Innehållsförteckning för October 2021 från Allure

The beauty of a hair accessory: “It changes a look completely without any skill level required,” says hairstylist Justine Marjan. Play with bold colors and shapes (like the kelly green Kanel barrette [4] or the Lelet NY Gemma Clip [5]) to sweep hair to the side, or “use pins and clips as an unexpected pop at the base of a ponytail,” adds Marjan. Try Area’s Crystal Bow Clip [3] or Gucci’s Crystal Hair Clip [1]. If you’re really working against the clock, a delicate, embellished headband (like the pearl Jennifer Behr Iris Headband [2]) has the power to make even bedhead look chic. —PAIGE STABLES K-pop and Euphoria have helped artful makeup trickle into the mainstream, but gluing on jewels and painting kitschy designs around your eyes can leave you…

An early holiday gift from the Backstreet Boys to you: 12 shows in Las Vegas comprising A Very Backstreet Christmas Party. To celebrate, the Backstreet Men (now aged 41-49) took a beautiful stroll down memory lane, finding hair extensions, MAC foundation, and plenty of sage advice. Howie Dorough: Do you guys remember when we performed at SeaWorld Grad Nite? [Editor’s note: This was in 1993, three years before their first album, Backstreet Boys, led to fame, frosted tips, and so much merch.] We had biker leather jackets and jeans and white T-shirts, and that was our first “look.” AJ McLean: [And] the Channel 6 News appearance. I’d had Nick’s mom relax my hair so that it could be straight and long because my hair is naturally curly. It was an…

Prescription retinoids firm, smooth, and brighten, so why aren’t we all walking around with gleaming, baby-bottom skin? Well, there are a few reasons you might not have an Rx: These retinoids are notoriously capable of stirring up side effects (dryness, flakiness, redness, burning) and they’re not that easy to get. A prescription requires a trip to the dermatologist and for more than 42 percent of the U.S. population, that’s not an option, according to a paper on areas underserved by dermatologists in JAMA Dermatology’s Archives of Dermatology. (Retinols are available over the counter, but tretinoin, the gold standard for addressing fine lines, is not.) Agency is the first virtual-consult service we’ve seen that enables you to get a tretinoin prescription while in your living room, and in that respect “it’s…

TOWER 28 BEACHPLEASE LUMINOUS TINTED BALM. The only acceptable way to achieve natural color (in our book), this plant-based balm (it comes in six shades) bathes cheeks and lips in shimmer-free, sun-kissed warmth. JONES ROAD THE BEST PENCIL. Drawn precisely along the lash line or smudged into a smoky haze, the ultra-dense, ultra-intense pigment adds seamless definition. ILIA LIQUID POWDER CHROMATIC EYE TINT. This water-based formula bestows a wash of gleamy color that won’t sink into creases or fade into oblivion. MERIT CLEAN LASH. Ideal for everyday use, this carbon-black mascara lifts and defines lashes while leaving their ends elegantly clump-free. WESTMAN ATELIER SUPER LOADED TINTED HIGHLIGHT. Sleek and weighted, the palm-size compact has the polished feel of a river stone. Blended onto cheekbones, the luminous cream seems to transform…

$295 CLÉ DE PEAU BEAUTÉ PRECIOUS GOLD VITALITY MASK. An indulgent infusion of 24-karat gold, ginseng extract, and amino acids, this luxurious treatment enhances your skin’s ability to restore its own moisture barrier—basically making it independently wealthy. $235 SK-II SKINPOWER CREAM. Like a personal trainer for your face, this velvety emulsion provides a constant buffer against environmental stressors and everyday pressures, giving tired skin the power to bounce back and keep on glowing. $95 LANCÔME CLARIFIQUE ESSENCE. Similar to a martini mixer, a few shakes of this tapered bottle blend the primary ingredients (glycolic acid and grapeseed oil) to perfection, giving your skin an instant aura of refinement. $295 SKINMEDICA TNS ADVANCED+ SERUM. The growth factors in this serum are amazing at building elastin, which is amazing at smoothing lines…

