Trust Us—You'll Crave These Pumpkin Beauty Products More Than a PSL this Fall
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say pumpkin is pretty damn magical. Quick story: My personal obsession with the Mexican-born squash—yes, really—started back in pre-K when I fell in love with a certain princess who traveled, um, very chicly, inside of one. And while her final destination may have been an enchanting ball complete with trimmings of Prince Charming and glass slippers, my current obsession with pumpkin revolves around an entirely different final destination: the pursuit of perfect skin and hair.
I once loved pumpkin for its fairytale flare, I still love it whipped into a latte or inside a golden flaky pie crust, but in 2019, I love pumpkin the most if it's sitting on top of my face, limbs, or dehydrated strands. Pumpkin is a nutrient powerhouse (antioxidants! fruit enzymes! brightening AHAs!), so it's really no surprise that the beauty industry has caught on with fervor—especially this time of year when our souls crave coziness, and our skin craves stability and rehab. (The transition from summer to fall and winter is no joke.)
Regardless of the season, pumpkin is a superstar beauty ingredient, but we'd be daft to say we don't love it all the more paired with cooler temperatures, scarlet leaves, and that good old fall spirit. After all, cuffing season is coming, and these 19 A+ pumpkin beauty products are ones you'll definitely want to keep at home with you. (Trust us, your skin and strands will thank you!) Keep scrolling.
We live in a world where face masks and peels are scary expensive. Like...the price of a nice meal and two rounds of drink during Happy Hour expensive. Which, is one of the (many) reasons we love this pumpkin-spiked beauty pick from Bliss. It comes in at less than $20 but still has all the perks we want from our fave pumpkin products: essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, plus a smooth and very radiant result.
Meghan Markle loves Eminence Organic Skin Care products. Need we continue? (We shall.) This hydrating pumpkin latte-inspired masque from the brand is so dreamy, and your dry, wind-parched face will be needing it this season. Full disclosure: If you're oily or acne-prone, this probably isn't your best bet due to how rich it is. But for those with a normal to dry skin type, the avocado oil, pumpkin purée, orange, pineapple pulp, white willow bark, and the brand's unique BioComplex (i.e., antioxidants, vitamins, Coenzyme Q10, and alpha-lipoic acid) will feel like a total reprieve for your face.
Year after year, this iconic pumpkin enzyme mask from Peter Thomas Roth makes our list as one of the best pumpkin beauty products the industry has to offer our wanting complexions. The formula plays well with all skin types and utilizes aluminum oxide crystals alongside its namesake arsenal of pumpkin enzymes to target dullness, uneven skin texture, pigmentation, and any/all pore-related issues. (Like, when you can see them and don't want to.)
You'll notice our pumpkin beauty product picks are fairly mask- and peel-heavy, so we love that Too Cool for School offered to settle our appetite for squash via these photo-worthy eye masks instead. (We want a well-rounded pumpkin skincare routine, after all!) Even cooler? It's actually a slick two-step system that first involves the pumpkin, niacinamide, and 24K gold to make you look like you sleep when you didn't, followed by the hydrogel patches that zip in all the good stuff from the eye cream. We suggest pairing the ritual with a side of Hocus Pocus and *actual* pumpkin pie.
Meet one of Drunk Elephant's most beloved skincare products. Bursting with vitamin C, this pumpkin ferment extract–enriched hit is outfitted with a powerful complex of antioxidants, skin-improving nutrients, exfoliating fruit enzymes, and special type of peptide that behaves like the antioxidants naturally found in vitamin D.
We've heard countless skincare junkies and celebrities wax poetic about Kate Somerville's iconic line ExfoliKate, and this foaming cleanser is one of our favorite ways to cleanse away a rough day—whether it had to do with our complexion or not. A detoxifying trio of pumpkin, pineapple, and papaya work together to de-gunk, smooth, and relieve congestion.
You've likely seen Summer Fridays variety of tubed skincare elixirs all over your feed—the brand's packaging is very Instagrammable. Alas, its formulas are pretty epic too. This one is an all-star for fall not only due to the fact that it contains glow-enhancing pumpkin, but because it's packed with other skin-loving ingredients like apricot seed powder, beta-carotene, and calming oat kernel proteins.
