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If You Love Nécessaire, You Need to Try Playa’s New Body Wash and Ritual Serum

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If drugstore body products just aren’t cutting it (and you prefer clean, all-natural formulas made up of ingredients you can actually pronounce), I’ve got plenty of suggestions. But if you’re a particularly picky shopper or just a sucker for chic packaging, you need to try Playa: the Cali-cool beauty brand that’s conquered hair and now has its sights set on skin.

playa body care review
Playa

The new category announcement is a first for the brand since launching back in 2017. The hero products, the Every Day Body Wash ($22) and Ritual Body Serum ($38), aim to help renew and hydrate skin without weighing it down or stripping it dry. The body wash is formulated with papaya and pineapple enzymes to naturally cleanse and detoxify, along with a touch of neem oil to moisture. As a bar soap devotee, I’ve always been skeptical of body washes, but this one actually leaves me feeling clean. Imagine that! The gel formula transforms into a lather as you add water and massage it between your hands. It glides on light and bubbly and washes off just as easily, leaving behind the faintest scent and absolutely no residue or product. I rinse off feeling like me again, not like me coated in a layer of petroleum jelly. Needless to say, it has been given a permanent spot in my overcrowded shower caddy.

Now, onto the Ritual Serum, or the anti-lotion as I like to call it. The serum is made up of three powerhouse skincare ingredients typically reserved for the face: vitamin C to help battle sun damage and reduce the appearance of dark spots and discoloration, hyaluronic acid to help plump and firm with long-lasting hydration and tiger grass to help reduce redness and irritation. It’s also extremely lightweight and absorbs almost instantly. If you, like me, usually forgo this skincare step entirely simply because you can’t stand the slippery, slimy feeling of body lotion sitting on top of your skin, this serum may just convince you otherwise. The sleek, tan bottle has gotten more action in the past two days than my jumbo-sized Nivea's seen all year.

The Every Day Body Wash and Ritual Body Serum are both available exclusively on playabeauty.com, but I have a feeling these won’t be the only body products to come out of Playa HQ. Who knows, maybe they’ll call my bluff and create a body lotion that will have me singing a different tune. I’ll be waiting, Playa...



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Executive Managing Editor

  • Oversees editorial operations; covers a mix of lifestyle topics including fitness, wellness, beauty, travel
  • Former D1 athlete, certified nutrition coach, avid runner
  • B.A. in English and biology from Lafayette College