$10.99 REVLON COLORSTAY ULTIMATE SUEDE IN COUTURE. Creamy in texture, crammed with moisture, and unwilling to fade or feather, this lush cherry bullet checks all the boxes on our fantasy lipstick Bingo card. $7 E.L.F. BIG MOOD MASCARA. The oversize brush has more than 200 bristles (we consulted the company) that work to inflate every last lash (we consulted the mirror). $10 FLOWER BEAUTY THE SKINNY MICROBROW PENCIL. The precise tip delivers such fine strokes, it’s impossible to tell where the pigment ends and your brows begin—which is really the entire point. $8.99 MAYBELLINE NEW YORK LIFTER GLOSS. This formula, packed with hyaluronic acid, provides intense moisture and shine. When the gleam fades, the suppleness stays for hours. $9.99 COVERGIRL CLEAN FRESH SKIN MILK FOUNDATION. The delicate fluid is made…

$4.99 EACH, TRESEMMÉ KERATIN REPAIR SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER. When hair looks fuzzy and dull, tiny breaks in the cuticle are to blame. The proteins in this keratin-rich duo restore sleekness by plugging up those microscopic holes—for a microscopic fee. $4.98 EACH, SUAVE SMOOTH PERFORMER SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER. The conditioner’s amino acids are amazing at repairing damage; the sulfate-free shampoo is equally gifted at building lather. $8.99 OGX BLONDE ENHANCE + PURPLE TONING SHAMPOO. Plenty of factors contribute to brassiness in blonde hair: sun exposure, minerals in tap water, styling products. The purple pigments in this wash get to the root of the problem by neutralizing yellow undertones. $5.99 HERBAL ESSENCES ARGAN OIL & ALOE BOTANICAL REPAIRING MASK. This bouncy botanical treatment adds softness and luster without dragging down curls or…

803 Breakthrough nominees submitted by beauty companies in 2016, a particularly inventive year. $795 Price of the most expensive winner in 2016: 50 nectary milliliters of Clé de Peau Beauté night cream. This year, a $550 hair tool took the prize. 208 Total number of Best of Beauty categories in 2020. (If you need further proof that the beauty marketplace has mushroomed: We had 73 in 1996.) EMERGENCY CALLS PLACED TO A DERMATOLOGIST DURING TESTING IN 2014. (ANOTHER WAS PLACED TO A PLUMBER. THERE WAS IN-SHOWER BODY MUD INVOLVED.) THREE HUNDRED TEN Number of highlighters submitted for testing in 2017; a ginormous leap from FORTY-FOUR the year prior. 473 The most beauty products tested by a single staffer: our executive beauty director, Jenny Bailly, in 2018.…

“Do you want to try one of these?” the stranger said, gesturing to the 140 fragrances on his kitchen table. The glass menagerie stood still, like puppies on adoption day. A few bottles winked in the afternoon sun. The stranger was me and my audience was any person who entered my apartment during the three months in 2020 when I was testing personal fragrances. Do you know how many different perfumes you can spray in your home before you pass out? Neither do I, thank God! And thank Michael, who helped install my A/C unit and gave a blistering review of an entire capsule collection of [redacted] samples. (Mike actually called them “losers,” but I’d never say that.) Under bygone circumstances, my coworkers and I would gather together in a…

Quannah Chasinghorse You might not think of fighting for social and environmental justice as a direct line to a modeling career, but in the case of Chasinghorse you’d be wrong. It was the media attention she received for her advocacy work that caught the eye of a casting director at Calvin Klein. Chasinghorse, who lives in Alaska and is a member of the Hän Gwich’in and Oglala Lakota tribes, is now an advocate for Indigenous land and climate preservation and a model. Her traditional face tattoos are an homage to her ancestors’ legacy: “I was the first youth [in my tribe] to get my face tattooed in over a century,” she says. “One way to realign ourselves with who we are as a people is to start reclaiming parts [of…

SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER CURLY HAIR. Pumped full of silk proteins, Nexxus Curl Define Shampoo and Conditioner reinforce your curls’ natural structure, exaggerating the bounce you were born with. KINKY HAIR. The Mane Choice Manetabolism Rejuvenation Solution Extra Healthy Shampoo and Conditioner coddles kinks, hydrating and reducing breakage to encourage softness and fullness all over. FINE HAIR. Never in all our flyaway days did we expect Pantene Silicone Free & Fragrance Free Pure Clean & Clarify Shampoo and Conditioner to deliver so much polish with so few ingredients. We’ve seen the light. DRY HAIR. Parched hair takes to the tropical smelling SheaMoisture Papaya & Neroli All Day Frizz Control Shampoo and Conditioner, which smooth rough patches and restore calm, like a toddler to a juice box. COLOR-TREATED HAIR. The blue pigments…

