HuffPicks is HuffPost’s shopping awards. This “seal of approval” from HuffPost Shopping will showcase a mixture of expert-backed recommendations, problem-solving products and things that HuffPosters endorse and use every day – all within categories that we know our readers love and shop.
Beauty lovers, today’s your big day. We’re kicking off HuffPost’s first shopping awards with the skin care, makeup and beauty gadgets that have been deemed the best of the best. Not only does this carefully curated list include items that you love most, but many come with expert backing or are HuffPost editor must-haves.
Our beauty reporters’ passion for skin care and beauty products translates to professional quests to find the best quality items in the entire category — and they run the gamut from luxury products and pricey gadgets to surprisingly affordable drugstore must-haves that everyone should have in their repertoire.
Keep reading to peruse these sensational, can’t-miss HuffPicks and add them to your daily routine.
A multipurpose French moisturizer that we’ve been hyping for years
Amazon
A multipurpose French moisturizer that we’ve been hyping for years
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars at Amazon
In previous reporting, HuffPost Shopping beauty reporter Tessa Flores noted that while we see a lot of skin care products come and go here at HuffPost, there are a few that make a lasting impression. One of the best examples of this is Embryolisse’s Lait-Crème Concentré face cream, a longtime French pharmacy staple that, according to her, “may just be the beauty world’s not-so-secret weapon.”
It’s been recommended by makeup artists and dermatologists to much success, with HuffPost readers scooping it up anytime they get a chance. The world at large seems to be catching on to this French hidden gem, but it’s a longtime HuffPost fave.
As someone with extremely dry and sensitive skin, Flores was impressed with this moisturizer’s level of hydration, without being greasy or heavy. It manages to absorb extremely well into the skin while leaving the slightest bit of tack so that makeup layers well and sticks seamlessly on top. Many users also point to the cream’s ability to stave off dry, flakey patches of skin as well as redness and irritation. This also makes it a great option for mature skin, as one makeup artist previously told HuffPost.
It has a sensitive-skin-friendly formula that includes calming aloe vera, protective beeswax, nourishing soy proteins and skin-softening shea butter. And while these ingredients may seem simple, it’s a combination that just works and is worthy of top honors.
$17+ at Amazon
$17+ at Dermstore
A buzzy newer serum that readers can’t stop buying
Amazon
A buzzy newer serum that readers can’t stop buying
Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars at Amazon
HuffPost readers love a high-quality skin care product that can replace pricey facial treatments, like this K-beauty serum that one beauty TikToker calls “filler in a bottle.” Its prowess is attributed to an ingredient called PDRN, which is widely used in injectables overseas. It has anti-inflammatory and tissue-repairing capabilities that can improve skin firmness and leave recipients with a telltale glow. It’s usually extracted from salmon sperm cells, but Iope’s serum has a completely vegan, plant-based formula that is as unique as it is effective.
Additional ingredients like niacinamide, probiotics and caffeine round out this repairing formulation — all ingredients that are beloved by HuffPost editors and readers alike.
The combination of a buzzy new ingredient like PDRN and time-honored stalwarts like the ones we just mentioned joined forced to create the perfect beauty product storm that earns this serum a best-in-show badge. Both Flores and I have covered countless serums in our many years of beauty reporting, but this one covers all our must-have bases.
$50 at Amazon
$50 at Soko Glam
A box of hygienic, compostable facial cloths that’s one of the bestselling products on Amazon
Amazon
A box of hygienic, compostable facial cloths that’s one of the bestselling products on Amazon
Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars at Amazon
Washing your face daily can feel like an arduous task, made moreso when you factor in the labor or having to launder washcloths. As if that weren’t annoying enough on its own, dermatologist Joshua Zeichner previously told HuffPost, “Items like washcloths can be a breeding ground for microorganisms if they are left out wet and reused.”
The search for a sanitary solution led former HuffPost Shopping writer Haley Zovickian to the cult-favorite Clean Skin Club towels. Plant-based and disposable, they’re designed to help keep skin germ-free post-wash, so you can apply products with a fresh face, clean conscience and without added microorganisms. At press time, the towels were the #1 bestseller on Amazon for facial cleansing cloths and towelettes, and the #2 bestseller in beauty and personal care.
Endorsed by thousands of happy reviewers and recommended by estheticians, these soft, plush and surprisingly large towels are as good as it gets. Some users even noted that they helped to reduce skin irritation. It’s no wonder they’ve become a staple in myriad HuffPost readers’ skin care routines, making them worthy of high praise.