If you're on a budget but want to get all the benefits of pumpkin in your skincare routine this fall, look no further. This creamy face wash from MyChelle removes toxins and buildup, making way for luxe additions like pumpkin, honey, and green algae to work their reparative and strengthening magic.
Ah, a hair pick! Because yes, your hair—and it's health or lack thereof—is an extension of your skin. For just $5 a pop, this superfood oil from SheaMoisture whips dry, dehydrated strands into shape thanks to the high-quality moisture potency of pumpkin seed oil.
Elemis is known for taking some of the most nutrient-dense food sources lurking in our fridges and cabinets and sticking them into super-effective, super-lust-worthy skincare products. New, this AHA-spiked glow-boosting formula is equipped, of course, with pumpkin, but acerola cherry, fermented rice water, green tea seed oil, and a pre-biotic thrown in for good measure are also on the menu.
This unique, season-appropriate enzyme scrub from Glo Skin Beauty utilizes both physical and chemical exfoliation to banish the dead skills that are dulling your complexion and clogging your pores (our biggest pet peeves come fall). Pumpkin enzymes pair with jojoba esters to increase the skin's natural renewal process while amino acids plump and firm, ginger encourages stimulation, and aloe vera helps soothe to keep everyone listed above in happy, calm complexion homeostasis.
This clean pumpkin-infused peel from Naturopathica is one of our favorites for those suffering from persistent acne issues. Pore-purging lactic acid, antibacterial honey, and clarifying herbs like oregano, rosemary leaf extract, and cinnamon bark keep grease-prone skin in check.
This intoxicating peel (smell-wise) is a double punch of goodness for those who love all things fall. Pumpkin and apple tag team to exfoliate and infuse moisture back into fall-terrorized skin.
This is one of my all-time serums, so you can only imagine my excitement when I discovered it features pumpkin as one of its many stealthy skin-saving ingredients. Working as an herbal and natural alternative to a retinoid, apply it at night, every night, for max glow-inducing perks. (Just make sure to cleanse thoroughly the next morning.) The brand suggests sticking to five to seven drops per application.
We're rather addicted to Moon Juice's apothecary of dusts, adaptogens, snacks, and skincare, and this hair-centric supplement just so happens to be the newest member of the brand's Super collection. (SuperYou is game-changing come the inevitable 3 p.m. slump.) SuperHair, however, is all about reviving your scalp and strand health with some TLC via biotin, kelp, saw palmetto, horsetail, full-spectrum extractions from ashwagandha and ginseng, and, of course, pumpkin powder. It's strategically designed to improve your hair health in four different ways—zeroing in on stress by way of adaptogens, reversing nutritional deficiencies, protecting the hair follicle, and increasing critical hair micronutrients.
If you're a minimalist when it comes to your beauty MO but still want to get in on the festiveness and beauty perks of pumpkin, we highly recommend this organic pumpkin facial soap from Osmia. Its glow-worthy roster is as follows: organic pumpkin, tomato, honey, camellia seed oil, and aromatic, skin-restorative essentials like carrot seed, carrot root, rosewood, and geranium.
There's nothing wrong with stretch marks, and we're all about just embracing them. But some folks are more caught up with removing or minimizing them than others, and we support that too. In the case of the latter, this pomegranate and pumpkin system may come in handy. Together, the two products help to prevent and improve stretch marks—the leading London dermatologists who invented the two-part cream and oil duo recommend applying the cream in the morning and the oil at night for velvety smooth skin.
Cleansing oil fanatics everywhere, please perk up your ears: This best-selling formula from One Love Organics consistently flies off the shelves with pumpkin oil being its vitamin-rich hero ingredient. Vitamin E is also a key ingredient and helps protect the skin against environmental stressors and damage.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again—Maya Chia is one of my fave luxurious clean skincare brands, and this beautifying body elixir is no exception. I don't have to tell you that it's one of my favorite pumpkin-spiked beauty products, and I also appreciate the anchoring cocktail of grape seed, supercritical chia, marula, baobab, pomegranate, cranberry, which, basically, transforms your body into a glowing orb that looks like it's been touched by an angel. Or, perhaps, a fairy godmother with a pumpkin fetish.
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Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.