1. AVEENO POSITIVELY RADIANT DAILY MOISTURIZER SPF 30 Number of wins: 5 Here’s why: This is one of the first moisturizers with SPF that we fell for—and even though there are now more options than Netflix shows, this formula still “offers the reassurance of serious sun protection while lightening any spots that are already there” (as we proclaimed on the occasion of win number one, 15 years ago). Little-known fact: Soy, it’s not just for lattés: In skin care, some soy extracts, like the kind that play a starring role in this lotion, have natural pigment-inhibiting properties that help fade dark spots. 2. TANGLE TEEZER THE ORIGINAL DETANGLING HAIR BRUSH Number of wins: 4 Here’s why: This palm size tool has taken home top marks for its ability to (gently)…

It’s rare for young women to be diagnosed with breast cancer. “It’s still 5 to 6 percent of all incidents for someone under the age of 40,” says Dorraya El-Ashry, chief scientific officer of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. “But even given that, it’s the most common cancer among younger patients.” A recent study found there has been a significant rise of stage four breast cancer in young women: The number of 25 to 39-year-olds with metastatic breast cancer increased 32 percent between 2009 and 2015. And just this July, a study found that annual costs associated with metastatic breast cancer among women in the United States will more than double between 2015 and 2030 due to an increase in cases among younger women. The thought of stage four breast…

Think of pink and how much changes between its hues. In Steel Magnolias, Shelby (Julia Roberts) was adamant that her wedding colors were “blush and bashful,” and not “pink and pink.” Raise your eyebrow all you want, but the fact is a muted rose embodies an entirely different energy than that of a playful bubblegum. Bleach London, the British hair-color salon, understands this even better than Shelby herself. This is a place where “blonde” doesn’t exist; it is a gradient that spans from Ice to Butter. In 2010, Bleach London brought loud hair back in style, and its colorists’ inventive applications—shadow roots, dip-dyed layers, colorful money pieces, slime-green roots—have gone on to become era-defining trends. Bleach has three locations in London and a client list that includes FKA Twigs, Halsey,…

“Have you seen the staple trick?” I have not. Benefit’s Maggie Ford Danielson (her mother and aunt founded the brand 45 years ago) disappears from our Zoom. A few moments later she is back, breathless, with a candy-pink stapler. She shakes the staples into her palm. Then, like a motion played in reverse, the staples start floating up and off of her hand, rising, and then clinging to a mascara wand she is dangling just above them. The wand is not magic; it is magnetic—a mascara novelty that makes for more than just a fun party trick. Benefit’s research and development teams were looking for a way to make a lengthening mascara that would somehow stand out from all the other lengthening mascaras. It had to deliver a jaw-dropping lifting,…

CEREMONIA GUAVA LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER. The addition of guava gives our hair heavy-duty antioxidant protection; the delicate texture won’t weigh down the finest of strands (says one editor with the finest of strands). BRIOGEO DON’T DESPAIR, REPAIR! SUPER MOISTURE CONDITIONER. Brimming with amino acid-packed marine algae extract, the silky cream delivers all the moisture our dry, damaged hair craves. UHAI INTENSIVE DEEP CONDITIONER. Intensely hydrating with a whipped, almost fluffy texture, this omega-rich treatment buoys curls while boosting softness and shine. ADWOA BEAUTY PROTECT + SHINE OIL BLEND. Infused with essential oils and spearmint, this lupine cocktail calms the scalp and adds luster to kinks, coils, and curls. LOVE BEAUTY AND PLANET VOLUME AND BOUNTY 2-IN-1 SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER BAR. A heart-shaped bar that pumps coconut water into our hair, this…

THE RIGHT TO SHOWER BAR SOAP. A soap that raises the bar in every respect: Proceeds from this wholesome cake support an initiative that brings mobile showers to our fellow humans living on the streets. GLOW RECIPE WATERMELON GLOW PINK DREAM BODY CREAM. This pale pink pump puts the “treat” in “treatment.” Scented with watermelon extract and packed with skin-brightening AHAs, the weightless lotion leaves every inch supple and luminous. HENRY ROSE WINDOWS DOWN. The fragrance version of driving off into the sunset: Notes of Earl Grey and orange flower are invigorating out of the gate; musk and amber settle into a smooth, dusky trail.…

