We’ve come a long way from those first lip colors, which were made of crushed stones combined with wax, but the gratification we get from finding a signature shade explains a lot about why our forebears bothered experimenting with flowers, berries, and even beetles and fish scales in their quest to tint and add shine…
We all have our own version of the dream nail-care routine: It might be monthly gels with a revolving door of designs, or weekly polish changes that keep a chic blue-red looking crisp on short nails, or a regular buff for the most polished of polish-free manicures. But unfortunately, most of us don’t have enough…
Technically speaking, a tool is a device for accomplishing a task, but sometimes it can be so much more than a means to an end. Take, for example, the most indulgent-feeling blush brush to ever grace your cheeks. Or a hand-painted hair clip designed to look like a ribbon. Or a waver that makes achieving…
Maybe beauty’s scientists and creators were feeling particularly restless over this past year and wanted to challenge themselves. Maybe they wanted to prove human ingenuity is still very much alive in the age of AI. Or maybe they simply felt the world could use a little novelty of the foil eye shadow and whisper-light foundation…
The standards for “clean” beauty are about as opaque as this year’s Best of Beauty-winning liquid eyeliner (Lisa Eldridge Kitten Flick Liquid Eyeliner). While we do celebrate a little mystery in makeup, we would really like to see more transparency in so-called clean products. But there is no universal definition of clean in the beauty…
The time was October, 1996. The Yankees were about to win the World Series, Bill Clinton was on his way to a decisive reelection victory, and, even more consequentially, Chanel Vamp was the nail polish color du jour. It was also the date we published our very first Allure Best of Beauty awards. The notion…
Allure editors leave no stone—or compact, palette, or tube—unturned when determining our Best of Beauty Award winners. And considering the number of submissions we receive (this year’s count was around 5,500), you’d be correct to assume that doing so takes a whole lot of time and commitment. But for you, dear reader, we’ll happily do…
The Allure Best of Beauty 2026 Box has arrived. Packed with 30 award-winning products, including 17 Best of Beauty 2026 winners, this limited-edition collection is valued at more than $740—for just $125 for Allure readers with code ALLUREACCESS The year was 1996. Brad and Gwyneth were together; ditto Tom and Nicole. George Clooney was a…
Over the last 30 years, the Allure Best of Beauty Awards have bestowed what has become an instantly recognizable seal on the products that editors, makeup artists, hairstylists, dermatologists, and other experts agree are the cream (and serum) of the crop. Spotting that red circle while shopping feels like getting an instant and highly enthusiastic…
