How We Tested 9,000 Products for Our Best of Beauty Awards

Our team puts a lot of work into finding each year’s most elite beauty products. After considerable prep work, we quickly embark on months of spritzing, swatching, and sniffing. The testing period is then followed by several weeks of debating and, at long last, deciding. Putting together Allure’s annual Best of Beauty Awards is a feat that we take very seriously — though, of course, we have plenty of fun along the way. If you’ve seen the full list of all 391 winning products and want to find out how the magic is made, we’ve got an extra-special behind-the-scenes look at the 26th annual Best of Beauty Awards.

Every year, Allure editors embark on a mission to find the year’s best products, from foundations and face masks to press-ons and peels. It’s a labor of love and one that we’re so excited to share with our readers. With well over 8,000 product submissions, we had our work cut out for us. To keep things interesting — and keep the process moving — our testing included countless manicures, perfume-judging group seshes at the office, and multi-hour discussions about each and every category with our full team.

After four months of testing, we emerged with the 391 favorites that left us with the smoothest skin, the sparkliest eyelids, and the most chiseled cheekbones — and a deeper appreciation for all things beauty. This year’s winners come in a variety of textures, sizes, shades, and price points, helming from indie brands, big-name drugstore brands, and everyone in between. For instance, our least expensive winner is the Wet n Wild Powder Brush, retailing for just 5 bucks — a minuscule price to pay for such seamless application. The priciest winner, on the other hand, is the famed Dyson Air Wrap, which impressed our editors enough to deem it well-worth the $600 price tag.

Here’s how Allure staffers tested 8,810 products, plus the most memorable moments from throughout the process.