$145 FOR 50 ML VICTORIA BECKHAM BEAUTY CELL REJUVENATING PRIMING MOISTURIZER. A primer with a higher purpose, this hydrating formula helps speed cell turnover as it plumps and perfects, encouraging radiance from the inside out. $42 GUCCI ROUGE DE BEAUTÉ BRILLANT GLOW & CARE SHINE LIPSTICK. Sleeved in a case inspired by vintage brooches, this creamy hybrid of tint and moisture feels like the rarest of finds. (Shout-out to My Cousin Rachel, a tawny pink with a rosy sheen.) $56 GUERLAIN TERRACOTTA THE BRONZING POWDER. Laced with naturally derived light reflectors and nourishing argan oil, this compact produces the most believable bronze under the sun—but without, you know, the sun. $70 BYREDO EYESHADOW 5 COLOURS. This posh eye palette is a sight to behold—even before you open the compact. Shaped…

$9.35 CETAPHIL DAILY FACIAL CLEANSER. It was on the first-ever Best of Beauty winners list in 1996 and it’s still here for a reason: hydrating ingredients gentle for sensitive skin but powerful enough to remove makeup. (One thing that’s different, though: The 2021 formula is paraben-free.) $7.99 POND’S REJUVENESS LIFTING & BRIGHTENING EYE CREAM. Buffered by vitamin B and cushioned in glycerin, the retinol in this formula goes easy on the eyes as it smooths fine lines and crepiness. $4.39 BURT’S BEES RESCUE BALM. Filled with antioxidant turmeric and natural butters, this unassuming tube delivers the relief of the goopiest salve—with a texture to rival the smoothest satin. $9.99 THE INKEY LIST RETINOL. We all know about retinol’s ability to diminish wrinkles—and its reputation for irritating skin. This lightweight serum…

Best of Beauty debuted in 1996, along with the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” and Nintendo 64. At the time, it was a novel concept to elevate a single product above the rest, but if anyone was qualified, it was Allure. That year we awarded Neutrogena sunscreen, Essie nail polish in Ballet Slippers, and Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair—all of which are still considered the cream, soft pink, and Advanced Night Repair of their crop. How do we do what we’re doing, and how has our doing been done? Excellent questions. Answers await. Cindy Crawford appeared in our first Best of Beauty issue in 1996, with fellow supermodel Niki Taylor on the cover. You’ll also find Crawford in this issue. (Get thee to page 32!) PICTURES PERFECT For Roger Cabello, who shot…

I was looking through some old Irving Penn images and there was one that I’d known for a long time—a close-up beauty shot, but with milk poured over the model’s face. I thought, What if we did it with foundation? I had a bottle of MAC Face and Body Foundation, and we were going to put it in Cara Delevingne’s hairline and let it drip down. So I prepped her skin, and then [hairstylist] James [Pecis] asked me how I wanted the hair, and I thought it should be pulled back so it didn’t distract from the foundation, the motion of it. We kind of had one try to do it and get it right. And we got it. It was pretty spontaneous. And actually quite quick. What’s funny is…

JENNIFER HUSSEIN, COMMERCE WRITER “I’ve always wanted the hair wand in Phil of the Future. His sister waves it over her hair and it straightens it in seconds.” NICOLA DALL’ASEN, NEWS EDITOR “It might be a niche 2000s dream, but I’ve always wanted the automated, hands-free blow-dryer from iCarly to be a thing.” TALIA GUTIERREZ, BEAUTY ASSISTANT “A sunscreen that protects all day. No more reapplications every two hours.” JENNY BAILLY, EXECUTIVE BEAUTY DIRECTOR “A chic, fireproof bonnet that will protect our hair from the flames that will surround us at all times in 2046.” SARAH KINONEN, ASSOCIATE BEAUTY DIRECTOR “Contact lenses you put in once…and then never have to remove because they give you perfect vision! Also, an electric toothbrush with built-in toothpaste.” KARA McGRATH, DEPUTY EDITOR “A self-toning…

PRIMER One thin layer of Make Up For Ever Step 1 Hydra Booster Primer locks in moisture for a luminous, poreless effect. And the oil-absorbing powders in Shiseido Synchro Skin Soft Blurring Primer seem to airbrush our T-zones away. FOUNDATION POWDER. A buildable powder with an invisible finish, One/Size Turn Up the Base Versatile Powder Foundation lets us control the intensity of our coverage. STICK. Packing rich pigment into a dense bullet, BLK/OPL Skin Perfecting Stick Foundation goes on creamy and blends seamlessly. LIQUID. Estée Lauder Double Wear Sheer Long-Wear Makeup blurs pores and obscures fine lines with the lightest finish in the game. For medium coverage, LYS Beauty Triple Fix Serum Foundation uses hyaluronic acid to keep skin dewy while it diffuses imperfections. And the airy, mineral-based pigments in…

NAIL POLISH DARK RED. One coat—really, just one—of CND Vinylux Long Wear Polish in Bordeaux Babe yields the deepest berry with the quickest drying time. Case in point: Our color set while we were typing this sentence. BRIGHT RED. Essie nail polish in Not Red-y For Bed is what would happen if you crossed a cherry with a chili pepper: bright, glossy, and a little bit saucy. SOFT PINK. Sundays nail polish in L.01, a pink so pale it borders on white, has the tender appeal of apple blossom. BRIGHT PINK. A bright pop of bubblegum pink, Zoya Professional Lacquer in Tweedy practically asks to be snapped. CREAMY BEIGE. A cuddly neutral, For Tmrw Non-Toxic Nail Polish in For Later is the color you’d get from pouring extra milk in your…

FACIAL CLEANSER OIL. Fans of botanicals will love the silky evening primrose and lavender oils in Mario Badescu Skin Care Cleansing Oil. Everybody else will marvel at the petalsoft results. GEL. The gentlest of gels, Garnier Green Labs Pinea-C Brightening Gel Wash dissolves makeup and eradicates dullness with vitamin C and a water-thin feel. BAR. Packed to the edges with kaolin clay, each Freeman Beauty Cleansing Mask Bar does your skin a solid, purging pores while lifting away dirt and oil. CREAM. The generous dose of aloe (a hero humectant) in Alpha-H Balancing Cleanser melts into skin and locks moisture in place. POWDER. A face wash that goes against the grain, Tonymoly I’m Rice Exfoliating Enzyme Cleanser turns into a milky emulsion that polishes without scratching. BALM. Add water to…

“We couldn’t believe our eyes,” went our review of Giorgio Armani’s Eyes to Kill Mascara, in 2009, when it debuted. It had just won its first Allure Best of Beauty award in a relatively new category called Splurges, introduced in 2007, which was about the same time editors at this magazine began asking themselves: What should a mascara cost? Some of the finest beauty products in existence are born and raised at the drugstore (hence Splurges’ sibling category, Steals), and there is no evidence to suggest that increasing one’s makeup spend improves one’s chances of evolutionary survival. Yet to splurge is human. We are occasionally transfixed by an object enough that we’ll spend twice, thrice, quadruple what we normally would to have it for ourselves. It sounds dramatic, but so…

Before the millions of Instagram followers and the Queer Eye empire, Jonathan Van Ness’s entrée into hairstyling wasn’t exactly a fairytale. “I didn’t feel confident about the way I looked, and I think that’s because there was such a strict idea of what a man was supposed to look like. I don’t want people to feel bad about themselves ever again and that’s so much of what moves me about doing hair,” says Van Ness, who just launched a line of hair care, JVN, an extensive range of shampoos, conditioners, treatments, and one low key styler, Complete Air Dry Cream. “You don’t need to do anything with your hair because you’re a certain gender, a certain age, a certain this, a certain that,” says Van Ness. “I want everyone to…

“The Swiss artist H.R. Giger’s works are mesmerizing and beautiful but terrifying at the same time—perfect for Halloween. [He is known for airbrushed images of humans mingling with machines and won an Oscar for special effects in Alien.] The designs around the eyes are inspired by the creepiness of the squirming insect shapes and reptile exoskeletons found in his work. I used makeup in earth tones (coal, ochre, rust) to contrast with the futuristic chrome of the shapes.” Get the look: Glossier Futuredew, Dior Backstage Glow Face Palette, Danessa Myricks Beauty Dew Wet Balm, MAC Powder Blush in Raizin, Senna Cosmetics Earth Pigment Palette, LH Cosmetics Infinity Deep Palette, Face Lace Reptalien Play Sheet in Chrome, Haus Laboratories Makeup by Lady Gaga Eye-Dentify Gel Kohl Eyeliner, Pat McGrath Labs Lust:…

