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rare beauty soft pinch tinted lip oil
rare beauty soft pinch tinted lip oil
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UCLA | Style > Beauty

6 Winter to Spring Transition Products to Revamp Your Routine

Ellie Dixon Student Contributor, University of California - Los Angeles
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCLA chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

I’m not much of a spring cleaner. My Google Drive, sure. My kitchen, absolutely. But my products?!? You couldn’t pay me to go sift through all of those items even during my most crazed of cleaning moods. It’s just not happening.

If you’re like me and can’t bear to engage in a full-scale purge for spring, you can still start to transition the confines of your cabinets, drawers, and toiletry bags from winter to spring. Don’t give up on that cool-toned berry lip oil and extra-strength moisturizer just yet. They might just need to be moved to the front of said cabinets, drawers, and toiletry bags to mark this new season, and so it seems like you created some new space. It works.

Or, if you happen to be in the market for new transition products to bridge the gap between these 55 degree mornings and UV 9 afternoons, I have just the list for you.

Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré

Oh mon dieu, forget about the Swiss, neutrality is overrated. Pick a side and let it be on that of the French Army knife of skincare products: Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré. 

If I were cooler than I am, I’d tell you that I read the label with a Lily-Rose Depp French accent, paid for it with nothing but a lethal face-card, and threw it in a battered double flap that I’m planning on handing down to my future daughter – AmĂ©lie. But I, like any other beauty-obsessed 22-year-old, love a good TikTok rec and this is me trying to not be ashamed of l’Ă©tat d’ĂŞtre basique.  

Described as a “multi-function moisturizer,” it acts as cream, a base for makeup, a moisturizing mask, and makeup removing milk. In other words, the Lait-Crème is a ménage à quatre kind of product that as a mask is buildable and rich but is otherwise thin and silky, which makes it the transition product of all transition products. 

In the winter, or if I’m feeling dry, I like to layer on a heaping tablespoon and let it sit, which after just a few minutes, penetrates the skin and leaves it feeling properly plump and radiant. But in the spring, this is one of the only moisturizers I’ve found that is hydrating enough for my chronically dry-skin but is thin enough to avert the clamminess of a too-thick moisturizer in the heat. 

Everyone knows the French do it better.

Tan-Luxe The Face Illuminating Self-Tan Drops

Self-tan and I go way back. And I mean allllll the way back: St. Tropez Thursdays in my freshman year dorm, (shoutout to my roommate for doing my back and never complaining), and spring break spray tans beside my ginger mother.

Given our long history, I have been orange, green, and every shade in between, but no face tanning drops have come so close to forging that post-beach glow quite like THE FACE by Tan-Luxe. This will let you say your final goodbyes to unpredictable undertones, off-putting smells, and harsh lines. 

For my self-tan gals, all you need to know is that I’ve never woken up with a pillow wrinkle streak across my face when using this before bed. That’s all you’re getting from me, folks. 

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse dry oil

You thought I was done with the French pharmacy recs? My semester abroad haul was not for nothing, people. 

Again, I wish I could claim any sort of credit for this one, but these liquid gold bottles of Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse dotted the displays of just about every pharmacy I passed in Paris. Can you imagine such a degree of lustrous temptation!

Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some Palmer’s body oil, (obligatory shoutout RHONY Queen Bethenny Frankel), but, Nuxe showed me first hand the magic of a dry oil – and a multipurpose one at that. 

Don’t be like me and only use this product on your body post-shower and post-lotion before getting in bed. Even though it has served me during my night routine, ’tis the season to ditch that dry winter recluse narrative. 

Spritz some on your shoulders and collarbones for the killer combo of a non-greasy glow and a whiff of Parisian luxury before running out the door. Spray some into the palms of your hands and run it through the ends of your hair post blowout. Trust me. 

milk makeup Cooling Water Jelly Tint Lip + Cheek Blush Stain

Let it be known that I started out a full-blown skeptic of this product. And yet, there I was, tail between my legs, dragging my girlfriend through Space NK begging her to buy it.

But this blush is so good she couldn’t even complain. 

In the true nature of a winter-spring transition product, the Milk Cheek Blush Stain in the shade Spritz is as flattering on an olive-undertone Londoner sans tan, as it is on a pink-undertone sun kissed Angeleno. Despite being a stain, each swipe itself is sheer, making it beginner friendly and fool proof for any remaining 2017-esque blush skeptics. Blends like a dream too. 

And the best part is that the rumors are true: it’s cooling as f*ck! 

SUPERGOOP! (Re)setting Refreshing Mist

I don’t touch my face. When I say I don’t touch my face, I mean I don’t touch my face unless my hands are freshly washed, because I have been socialized to believe that face touching = instant breakout. I know it’s not entirely true, but it’s my truth.  

If you also are an avid avoider of any hand x face interaction, or perhaps you’re less uptight than I and are looking for a new setting spray and/or SPF, then you’re in the right place. The Supergoop (Re)setting Refreshing Mist is perfect for a final spritz over daily makeup now that the afternoon UV is approaching 10, but I also love it for a good ole hands-free SPF reapplication. 

rare beauty soft pinch tinted lip oil

I’m late to the lip stain game, and this product is marking my official entry. The best part about it? It was accidental and free. 

After returning from our arguably too successful visit to Space NK, we opened the bag to a freebie Milk Makeup Brush and a Rare Beauty Lip Oil. Lucky girl syndrome, I say.

Don’t let the gel-to-oil formula spook you like it did to me upon initial application. This lip oil is not your typical cushiony glaze that you apply over liner or lipstick. If you like the look of a true stain, you can coat your lips in the product and let it sit for a few minutes before wiping it off. Or if you prefer something more subtle but still long lasting, try using it as a lipliner. I prefer the latter, especially when using shade Serenity, because for a springtime vibe specifically, this warm mauve stains a bit too dark for my liking. 

To live out the rest of your winter aesthetic, I love pairing this lippie with any shade of brown lip treatment on top – the Vanilla Beige Summer Fridays lip butter does it every time for me. But if you’re looking to break it in for spring, the Westman Atelier lip balm in shade Chou Chou, the perfect baby pink, is my favorite lip gloss I’ve ever tried. 

Now it’s time to shop your own collections. Happy 7PM sunsets and dwindling seasonal depression to my spring cleaners and spring product-transition-ers alike!

Ellie Dixon

UCLA '26

Ellie is a fourth-year Global Studies major at UCLA, from Charlotte, NC. Her favorite author is Sally Rooney, and she loves re-reading books, playing field hockey, cooking for friends, and photographing them on her camera. In the summer, you can find her in downtown Manhattan peeking into a vintage store or writing in a coffee shop.