My 2020 summer vacation came in jar and bottle form

There are few words as intrinsically tied as “summer” and “vacation,” and the hubs and I have always made it our business to go somewhere fun (even before our son started going away to camp). We were supposed to go up north for Visiting Day (obvi) and Nashville earlier this month for two Phish shows, but you know, cancelled. Our past summer adventures have included St. Barth’s and Jamaica since we have a thing for the islands, but this year I got my tropical wanderlust fix courtesy of Aethera Beauty’s new Caribbean Botanicals collection.

When I cleared out my bathroom a few weeks ago, I unearthed a rather fancy body scrub that I brought into my shower immediately. It was definitely a lovely experience during, but afterwards was a different story. Beyond my shower floor being beyond slippery, it dawned on me that I was going to have to be the one who cleaned it—and all of the pleasantries went down the drain.

The very next day, I received Aethera’s new Brightening Coconut Body Scrub, and my faith in in-shower exfoliation was restored. Intentionally formulated to feel like soft, tropical sand, this scrub features sea salt, coffee, coconut seed powder and coconut shell powder with just enough coconut and sunflower oils to smooth and hydrate the skin without creating a big mess. And the smell!!! It’s truly a vacation in a jar—and one I can take every day if I want to.

When I sat down to write this, I spritzed my face with the new Caribbean Botanical Soothing Spray for inspiration—and it worked. With soothing hemp seed extract, oil-balancing hibiscus flower extract and antimicrobial peppermint, this antioxidant-rich mist is the perfect mid-afternoon skin and mood pick-me-up. (And the one-ounce bottle will be perfect for tossing in my bag when I finally start leaving the house again.)

And then there’s the Brightening Water… This exfoliating toner is amazing—and it gets the job done gently and naturally thanks to natural acids derived from papaya and pineapple—along with skin-brightening vitamin C and extra antioxidants (because you can never have too many) courtesy of a berry blend.

Beyond the new Caribbean Botanical collection, Aethera just introduced the Everyday Botanical Facial Cleansing Gel and Sunset Botanical Cleansing Oil (which can be used on dry skin and tissued off, or rinsed with water)—which have been wonderfully refreshing and rejuvenating as well.

If you’re not familiar with Aethera, the line became known for “Sunrise,” “Everyday” and “Sunset” serums. There’s one range that features hemp seed oil, and one that features CBD. I learned quite a few useful bits of information on last week’s press Zoom, especially from Aethera’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Manisha Singal, who shared her personal experience with CBD (and how it basically saved her and her husband’s lives), as well as her professional insights when it comes to using CBD for skincare and overall wellness. (Check out her book, The CBD Skincare Solution: The Power of Cannabidiol for Healthy Skin.)

The biggest takeaway: CBD skincare is everywhere, but it can be hard to know if you’re getting the real thing, or if these products contain enough of the ingredient to make a meaningful difference in your skin. To be sure, look for products that state the quantity of CBD in milligrams right on the package. (Aethera’s offerings feature 200 and 500mg.) If you don’t see this in writing, move on—and consider Aethera’s serum because they’re pretty amazing (and the prices are right).