You know when people say “it’s not rocket science”? Well, this kind of is. L’Oréal’s in-salon device helps conserve water using the same principles rockets do when launching. Gases (hydrogen, oxygen) are forcibly collided until they become smaller, faster, and ultimately propel the rocket into the stratosphere. Here, water molecules (instead of gases) slam into each other until they are micronized and shoot out at a higher velocity. It lets you wash hair with less water, but you still get the satisfaction of strong water pressure, says Guive Balooch, global vice president of the L’Oréal Technology Incubator. (Mechanical engineers, sustainability researchers, chemists, hairstylists, and more from the incubator and Swiss environmental technology company Gjosa created L’Oréal’s Water Saver together.) But I didn’t totally understand why making water droplets smaller would…

PAI LIGHTWORK ROSEHIP CLEANSING OIL. A superhero trio of oils (olive, sunflower, castor) clings to the natural sebum produced by your pores, whisking away dirt and makeup without relying on surfactants that strip skin dry. INDIE LEE RESTORATIVE EYE CREAM. The antioxidant equivalent of eight hours of sleep, this soothing cream tightens and brightens undereyes with a potent blend of plant extracts and licorice root. HONEST BEAUTY CALM & HEAL MELTING BALM. This comforting salve delivers salvation to chapped, cracked skin with allantoin (a skin protectant) and anti-inflammatory ingredients, like rice bran. KINSHIP SELF REFLECT PROBIOTIC MOISTURIZING SUNSCREEN ZINC OXIDE SPF 32. Good, clean sunscreen—this mineral formula has a pearly tint that helps it adapt to your skin tone, blending into an invisible sheen. HUMANRACE LOTUS ENZYME EXFOLIATOR. Pharrell knows…

$125 ELLIS BROOKLYN MARVELOUS CBD EXTRA RICH BODY CREAM. Positively packed with a megadose of CBD (the nonpsychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana), this buttery emulsion helps chronically tight skin turn over a supple new leaf. $38 HANNI THE WEIGHTED RAZOR. The hefty handle applies the perfect amount of pressure as you shave, taking the onus off of your wrist. And because the sustainable design is made to last (and last), it takes some weight off of the planet too. $368 FOR 50 ML TOM FORD LOST CHERRY. This luscious scent captures the sometimes wholesome, sometimes carnal aspects of a black cherry. Glossy, juicy, and voluptuously smooth, it begs to be bitten (er, sniffed) near the curve of the neck. $165 RÉVIVE SOLEIL SUPÉRIEUR BODY BROAD SPECTRUM SPF 50 SUNSCREEN PA++++. This…

$549.99 DYSON AIRWRAP STYLER COMPLETE. This streamlined device costs a pretty penny (54,999 of them, to be exact). But when you consider it does the work of an entire styling arsenal (blow-dryer, waver, curling iron) without relying on extreme heat, it feels like a steal (that’s our two cents, anyway). $68 ORIBE IMPERIAL BLOWOUT TRANSFORMATIVE STYLING CRÈME. It took a few centuries, but someone finally realized that evolution is the solution to sticky fixatives that clump strands together. This styling mousse becomes an oil in your hands and a featherlight powder in your hair, delivering touchable volume and flexible hold. $53 CHRISTOPHE ROBIN CLEANSING VOLUMIZING PASTE WITH PURE RASSOUL CLAY AND ROSE EXTRACTS. This is the ultimate grand gesture when you want to pamper your hair in the shower: The…

$5.99 BAYLIS & HARDING GOODNESS ROSE & GERANIUM HAND WASH. A sink-side staple with the presence (and essence) of a fancy guest soap, this formula coddles skin with essential oils and a dewy, floral scent. $6.19 ALBA BOTANICA ACNEDOTE FACE & BODY SCRUB. Containing anti-inflammatory ingredients and 2 percent salicylic acid, this scrub is versatile enough to use on both your face and body, leaving no pore unpurged. $5.79 NIVEA BREATHABLE BODY LOTION. With shea butter and oils, this remarkably lightweight lotion is like a deep inhale for your skin, leaving it more supple and refreshed. (We can’t get enough of the Tropical Breeze scent.) $5.99 JERGENS ULTRA HEALING+ HAND & BODY CREAM. Hydrating enough to bolster your moisture barrier and light enough to slather on your hands, this nongreasy…

