End 2021 with some of the smartest, hardest-working face and body formulas we’ve seen all year.
As much you may be looking forward to 2022, don’t hop into the new year without spending a little time perusing the skin-care products hitting shelves and sites in December. Some of our favorite brands have saved their best launches for last, and they’ve been worth the wait.
As we officially transition into winter, we’re well into all the changes that seasonal shifts can bring, so it’s definitely time to update your routine. If you’re familiar with seasonal skin issues like dryness and inflammation, then you know that making a few tweaks to your regimen for the changing weather is essential. Thankfully, we’re here to help you prep your bathroom cabinets and skin-care fridges and invite the best newness into your beauty collection.
In addition to exciting new masks from brands like Perricone MD, Herbivore, and Cocokind, this month is all about retinol and resurfacing, with high-performance products from Fenty Skin, Peachy & Lily, and Versed. And peptides seem to be having a major moment thanks to innovations from Biossance, M-61, and iS Clinical.
No matter what the month may bring, you can count on us to keep you looped into the best new masks, serums, and exfoliators. Shop our favorite launches in December, below.
Lancôme Renergie H.C.F. Triple Serum
The H.C.F. in Lancôme’s new Renergie H.C.F. Triple Serum stands for hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and ferulic acid, all of which never meet until you’re ready to pump out a dose of the plumping, smoothing, brightening formula. Each key ingredient is sequestered in its own chamber — niacinamide keeps vitamin C company, though, since they work so well together to boost radiance — letting them mix for maximum potency right before you apply. The ingenious balance and timing of combination make this an effective and non-irritating way to work toward multiple skin goals.
Glow Recipe Plum Plump Hyaluronic Cream
Glow Recipe continues turning the produce section into a skin-care routine dream with its new Plum Plump Hyaluronic Cream. In addition to multiple molecular weights of hyaluronic acid, this super light whipped gel-cream features the hydration-locking peptide known as polyglutamic acid alongside — as you might have guessed — plum, which helps brighten. In addition to the formula and genuinely enjoyable application experience, we can’t help but appreciate that you can buy refills for the pretty, purple jar.
Curology Micellar Makeup Remover
Don’t be fooled by the bottle that houses Curology Micellar Makeup Remover. It may be smaller than your usual bottle of micellar water, but thanks to its gel-water hybrid formula, it’s working hard to make sure makeup is completely erased from your skin. Although everyone can benefit from its cleansing abilities, it’s made especially with acne-prone skin in mind.
Pleasing The Pleasing Pen
Harry Styles’s new beauty brand, Pleasing, has kicked off with a small but mighty selection of products — four nail polishes and two skin-care products. But one of those two skin-care products, The Pleasing Pen, essentially counts as two products on its own. The double-sided roller ball tubes feature a hyaluronic acid-infused eye gel and a soothing, softening lip treatment. It’s the perfect portable product for when you expect to need a hydrating refresh later in the day.
M-61 Hydraboost Rich Cream
M-61’s new Hydraboost Rich Cream isn’t just rich in moisture (though apple, watermelon rind, lentil extract, and tamarind ensure hydration is indubitably locked in); it’s also rich in peptides — four different kinds — to help firm and smooth skin, soothing ingredients like aloe and centella asiatica, and multitasking antioxidants like seaweed and vitamin B5. We love it as a night cream, especially over high-performance serums and essences.
Biossance Squalane + Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum
At this point in Biossance’s relatively short but legendary existence, it should go without saying that its newest product features moisture-boosting squalane. It’s kind of the brand’s thing. But as you can tell from its name, Biossance Squalane + Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum also contains peptides — most notably a copper tripeptide that helps support collagen and therefore encourages firmer skin. That combination means plumper-looking skin starting as soon as you apply it.
Perricone MD Acne Relief Calming & Soothing Clay Mask
It’s not every day that you find a product that’s as talented at helping to clear up breakouts as it is to calm the irritation they cause, but Perricone MD Acne Relief Calming & Soothing Clay Mask is no everyday product. Its salicylic acid gently dissolves pore-clogging gunk while its clay simultaneously sops up excess oil and gives skin an alleviating, redness-reducing experience.