$18+ at Amazon
A crepe-correction body lotion with thousands of five-star reviews
Amazon
A crepe-correction body lotion with thousands of five-star reviews
Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars at Amazon
HuffPost readers adore a problem-solving product like Gold Bond’s crepe-correcting body lotion. “Crepey” skin is a common, yet tricky, skin issue to treat. Lots of products with big price tags make big promises about the ability to restore elasticity to skin, but few are as time-honored and popular as this lotion. It harnesses the power of antioxidents, omega-3 fatty acides and powerful botanicals to deeply hydrate and smooth, which can help to reduce the look of crepey skin.
Reviewers have long gone wild for this drugstore staple, and it’s tried-and-true reputation has earned this hard-working body cream a coveted spot on this list. It’s a classic HuffPick — affordable, effective, multi-functional, sneakily luxurious, and widely beloved (it has over 40,000 reviews on Amazon). We wholeheartedly agree with one user who said, “It works better than the expensive stuff.”
$12+ at Amazon
$12 at Walmart
$12+ at Target
A nail concealer beloved by HuffPost editors
Amazon
A nail concealer beloved by HuffPost editors
Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars at Amazon
When multiple HuffPost editors are raving about one product, you know it’s going to be pretty magical. Case in point: Londontown’s cult-fave nail concealer. It’s a game-changer whether you’re looking to take a break from gel manicures, want to touch up your polish at home between visits to the salon or simply want a quick and easy way to give your paws a refresh.
Senior reporter Lydia O’Connor first brought this nail polish to the Shopping team’s attention, and it very quickly became apparent that it’s beloved across the entire newsroom. “I am obsessed with this product,” O’Connor said in previous reporting.
Greta Geiselman, our director of office services, swears by it, saying “I love this brand! For quick manis, I can put on two coats, no top or bottom needed and it dries quickly. Buildable coverage and fun colors.”
Editorial director Kristen Aiken proclaimed, “I love this stuff!…I have really weird nails (the whites are jagged because I use my hands too much and have ‘nailbed trauma’) and I’m too rugged to paint my nails because it instantly comes off, but I love the nail concealer because it looks natural but just, better. And it doesn’t show when it starts to chip off.”
Their glowing reviews, combined with our audience’s fervor for this nail concealer, has earned it a coveted HuffPick designation. The concealer comes in four different colors that look great on a variety of skin tones: bubble, pink, milky and quartz. Each formula contains optical brighteners to give nails a subtle gleam and hide imperfections and discoloration, along with plant extracts and a nourishing complex.
$20 at Amazon
$20 at Ulta
A serum-like foundation that looks like your skin, but better
Sephora
A serum-like foundation that looks like your skin, but better
With over a decade of beauty reporting under my belt, I’ve tried my fair share of foundations. And while I’ve long gravitated to the ease of stick foundations, there’s one liquid foundation that has blown the rest out of the water: Westman Atelier’s Vital Skincare complexion drops. Despite the higher price point, I can’t stop buying it — and neither can HuffPost readers.
This liquid foundation has a thin, lightweight and serum-like consistency with light-to-medium buildable coverage that looks just like my own skin, but way better. It blends beautifully and manages to blur breakouts and cover redness and dark circles without looking or feeling heavy. I’ve gotten compliments almost every time I’ve used it from people who think it’s my natural, makeup-free face.
It’s gentle and hydrating, doesn’t clog pores and gives my skin an overall healthy glow. Another reason I am obsessed with it is that while it does have a dewy finish, it doesn’t leave my skin looking slick or oily. It dries down to an almost powdery consistency that leaves my skin velvety smooth and stays put all day long.
But what really makes this foundation one of the greats is that it’s packed with skin-loving serum-style ingredients like squalane, tsubaki oil, ginseng extract and more. These work together to improve the look of skin texture, reduce redness, soothe irritation, hydrate and brighten the complexion. A makeup product that doubles as skin care? You just can’t beat that.
$68 at Sephora
$68 at Nordstrom
$68 at Violet Grey
A multi-purpose dandruff shampoo that one dermatologist called the “industry gold standard”
Amazon
A multi-purpose dandruff shampoo that one dermatologist called the “industry gold standard”
Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars at Amazon
Lots of products make big promises about solving frustrating skin and hair problems, but few deliver in the way that Nizoral anti-dandruff shampoo does. In previous reporting, Dr. Elain F. Kung, a board-certified dermatologist at New York City’s Future Bright Dermatology, called Nizoral “the industry gold standard” of anti-dandruff treatments because it includes a 1% concentration of ketoconazole, an anti-fungal ingredient that’s clinically proven to address dandruff symptoms.
It’s “deemed as one of the most effective ingredients for seborrheic dermatitis based on 51 clinical studies covering over 9000 participants [who] found ketoconazole shampoo to help reduce symptoms by at least 30% compared to placebo shampoo,” Kung said — and judging by the thousands of positive reviews, users agree with this assessment.