What’s the difference between a Best of Beauty winner and a Best of Beauty Breakthrough winner? Both must perform beautifully, but the latter has to truly transform our beauty routines with a new ingredient, technology, or design. The designation doesn’t come lightly. We spend months poring over submissions: asking tough questions of brands (and demanding straight answers), sifting through clinical data, and employing the advice of a panel that includes independent dermatologists, hairstylists, and cosmetic chemists. As technology advances, the ante gets upped: In 2002, our debut Breakthrough winners included a gentle eye-makeup remover and a streak-free self-tanner. This year, a cordless flatiron, custom-blended skin care, and a magnetic mascara made the cut. We wouldn’t go so far as to call ourselves beauty oracles, but winning a Breakthrough award does often…

Any toddler will tell you: Cleanliness is subjective. And beauty products offer no exceptions. The buzzword “clean” has been floating around the industry for years, but there’s still no universally agreed upon definition of it. So in 2019, Allure decided to establish our own clean standard and accompanying Best of Beauty seal. Coming up with the criteria for it involved consulting toxicologists, dermatologists, and chemists—and Allure’s research manager Amber Angelle was at the nucleus of it all: When you’re talking about cosmetic ingredients and safety, there are so many factors that make it difficult to say anything definitive—research is ongoing, reports of side effects vary, and there are so many unknowns. So the challenge is diligently looking at the available studies and talking to as many different experts as possible…

MASCARA VOLUMIZING. YSL Beauty Radical Volumizing Mascara has more than one trick up its slim, golden sleeve. Supple oils and a slightly tapered brush allow us to build maximum volume and target minuscule areas, so we can have doe eyes one day and cat eyes the next. DRAMA. Maybelline New York Falsies Lash Lift Ultra Black Mascara concentrates color at the roots and curls our ends to the high heavens, mimicking the surreal appeal of fluttery strips. LENGTHENING. Infused with oils, CoverGirl Lash Blast Clean Volume Mascara glides to the extreme tips of your lashes for an elongated fan with no end in sight. WATERPROOF. Maybelline New York Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara has the bustier of brushes: Flexible and conical, it lifts, sculpts, and defies Mother Nature with weatherproof, budgeproof…

Alva Claire It began in fits and starts: Claire was working small-time, fashion-y jobs, modeling blue streaks in her hair for Vidal Sassoon and assisting stylists. “People would say things like, ‘There’s something about you,’ but there was no box for me to fit in [as a model],” she says. Claire was 18 when she stumbled across an article about plus models in a London magazine and thought, Why not me? One decade and a few agencies later, Claire is fronting campaigns for MAC and walking the runway for Versace. “When somebody says, ‘I’ve really enjoyed today with you. Thank you,’ that always gets me,” she says. “I feel like I’ve done a good day’s work if people enjoyed my company.” BODY WASH LIQUID. By eliminating 99 percent of bacteria…

LIPSTICK YOUR LIPS BUT BETTER, LIGHT. The satin lingerie of lip color, L’Oréal Paris Les Nus in Nu Confident produces the sheerest-possible wash of rose. YOUR LIPS BUT BETTER, MEDIUM. A dusty pink that melts into a comfy stain, Lipsax Liquid Matte Lipstick in Selfie seems to become a part of your lips. YOUR LIPS BUT BETTER, DARK. Straight-up cocoa with a powdery finish, Maybelline New York Color Sensational Ultimatte Slim Lipstick in More Truffle enrobes lips in richness and warmth. CLASSIC RED. One swipe of Pound Cake Cake Batter in Maraschino Cherry delivers instant opacity—and a hint of badassery—with shinefree carnation color. DARK RED. Creamy in texture and matte in finish, Mented Cosmetics Red Matte Lipstick in Red Rover is a saturated burgundy that goes on smooth. BRICK RED.…

“Can I ask one really important question?” Ariana Grande says. Her voice lilts up and down with every word, like it’s navigating the Amalfi Coast, which is simply how someone with a four-octave singing voice speaks. This is a question she asks everybody she can, and she’s observed that people tend to begin answering before she’s even finished asking, which is proof of the question’s excellence. Her voice could be a wonder of the natural world, if it wasn’t clearly evidence of the sublime. It is almost shocking to reconcile her physical form—barely over five feet tall, teetering on platform heels—with the sound she produces from her vocal chords. In 2015, she performed for the Obamas at the White House, and when she began riffing along with the opening chords…