser to squeeze out a dime-sized amount of product, blending it all over the face for a general bronzey glow. On the other hand, the refined, doefoot-tipped wand allows for targeted application and ultra-precise contouring. | Pros: Blurring effect; multi-use | Notable Ingredients: Vitamin E; hyaluronic acid |

Best New Blush

IT Cosmetics Glow With Confidence Sun Cream Blush

Glow With Confidence Sun Cream Blush

IT Cosmetics’ new blush-bronzer (blonzer?) combo has a texture that truly has to be felt to be believed. It’s actually a solid serum, full of smoothing, hydrating ingredients that add warmth, color, and dimension to the face, blending out with ease — no matter if you use a speciality brush or your fingers. | Pros: Multi-use; skin-smoothing | Notable Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid; peptides; vitamin E |

Best New Lip Liner

Lisa Eldridge Sculpt And Shape Lip Pencil

Sculpt And Shape Lip Pencil

The ultimate your-lips-but better shades, created to mimic a wide range of natural skin colors and undertones, combines with a matte finish, blurring formula — together, they make the perfect pencil for maximizing shape and size. | Pros: Available in 11 lifelike shades; blurring finish to camouflage lines | Notable Ingredients: Olive oil; candelilla wax; cottonseed oil |

ILIA Lip Sketch Hydrating Lipstick + Lip Liner Crayon

Lip Sketch Hydrating Lipstick + Lip Liner Crayon

Yes, ILIA’s newest launch is definitely a lip liner — but it’s also so much more. The precise tip and long-lasting formula makes it great for outlining the mouth and locking in color, but the comfortable, creamy pigment means it doubles as the perfect all-over lipstick, too. | Pros: Multifunctional; available in 12 shades | Notable Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid; seaweed extract |

Best New Lip Tint

YSL Beauty Candy Glow Tinted Butter Balm

Candy Glow Tinted Butter Balm

The dreamiest your-lips-but-better product in ages, YSL’s new treatment is all about teasing out your best color and glow while delivering a healthy dose of moisture. The twist-up stick deposits a hint of radiant color — it’s available in six shades — but wearers are still able to see their own natural lips shine through the tint thanks to the formula’s pH-adjusting pigments. | Pros: Nourishing; non-sticky | Notable Ingredients: Shea butter; maracuja oil |

Best New Concealer

SPATCH Invisible Spot Fix

Invisible Spot Fix

Prepare for this two-piece compact to never leave your bag. A feat of cosmetic engineering, SPATCH concealer both obscures and color-corrects dark marks, blemishes, and other unwanted spots with an undetectable talc-free powder that adds no extra texture or weight. | Pros: Available in six blendable shades; can be worn with or without other makeup | Notable Ingredients: Mica; Jojoba seed oil |

Best New Lash Primer

Dior Diorshow Maximizer 4D Lash Primer-Serum

Diorshow Maximizer 4D Lash Primer-Serum

What’s a summer party without a major eye makeup moment? Thanks to Diorshow’s new lash primer, you can skip the falsies and get just as much impact with just a few coats of mascara. The wand is loaded with a conditioning, volumizing blend of ingredients that prep the lashes for all-day curl, volume, and length, without sacrificing health or density. | Pros: Non-cakey; can be worn solo as a lash conditioner | Notable Ingredients: Cornflower extract; Chamomile extract |

This article was originally published on May 19, 2024