Moisturizer for People Who Hate Moisturizer, a Mindfulness-Boosting Cream Scent, and More Beauty Finds Our Editors Loved in April
Getting to know the new clean beauty products our buyers bring to goop is one of the (very fun) parts of our job as editors. So, we tend to switch up our rotations regularly, slotting in new launches and turning back to longstanding heroes, experimenting to see how things work for us in different seasons, for different needs, in different combinations. Inevitably, some products start to stand out more than others—and each month, we’re excited to share the ones we’re newly obsessed with.
Ahead, the roundup of our favorite new finds from April.
1Dr. Diamond’s Metacine Contour Collection EyeLift Bioremodeling Peptide Matrix
I have a confession: Until very recently, I did not use eye cream. I knew all the reasons I was supposed to: the skin around the eyes is thinner, more fragile, more prone to showing every late night and every squint in the sun. Still, I defaulted to efficiency. I’d take whatever serum or moisturizer I was using on the rest of my face and sweep it up over my eyes, as if the area didn’t require its own set of rules. It felt practical. But it wasn’t especially strategic.
Then I spent a week reporting a story on upper eyelid lifts, and something shifted. There is nothing like listening to surgeons talk about fractions of millimeters and the slow, predictable effects of gravity to make you newly aware of your own eyelids. I started noticing things I had previously edited out: a slight heaviness by the end of the day, a faint crepiness under my browbone. It wasn’t dramatic. But I wasn't a fan. And it made me want a more deliberate approach.
Dr. Diamond’s Metacine EyeLift is meant for the whole eye area, including the upper lids, which is where things have gone the most sideways for me. The formula includes peptides for firmness, chestnut seed extract for dark circles, and a gentle, hyaluronic acid-retinoid complex that binds water and cushions the skin while increasing cellular renewal (and ultimately collagen). The texture is light and elegant; it disappears quickly and leaves no greasy residue.
I used it religiously morning and night after my goop Beauty Youth-Boost Peptide Serum and NAD+ cream. After a few weeks, the change was subtle but noticeable: The skin under my brows looked smoother and slightly less hooded. My crow’s-feet still stood with military precision when I smiled, but they were less obvious the rest of the time. I looked like the kind of person who actually slept with an Oura ring—and tracked my data.
It is expensive, in the way that makes you briefly consider how much your daughter spends on matcha lattes at La La Land. But if you’ve reached the point where you look permanently sleepy—and if you haven’t, trust, you will—it’s one of the few products that actually seems to make a noticeable difference. Pair it with the daily use of the Lyma laser, and your eyes might start to look like you’ve actually spent some quality time at a medi-spa.
2LYMA Laser PRO
I committed to my month-long LYMA experiment with the same steely resolve as my favorite Five-Minute Butt Lift routine on YouTube (Bailey Brown, in case you're curious). I thought, This is nothing. I can do anything for three minutes. Then I realized the catch: It’s three minutes per zone—left crow’s-foot, right crow’s-foot. You get the gist. Which is how I found myself standing in front of a full-length mirror every morning in April for 12 minutes, moving a small, very expensive piece of technology around my face with the focus of someone icing a cake.
The LYMA Laser is, on paper, not the sort of thing I would commit to daily. It requires consistency and my full attention, which is usually where my relationship with beauty gadgets falls apart. But three minutes on each crow’s-foot, three minutes at the corners of my mouth—I found it oddly manageable. After a couple of weeks, it started to feel less like a chore and more like a self-care ritual I could fold into the margins of my day, somewhere between brushing my teeth and wondering if I should text someone back.
The first sign it was working had nothing to do with wrinkles, texture, or any of the things I was actually using it for. It was a bruise. A small bruise that popped up directly between my 11s, like a tattoo telegraphing to the world: “I had Botox, then drank two glasses of wine—and no amount of concealer can hide it.”
I only thought to use the laser because I’d had breakfast with Lucy Goff, the founder of Lyma, who explained that this technology has been used for years in medical settings to speed wound healing. I used it on the bruise that night, and then again the next morning, and by the following day it was gone. Not faded. Gone.
