Allure Magazine’s Best of Beauty Award Winners 2023

Every year since 1996, Allure magazine puts out its annual Best of Beauty issue. It began to help its readers choose the best performing, results-driven bang-for-their-buck products from the countless beauty brands available.

What began more than a quarter-century ago morphed into the ultimate stamp of approval for both beauty consumers and professionals alike. You have probably seen their red seal indicating a product’s winning status while shopping for cosmetics online or thumbing through a magazine, but it takes a lot to earn. The annual Best of Beauty Awards—and which products make the cut—is something the staff at Allure magazine takes very seriously; it’s not a ploy to sell more magazines, nor is it an advertising stunt.

Since its launch in 1991, Allure has focused on all things beauty and even prints its claim as the “beauty expert” on the cover of its magazine. As stated on its LinkedIn page, “Allure is the world’s most trusted voice in beauty,” and “a vital guide to trends, people, innovations, procedures, and products that matter most in makeup, skin, hair and wellness.”

Allure’s goal is to tell its readers what is worth paying attention to in the world of beauty, and then, once a year, which of those is best of the best. Though the Best of Beauty process technically starts in February and ends with the September issue, it is actually constantly happening behind the scenes year-round and in everything Allure does.

On February 1^st, Allure magazine reached out to the entire beauty industry with one question: What do you consider your best products? Over the next couple of weeks, approximately 7,000 products in almost 200 different categories are distributed to more than 60 staffers.

However, narrowing such a large list of products down to winners is no easy feat. In the following months, these products are slathered, rubbed in, and blended for testing.

Products are distributed by preference and area of expertise, and multiple people (at least 10) try the same product at the same time. Testers and judges include cosmetic chemists, doctors, makeup artists, hairstylists, hair colorists, and manicurists, along with Allure’s editors. During the testing period, new products are discovered everywhere from backstage at Fashion Week to the Met Gala and added to the mix.

Products are tested in a variety of ways, including if the color works on all skin tones, if eyeshadows crease, or how long lipsticks wear. All ethnicities, skin types, hair types, ages, and tones are taken into consideration while testing.

The beginning of April is the fragrance run-through. Virtually every fragrance launched over the last year, plus past winners and some classics, are included. April also sees the color-product run-through. A seemingly endless pile of lipstick bullets, eyeshadow pans, and blushes are poured over and tested.

Testing notes are due toward the end of May when all testers finish logging feedback on every product they received into spreadsheets. The first of two multi-hour, full-staff Best of Beauty meetings occurs in June and the team gathers to analyze and dissect the collected notes.

The issue closes in August and September when the new list of Best of Beauty Award winners is revealed, and that little red seal sells around 85 million products each year.

2023 saw big changes for Allure magazine. The publication went digital-only and is no longer available in print.

This year, the 2023 list of Best of Beauty Award winners is comprised of no less than 391 products across 14 categories. Here are some of our favorites: