Here Are the Top Skincare and Makeup Products to Invest In This Year

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New year, new beauty routine.

Kick off 2024 with a reset to your skincare and beauty regimen, courtesy of Who What Wear Beauty Director Erin Jahns. When it comes to skincare, Jahns recommends focusing on simplicity in the colder weather. "Your skin can all of a sudden act like a completely different skin type than you've been used to," Jahns said. "I think it's also a good opportunity to just go back to basics." For makeup, creating a solid foundation is key. "Everyone agrees that you want to be investing in foundations, concealers, bronzers, highlighters, brushes, definitely your skincare," Jahns said.

For the latest episode of Who What Wear With Hillary Kerr, Jahns sits down with Who What Wear Editor in Chief Kat Collings to discuss 2024 skincare and makeup trends, the products worth investing in, and more.

For excerpts from their conversation, scroll below.

Winter is not always the nicest to your skin and hair, and skincare is obviously the foundation of a solid beauty routine. Tell me what sort of skin challenges can come along with the season, and what are the best ways to combat them? 

With skincare, it's tricky this time of year because it's dry. It's cold. Your skin can all of a sudden act like a completely different skin type than you've been used to. I think it's also a good opportunity to just go back to basics. It doesn't really have to get super fancy. Obviously, I think a lot of people under-hydrate in the winter because they might still be doing what they were doing in the summer. Naturally, … I get greasy in the summer, so I definitely need less hydration. So [make] sure you're hydrating. 

I think also making sure you're still wearing your SPF. You need to be wearing sunscreen every day of the year, even if it seems a little less obvious or you're not actually out in the sun. It should really be the product that you are going through the fastest, to be honest, because you should also be applying way more than you think you should be, like a quarter-sized amount at least. 

I would definitely recommend getting a humidifier. I love the brand Canopy.

If you're not someone who uses retinol, I think that this can actually be a really good time of year to start. You can use it in the summer, but you just have to be so on top of your SPF and be really careful about sun exposure because it can really sensitize your skin if you're not protecting with SPF and you're doing the retinol.

I think also having a good balance of exfoliation. You don't want to overdo exfoliation, especially this time of year, because it can wreak havoc on your skin with dryness and dermatitis and things like that.

Let's talk about buzzy ingredients and products. I'm curious if you've heard of any that you think are gonna be ones we should add to our routine in 2024.

We will continue to see peptides and ceramides continue to be huge. I think even more brands are going to really be putting those ingredients front and center in their formulas. I think mandelic acid is going to be the acid of 2024. It is an AHA, but it has a little bit larger of a molecule size, so it basically won't absorb quite as fast into your skin. … It makes it a little bit better for people who have acne or are sensitive because it just isn't quite as intense, but it's still exfoliating your skin. 

Same with PHAs, which are polyhydroxy acids. Same thing, great for sensitive skin because they have the larger molecule size. I think if you've been on Instagram or TikTok, you've probably been seeing colostrum as an ingestible has been really, really huge.

I got a really amazing facial by Linda Ross in Beverly Hills, and she has this celebrity-loved facial and this colostrum mask that she mixes up. It will transform your skin, even with one use. She sells it on her website. I feel like she was [originally] doing that, and now, I think it's going to be more and more in topicals, too, as we see it just explode in the ingestible as well.

Let's talk treatments. Some people have regular facials as part of the routine. Some see it as unnecessary. Where do you stand on this? How do you get the most out of a facial?

If you've never had a facial, I would consider definitely getting a facial and trying to get a regular facialist. You don't have to be going super regularly. Just getting a consult with someone who really understands skin and can look at your skin and assess.

Sometimes, you can just feel like you're in a big black hole between all the marketing and going on TikTok and just seeing all these different products and people advising and giving tips even if they're not necessarily qualified.

I think a great step in a reset for the New Year is just going in, having someone look at your skin, express any skin concerns or skin goals, and then they can take it from there. If I'm getting a facial, I usually try to focus on what I can't be doing at home. If you think about it, we have so many devices—microcurrent devices like NuFace and Ziip and LED light masks.

There is a lot you can be doing at home. If I am going in for a facial, do less of the fluffy stuff, even though it's not as fun. So extractions, again, you really want to leave those to a pro. They're not fun, but they're definitely necessary, especially if you get congestion, which I definitely do.

There are things like micro-needling, micro-infusion. I really like getting my skin dermaplaned. … You can do it at home, but most people say it's better left to an expert.

Let's talk about makeup. If you do need to restock some products or you're looking to try new ones this year, are there any that you recommend splurging on?

Everyone agrees that you want to be investing in foundations, concealers, bronzers, highlighters, brushes, definitely your skincare. The better your skincare and your skin prep is, the better that your products will lay. I think you can get away with using cheaper makeup products if your skincare is really on point. With all those things like foundation and bronzer and highlight, I think finish really, really comes into play with things looking better and not tacky or sparkly or having a weird undertone. I'm not saying that all cheaper products have weird undertones or look tacky, but I, in general, think that you'll have more luck in those areas with luxury products.

You can find really great things like lip liner and mascara, lip gloss, lipsticks, eyeliners. Those are all things that you can honestly find really, really good options at the drugstore.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Next, check out our interview with jewelry expert Will Kahn.