When I asked Goff to explain how the laser works, she put it in terms that felt both clinical and strangely reassuring: The device delivers a precise dose of energy—12 joules in three minutes—that triggers cellular regeneration, accelerating the body’s natural healing process so efficiently that something like a bruise can resolve in about 24 hours. Your body already knows what to do—you’re just giving it better instructions.
This, it turns out, is the device's underlying promise. Unlike LED masks, which scatter light at the surface, the LYMA uses coherent, monochromatic laser light that penetrates to the dermis, where collagen resides. Clinical testing has shown measurable changes in gene expression—real biological activity, not just a temporary glow you can attribute to good lighting.
After a few weeks, the fine lines at the corners of my eyes and mouth had softened. The change was incremental but real, like getting a good night’s sleep over and over again.
And then, because I was seeing such good progress, I got ambitious.
I started using it on a small patch of loose skin near my belly button—a reminder of time, gravity, and a body that has given birth twice. After a month of once daily three-minute sessions, I swear the skin looked a little tighter. It was no tummy tuck, but it did look better, like someone had ironed out an unslightly kink of middle age.
3Westman Atelier Sun Tone Bronzing Crème
I am, by both genetics and good sense, a person who does not tan. I spend a surprising amount of time outside—I hike, walk, bike, and generally make a point of being in the sun in ways that feel virtuous and vaguely Californian—and yet you would never know it from looking at my skin. I have a family history of melanoma, which means I wear sunscreen with the kind of religious conviction others reserve for Levain chocolate chip cookies—or arguing about politics on Substack.
So, I’ve always relied on bronzer. Not in a let-me-just-boost-my-tan kind of way. More in a trying-to-look-like-I-have-a-pulse kind of way. But lately, I’ve noticed that the powder bronzer I’ve used for years doesn’t seem to work as well as it used to. I don’t know if it’s age, menopause, or just the cumulative betrayal of time, but something about the way pigment sits on my skin now is less forgiving. Powders make my face look dull and muddy. Gels grab instantly, leaving a streaky mess.
When I first tried the Westman Atelier Sun Tone Bronzing Cream, it looked—and felt—completely different. Because it’s a cream, it blends into the skin instead of resting on it, so the color looks softer and more natural. It also gives you a bit of time to move it around, which makes it easier to get it right.
But what really sets this bronzer apart is its two-shade formulation. A real tan isn’t one flat color—it shifts slightly depending on where the sun hits—so the compact pairs a soft bronzy tone with a slightly deeper one to mimic that effect. I tap the deeper shade onto the high points of my face (cheekbones, forehead, a touch across the nose), then use the lighter one to soften and blend so it all diffuses into the skin. The result is just enough warmth to convince people I am not the kind of person who mail orders mineral sunscreen in bulk.
1Vyrao The Sixth Cream Scent for Mindfulness & Intuition
Coming from a family of after-dinner espresso drinkers, it was with great sadness that I eventually reconciled myself to the fact that personally, I cannot handle any caffeine after 12 p.m. Once in a blue moon, I’ll play it fast and loose with a 3 p.m. matcha and, invariably, live to regret it. So over the years I’ve experimented with different ways of tackling the midafternoon slump. A walk around the block is always a good idea. A few drops of face oil, rubbed between your palms and pressed into your forehead and cheeks (I love Vintner's Daughter for this). A drop or two of sweet orange essential oil in a diffuser. All worthy strategies. But none of them are as effective as my new obsession: Vyrao’s Cream Scent. Vyrao’s scents are all crafted to do more than just smell good; each one is meant to help shift your mood, as well. The Sixth—named for the sixth sense, which its notes are intended to help open up—is a fresh, bright mix of apple, basil, cypress, juniper, rosemary, cedarwood, peppermint, fennel, wormwood, and sacred herbs. It’s the kind of scent that makes you want to close your eyes, inhale deeply, and smile. The cream version comes in a gorgeous silver metal tube topped with a weighty, sculptural cap. The cream itself is rich and thick—made with nourishing ceramides, mango seed butter, hyaluronic acid, and vitamin E. Come 3 p.m., I squeeze a dollop into my palms, massage it over my hands, then press it into my neck. It envelops me in a halo of luxurious calm, and I can actually feel my energy shift—I’m instantly happier. It’s a small moment, but it’s become a meaningful (and nonnegotiable) part of my workday.