Pause Well-Aging Moisture-Lock Ultra Hydrator
Pause Well-Aging has always focused on creating products that address menopause-specific skin concerns, and its latest, Moisture-Lock Ultra Hydrator, is exactly what anyone experiencing the dryest skin of their life can look to for relief. Made not only for the face but for anywhere on the body that skin seems to be moisture-resistant, this formula relies on hydration-attracting polyglutamic acid and barrier-bolstering ceramides to fight serious dryness. It’s also an absolute must if you tend to get a little too much sun.
For those who find traditional retinol a bit too much for their skin to handle, the search is always on for an effective alternative. One Love Organics’ option, the new Botanical A Bio-Retinol Night Serum, relies on a flavinoid extract from the cockspur leaf to encourage a similar effect as the popular form of vitamin A. The formula’s gentle alpha hydroxy acids, lactic acid and phytic acid, add to the cell-turnover benefits, making it a wise addition to your nightly routine.
True Botanicals Moisture Lock Glossy Lip Balm
True Botanicals’ new Moisture Lock Glossy Lip Balm is arguably more lip treatment than just a simple balm. The brand has included nearly every imaginable botanical oil and butter in this pot of naturally pink loveliness, like coconut oil, jojoba oil, shea butter, mango seed butter, avocado oil — just to name a few — in order to provide skin with the fatty acids and moisture it needs to look supple. A healthy dose of hyaluronic acid to lock in hydration sure doesn’t hurt, either.
Fenty Skin Pre-Show Glow Instant Retexturizing Treatment
Just when you think you’ve seen every imaginable kind of exfoliating option, Fenty Skin has come up with a powerful new approach to getting glowing, smoother skin. Pre-Show Glow Instant Retexturizing Treatment comes with a reusable, washable applicator that, on its own, provides gentle physical exfoliation; but when you add the fruit enzymes and alpha hydroxy acids of the treatment’s formula and lather it up with water, you end up with a truly thorough sloughing system that will become your new favorite shower ritual.
Murad Resurgence Targeted Wrinkle Corrector
Spot treatments aren’t just for acne. The latest member of Murad’s Resurgence collection, the Target Wrinkle Corrector is a fast-working wonder for wrinkles. Immediately upon application, you get a temporary filling and smoothing effect on your lines thanks to a special hexapeptide combined with hyaluronic acid and squalane. And while the effect doesn’t last the way injections do, it has a cumulative effect that will leave lines looking more plumped up over time.
Herbivore Moon Fruit Retinol Alternative Sleep Mask
Fans of Herbivore’s Moon Fruit mask are rejoicing over its return. The “retinol alternative” treatment has new packaging and an improved formula. Its bakuchiol works overnight to gently smooth, while sodium hyaluronate, tremella mushroom, and squalane attract and lock in hydration. And with the help of fruit extracts, fatty acids, and antioxidants that nourish skin, you’ll wake up with a fresher face than you went to bed with.
Mario Badescu Brightening Eye Serum
As soon as we saw the slightly peachy tint of Mario Badescu Brightening Eye Serum, we knew we’d love it. That hue is one of the ways it instantly illuminates undereye skin, while squalane hydrates, caffeine depuffs, and centella asiatica soothes. It comes together to create overall more awake-looking eyes.
AOA Cryo Ice Ball Maker
It may be a simple concept, and it may be only two bucks, but the AOA Cryo Ice Ball Maker will serve an innovative and invaluable role in your skin-care routine. Simply fill the ball with water — or even toner if you’re feeling sassy — and put it in the freezer for an inflammation-reducing, cooling treat. Heck, you can even buy a few for making chic, round ice cubes for drinks.
Lancer Instant Brightening Booster
Lancer Instant Brightening Booster is a weekly treatment cream that supercharges your radiance routine. Its 30-percent concentration of ascorbic acid — stabilized vitamin C — works to reduce existing hyperpigmentation, and it teams up with fellow antioxidant turmeric to prevent further discoloration. Once your skin feels ready, feel free to add it to your nighttime regimen a second time each week to up the impact.
Evolvetogether Monaco Hand Cream
Sometimes you’ll accept any hand cream that’s readily available; other times, you want to pamper yourself. For the latter, you’ll love Evolvetogether’s new Monaco Hand Cream. In addition to being instantly moisturizing, it doesn’t leave behind a sticky or greasy feel. Instead, what lingers is a gorgeous rose, patchouli, and mandarin fragrance, as well as a host of vitamin-supplied nourishment.