As if that weren’t enough, “Because ketoconazole has anti-androgen properties and has been shown clinically to reduce oil production, it can help people with scalp, facial and back acne when it rinses over these areas while being used as a shampoo,” Kung said. It’s truly a multitasking crowd-pleaser, making it a no-brainer contender for a HuffPick. As one enthusiastic reviewer said, “this product is a blessing!”
$16 at Amazon
$20 at Target
A $40+ lip balm that we swear is worth every dang penny
Dermstore
A $40+ lip balm that we swear is worth every dang penny
Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
We’ve rarely seen an audience response quite like we did when former HuffPost editor Janie Campbell introduced our readers to the Revision Skincare YouthFull lip replenisher. You purchased this nourishing lip product in droves, and upon closer inspection, it’s clear why. Campbell made a compelling case for this balm, calling it a “truly stellar and game-changing product.”
Formulated with several peptides, vitamins E and C, green tea and shea butter, it’s designed to target visible signs of lip aging like puckering, wrinkles, dryness and dullness.
And while it’s not typically like us to recommend such an expensive lip balm, the results speak for themselves. It has a thick, tacky texture that really grips the lips, making it a great overnight treatment. Campbell could see results upon her very first application, and other reviewers agree, including one at Dermstore who said it gives her “a plump lip filler look when left on overnight.” Say no more!
$42 at Dermstore
$42 at Amazon
An absolutely peerless prescription-strength French retinol balm
Amazon
An absolutely peerless prescription-strength French retinol balm
Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars at Amazon
If there’s one thing that HuffPost readers and editors love, it’s French pharmacy skin care products. A313 cream is the highest-strength retinol cream you can get over the counter, with three kinds of retinol that can help stimulate collagen. Its efficacy is renowned, as is the reasonable price point, making it a unique entry in the retinol category.
Reviewers have long noted that it’s nearly as potent and effective as prescription-strength Tretinoin, without the negative side effects. In fact, some users who had been using prescription-strength Tretinoin then made the switch to this alternative, say they prefer A313 and have maintained the same results that they had with the prescription-strength formula.
In past reporting, board-certified dermatologist Dr. Rebecca Marcus explained that, “[A313] contains minimal ingredients in its vehicle, which is helpful for those who are sensitive to fragrances or other ingredients that are commonly found in OTC retinol products.”
Ultimately, what makes A313 distinctive (along with the price) is the thick occlusive texture, which is closer to a balm, and according to reviewers, can be more hydrating compared to other pricier formulations that you might find on the OTC market. The brand claims that the 2% retinol concentration can help unclog pores, minimize fine lines, reduce hyperpigmentation and even out skin texture.
$40 at Amazon
A splurgeworthy LED light mask that has truly improved my skin
Sephora
A splurgeworthy LED light mask that has truly improved my skin
The Dr. Dennis Gross LED mask just might be a necessary investment for skin care fanatics. As someone who loves to get skin care treatments, I was hesitant when LED (light emitting diode) light therapy devices became available for private home use outside of dermatologist and aesthetician offices. But as it turns out, there’s a reason this mask is used by celebrities and influencers alike. It really, truly works — if you are willing to play the long game.
It uses LED lights over your entire face to target the look of both wrinkles and breakouts. You’ve likely seen similar-looking masks and wands floating around, but Dr. Dennis Gross’ FDA-cleared technology uses a combination of 100 red lights and 62 blue lights that work together to target these common skin issues. Simply put, no other light mask comes close. I’ve tested quite a few other alternatives and just can’t be bothered with them.
In previous HuffPost reporting, Dr. Angela Casey, an Ohio-based board-certified dermatologist, explains that red light is able to reach the deeper layers of the dermis, which houses collagen and elastic tissues. As mitochondria of skin cells absorb red light, they may be able to boost energy production and enhance cellular function. This, in theory, increases blood flow and stem cell activity, improving the skin’s ability to repair itself.
According to Casey, red light is also thought to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles by stimulating the fibroblasts that produce collagen while inhibiting the enzymes that can break down collagen.
The mask has three settings: red light, blue light and a third with purple light, a combination of the other two colors.
I can definitely attest that my skin feels smoother after regular use and it’s a great investment if you have a big event (like a wedding) coming up. Best of all, it stands the test of time. I’ve had it for years and it’s never failed me or had any maintenance issues, even with regular use. So while it’s quite the investment up front, you’ll be able to reap the benefits for many years to come — a must when qualifying to be a HuffPick luxury item.
$455 at Sephora
$455 at Dermstore
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