2WTHN Face Cupping Kit
A few weekends ago, in Pennsylvania for a friend’s son’s wedding, I woke up on the day of the event looking not dissimilar to the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Choices had been made the day before, I will be the first to admit. (All worth it.) But that left me sitting in my hotel room on Saturday morning with just a few hours in which to reclaim the contours of my face. Luckily, I hadn’t packed light, beauty-wise. After working up a sweat and taking a long, hot shower (a lot of sodium might have been one of the choices made the day before), my next triage step was some facial massage, with an assist from my WTHN facial cups. I’ve recently started using them as part of my morning skin-care routine, and I love the way the gentle suction feels, especially along my cheeks and jawline. It’s really soothing, and I can see the way it instantly boosts blood flow to my face. I feel like I’ve been clenching my jaw a little less since I started doing it. And it’s also meant to help support lymphatic drainage, which I very much needed that morning.
3Skin Design London FaceTight Hydrogel Mask
After the cupping, it was time for my heavy-hitter: This supercharged biopeptide mask from Skin Design London. The two-piece mask is made from a cooling hydrogel, and it feels instantly soothing when you place it on your skin and smooth it into place. It’s made with a complex of 20 peptides that includes the promisingly named Tension Modulating Peptide (aka acetyl hexapeptide-8, or argireline), Lymphatic Activation Peptide (aka dipeptide-2), and Structural Reinforcement Peptide (aka palmitoyl tripeptide-5). After 15 minutes, I peeled it off, massaged the extra serum into my skin and neck, and faced the mirror for my moment of reckoning. Miraculously, the face that looked back at me was once again recognizable as my own—and I’d even go so far as to say it was a much more lifted, sculpted version than I am used to.
1Crown Affair The Dry Shampoo
I first tried Crown Affair’s dry shampoo in 2023 after one of my clean beauty-obsessed friends raved about it in our group text. I ordered it on the spot, and since then, have relied exclusively on this magical formula, ditching aerosol dry shampoos entirely. The talc-free powder, made with tapioca starch, works suspiciously well to absorb excess oil on my roots and add volume (even on hair that really shouldn’t be stretched another day), all while smelling amazing thanks to bergamot, yuzu, and lemongrass.
The only problem was that I couldn’t easily take it with me everywhere that I wanted to. The full-size jar, which looks like loose setting powder and is designed to be applied with a fluffy kabuki brush, was too bulky to throw it in my purse and too messy to apply easily on the go in my car. So, when the brand finally launched a portable travel-friendly version—small enough to fit in your pocket, with an easy pump application—I was thrilled. It recently saved the day when I needed to quickly freshen up my limp hair before dinner after a long travel day with no time for a full wash. Now my only problem is that I need to order four more.
2Bonjout La Cream
Bonjout’s new moisturizer, La Cream, looks beautiful on a vanity—but after months testing the lab sample, I can confirm it’s not one of those products you’ll leave out just for show but never actually reach for day to day. Like Le Balm, Bonjout’s first cult product, La Cream is a workhorse—packed with actives and designed to replace multiple steps in your routine, while also feeling incredibly nourishing and coddling on the skin.
On nights when I use La Cream, I can skip all my other serums and actives thanks to a slew of powerful ingredients including calendula stem cells, which help support collagen synthesis, and a multi-peptide complex that’s clinically shown to smooth fine lines and help restore skin’s firmness and elasticity. In the morning, I can forgo my vitamin C thanks to a high-potency antioxidant that’s activated by the skin’s own microbiome to help brighten and fade dark spots. It’s formulated as an inverse emulsion—80% oil and 20% water—to match your skin’s natural barrier and enhance absorption. As a result, it sinks into the skin without ever feeling heavy or greasy, and layers beautifully under makeup with zero pilling.
