If you’re a skin-care stickler, you likely believe that trends have no place in the service of caring for your complexion. Stick to what works, you might think. "Stick to what’s proven," you might say. And that perspective has its merits. Sunscreen is never a bad idea. Antioxidants will never do you wrong. And we’ve yet to hear a bad word about the long-term collagen-boosting and elastin-regenerating benefits of retinols. Of course, the thing about closing your mind to trends is that you’re also closing your mind to innovation and opportunity.

As we see it, the latest batch of skin-care trends — enhanced waters that eschew alcohol in favor of potent actives, cleansing liquids that are neither stripping soaps nor greasy oils, and cool-looking plasticized masks that don't make a mess and encourage deeper ingredient penetration — just might have some pretty serious merits. How do you know if they're right for you? Try working them in to your nightly routine. No product is one-size-fits-all and no flash-in-the-pan trend will replace real science and real results.

We’ve rounded up the most promising new innovations that we’re seeing on the market today and asked the experts how exactly they could be best used to our benefit. Because here’s one thing we can probably all agree on: Once you open your heart to change, it can be a very, very good thing.