The One Skin-Care Switch You Need To Make This Spring

Everything gets a little lighter as winter finally gives way to spring: our mood, our layers, an our skin care. As the temperatures rises, humidity goes with it, which means the end of chapped lips and perpetual dry spots and the beginning of overall happier — if a bit shinier — skin. But packing away your heavy-duty winter creams doesn't mean giving up on moisturizer altogether; instead, it's time to switch to something lighter and breezier, like the weightless water-based hydrators we're stocking up on right now.

Unlike oil-based formulas, moisturizers that are high in water usually come with a gel-like consistency. They're perfect for the transitional season, from spring into summer, then all the way through 'til you start to bring the big guns out again next fall. The biggest benefit of a gel moisturizer, aside from how good they feel when applied in the 90-degree humidity of your bathroom after a shower, is the fact that the water-based formulas are less likely to bind to the natural oils in our skin that we tend to produce more of in the summer, trapping less dirt and reducing pesky breakouts in the process.

Ahead, we've rounded up the very best in lightweight gel moisture, and the healing, hydrating cleansers and masks to go along with them.