339BC Fig Milk Shower Oil
A fine fragrance shower oil was something I didn’t realize I was missing in my routine until I tried this one from 39BC, a new line inspired by ancient bathing rituals. For me, body wash is all about the sensorial experience (a bar of soap simply can’t compete), and this one delivered from the first use. First, I was blown away by the texture—the oil transforms into the most luxurious milky lather upon contact with water (I use it with a konjac sponge, and a little goes a long way). Then there’s the fragrance: slightly sweet, soft and creamy, with notes of violet leaf, fig, and cedarwood. Afterward, the nourishing oils leave my skin feeling insanely soft, hydrated, and just lightly scented before getting into bed. Over the past few months of testing, it’s turned my evening showers into a more pleasurable, luxurious spa-like ritual.
A bonus: the packaging, including a beautiful red box with an embossed gold seal, is extremely gift-worthy (in fact, it made our own Mother’s Day gift guide this year.)
1Sofie Pavitt Face Skin Jelly Oil-Free Gel Moisturizer
Two months ago, Ella on our buying team encouraged me to try Sofie Pavitt Face, the acne-safe skincare line founded by celebrity esthetician and NYC “acne whisperer” Sofie Pavitt. I first tested out the Mandelic Clearing Serum and was instantly hooked; it cleared my forehead breakouts that had flared up after a winter of constant travel and climate shifts.
Now that I’m back in sunny L.A., my skin no longer needs heavy creams, so I’ve been searching for a lightweight moisturizer. Enter the brand’s latest launch: the Skin Jelly Oil-Free Gel Moisturizer. “This is a moisturizer for people who hate moisturizers,” Pavitt says. “It’s not heavy, sticky, or greasy. It’s just light and hydrating.”
The name accurately reflects the texture: it’s a light blue, jelly-like formula that feels refreshing, not sticky or Jell-O-esque. Beta-glucan soothes and hydrates my skin, leaving a satin finish that holds up even in heat and humidity. It layers seamlessly under SPF and makeup, while allantoin keeps my skin plump and well hydrated overnight. Zinc and copper PCA help regulate oil production, making it especially well-suited to my breakout-prone skin. And the packaging is thoughtfully designed to prevent leaks, even when tossed into a travel bag.
2Nécessaire The Detox Shampoo
My scalp has been in desperate need of a proper reset after months of buildup. I tried this detox shampoo about a month ago, and it easily earned a spot in my weekly everything shower routine. I already know it’s going to be my holy grail product this summer after long beach days, pool time, and sweaty hikes.
After just one wash, my scalp was noticeably cleaner and lighter, thanks to the blend of organic apple cider vinegar and pine oil. Amino acids and ceramides helped replenish moisture, so my scalp and hair felt balanced and not fully stripped. My favorite part is the scent: a woodsy mix of pine, juniper, amber, and geranium that lingers subtly after I rinse and dry my hair.
In the shower, I like to work the shampoo into my scalp with my Manta Pulse brush to build a rich lather. Then, I follow with a spray-in conditioner that leaves my air-dried hair soft, shiny, and bouncy.
3Fischersund Faux Flora No. 1 Fragrance
As someone who rarely strays from my signature scent, I didn’t expect to be so taken with this new Fischersund fragrance from the Faux Flora collection. Lately, I've been mixing it with my longtime go-to, Glossier You, for a fresh, multi-dimensional scent that feels unique and personalized.
The collection draws on the shared life cycles of plants and people. No. 1 “Birth” captures that sense of renewal, which feels especially fitting for spring. The scent opens with a bright hit of bergamot, then softens into notes of cream, iris, a touch of salt, and warm white musk. The overall vibe is clean and floral, with a skin-like warmth that makes it light rather than overpowering.
When I catch whiffs of the scent throughout the day—at my desk, over dinner, or out for drinks—it leaves me wanting to spray more. I find myself reaching for this fragrance every day, even hesitating to wash my sweaters and shirts because the scent it leaves behind is that good.
And then there’s the packaging, which might be my favorite part: a sleek glass bottle wrapped in a special-edition illustrated pink cotton bandana. This thoughtful detail elevates the experience. I’ll definitely be repurposing the bandana in my hair or tying it to my bag this spring and summer.