Peach & Lily Power Cocktail Lactic Acid Repair Serum
Peach & Lily’s first serum since its frenzy-stirring Glass Skin Refining Serum, the Power Cocktail Lactic Acid Repair Serum is destined for similar popularity due to its layered approach to stunning skin. Lactic acid takes center stage for gentle AHA resurfacing, and it’s supported by smart, hard-working ingredients like ginseng, algae, and probiotics so fine lines and pores both look less apparent.
Omorovicza Queen Cleanser
Does it cleanse queens? Is it the queen of cleansers? Honestly, yes to both. The new Omorovicza Queen Cleanser can be applied to dry or damp skin, its creamy formula capable of swiping away all of the day’s makeup and grime with little effort and lots of moisture. That fresh, hydrated feeling it leaves behind on your bare skin comes courtesy of glycerin, sweet almond oil, Hungarian thermal water, and natural extracts like that of moringa seed and calendula.
Versed Firm Ground Retinol Body Lotion
We rave about retinol as a must-have ingredient for facial skin care, but Versed understands your body’s skin can benefit from it, too. In the new Firm Ground Retinol Body Lotion, it’s encapsulated for a gentle impact, helping to boost firmness and improve texture. Meanwhile, its cocoa butter and squalane provide the moisture you expect from a daily body lotion.
Supergoop Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost
Supergoop hasn’t become one of editors’ and shoppers’ favorite sunscreen brands by not being innovative, and its new Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost may be one of its cleverest formulas yet. This face oil is an ideal last step in your daytime routine because it locks in moisture and fortifies your skin’s barrier — that’s where the ceramides come in — while supplying SPF 40 protection. You can even apply atop other sunscreen or an SPF moisturizer for additional protection and major moisturization.
KU:S Aga-Glow Soft Essence
Aren’t you overdue for a great new essence? The fermented rice in KU:S Aga-Glow Soft Essence is the key to its moisturizing and glow-escalating abilities. It’s teamed up with niacinamide, frankincense, and allantoin for a skin-soothing step you can’t believe was missing from your routine.
Peace Out Retinol Face Stick
Peace Out has come so far from its exclusively spot-treating-patches beginnings. Its latest non-patch innovation: the Retinol Face Stick. The water-free balm lets you apply encapsulated retinol exactly where you need and want it most, letting you address discoloration and lines in a super easy stick format.
iS Clinical Active Peel System
Carve out some time in your nighttime skin-care routine every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for this retexturizing, hydrating two-part peel. The iS Clinical Active Peel System starts with a three-minute application of a controlled exfoliation formula — think: malic and salicylic acids — and it’s followed by a second treatment that grants skin the gift of copper tripeptide’s benefits: namely, firmer, more moisturized skin.
Cocokind Matcha Modeling Mask
If you love a good DIY beauty moment but you need an expert to hold your hand through the process, Cocokind’s new Matcha Modeling Mask strikes that perfect balance. You receive a jar of matcha modeling mix, a mixing bowl, three measuring spoons, a spatula, and a brush to whip up an antioxidant-packed peel-off treatment that leaves skin supple and fresh — and leaves you feeling satisfied with your little at-home accomplishment.
Pit-Pourri All Day + All Over Deodorant
Poo-Pourri has spent a very long time focused on one very specific aspect of self-care, but it’s finally taking its stink-stopping talents out of the toilet and applying them to underarms. Pit-Pourri (of course it’s called that) All Day + All Over Deodorant is a natural deodorant that promises 24 hours of aluminum-free odor protection that sensitive skin will appreciate. It even helps manage sweatiness with astringent caffeine.
Orvos Satin Eye Gel Cream
Conjured up by a board-certified plastic surgeon, Orvos Satin Eye Gel Cream addresses everything you could possibly be concerned about when it comes to the undereye area. Puffiness, dark circles, lines — it’s all taken care of with a smart blend of caffeine, green tea, and bakuchiol. It can be applied with your finger, but we prefer the cooling tip for an extra de-puffing treat.