Perhaps the most difficult — but most gratifying — category to test is skin care. Results aren’t instantaneous. Sometimes it takes weeks and even months to figure out if a moisturizer is actually strengthening your skin barrier. Or if that vitamin C serum really does diminish dark spots. But, you see, that’s why we do this. The Allure Best of Beauty Awards isn’t just for us. While it’s truly a test of editor patience (“I have to try how many products?”), swiping, slathering, and patting on dozens of skin-care products without breaking out into hives is for you, dear reader. We scrubbed with some pretty spectacular (and, at times, maybe-not-so-great) exfoliators, tapped on too many eye creams to count, and peeled with the best of them to bring you this comprehensive list of skin-care winners. Maybe you'll fall for the bouncy moisturizer that doubles as whipped cream (kidding!), the retinol that clocks in under $20, or the sunscreen that truly is, well, invisible. (Hell, you’ll love them all — we certainly do.) That’s why they’ve earned the title of this year’s Best of Beauty winners. Scroll through to see them all, and then check out the rest of the top picks from the full 2018 Best of Beauty Awards list.
FACIAL CLEANSER: Normal Skin
Don’t let the delicate texture and dreamy scent of Garnier SkinActive Soothing Rose Water Cleansing Milk distract you. The polished results will take care of that.
$9 (Shop Now)
FACIAL CLEANSER: Oily Skin
Tatcha The Deep Cleanse contains luffa-fruit extract (forefather of the loofah sponge) to buff away dead skin and purge congested pores (forefathers of all breakouts).
$38 (Shop Now)
FACIAL CLEANSER: Dry Skin
With orange blossom and cornflower water, L’Occitane Shea 3-in-1 Cleansing Water is the drink thirsty skin craves. One soaked cotton pad dissolves makeup, deposits moisture.
$24 (Shop Now)
FACIAL CLEANSER: Cleansing Wipes
Burt’s Bees Micellar Cleansing Towelettes are made from repurposed cotton; cypress oil removes every last stitch of makeup.
$6 (Shop Now)
TONER / ESSENCE
Lumene Valo Glow Lumenessence Brightening Beauty Lotion is the aurora borealis, bottled. Vitamin C–rich Arctic berries impart a radiant sheen.
$15 (Shop Now)
FACIAL MIST
The antioxidants and botanical extracts in Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Chamomile and Lavender give our skin that fresh-from-the-spa glow — even when we’re fresh off the subway.
$12 (Shop Now)
FACIAL OIL
Omega-rich but inexplicably light, Honest Beauty Magic Organic Beauty Facial Oil lives up to its name. Dullness, dryness, rough patches: Now you see them, now you don’t.
$28 (Shop Now)
FACIAL SERUM: Antioxidant
The potent concentration of brightening vitamin C in Clinique Fresh Pressed Daily Booster with Pure Vitamin C 10% comes in a 28-day supply that you mix with your regular moisturizer morning and night.
$77 (Shop Now)
Read the review +
FACIAL SERUM: Antioxidant
Korres Wild Rose Spotless Serum 15% Vitamin C couches all the illuminating action in a gentle formula that we layer under our sunscreen every day.
$75 (Shop Now)
FACIAL SERUM: Clarifying
Caudalie Vinopure Skin Perfecting Serum refines texture and tightens pores with salicylic acid, essential oils, and the same polyphenols found in red wine.
$49 (Shop Now)
FACIAL SERUM: Calming
“Love, love, love,” said several testers of Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Nightly Re.Pair Mask. The delicate fluid minimizes redness — if not the ardent rhetoric.
$48 (Shop Now)
FACIAL SERUM: Retinol
The fast-acting retinoid in Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Serum makes quick work of fine lines, while hyaluronic acid provides an instant shot of moisture.
$22 (Shop Now)
Read the review +
FACIAL SERUM: Hydrating
Fatty acids and ceramides in Paula’s Choice Resist Omega+ Complex Serum keep your moisture barrier in repair mode. The light texture delivers nonstop dewiness.
$36 (Shop Now)
FACIAL MOISTURIZER: Normal Skin
The line between glowy and greasy is thisthin — and Olay Luminous Whip never, ever crosses it. The cream has a meringue texture and primer-like finish that boost radiance and blur pores.
$30 (Shop Now)
FACIAL MOISTURIZER: Oily Skin
Ole Henriksen Counter Balance Oil Control Hydrator reduces shine (and holds makeup in place) with rose-hip fruit extract.
$55 (Shop Now)
FACIAL MOISTURIZER: Dry Skin
The humectant-packed Clinique Moisture Surge 72-Hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator absorbs in seconds and quenches around the clock.
$19 (Shop Now)
EYE CREAM: Line Smoothing
StriVectin Multi-Action Eye Cream diminishes lines and dark circles with peptides and an apricot tint.
$65 (Shop Now)
EYE CREAM: Line Smoothing
The mild retinol in RoC Retinol Correxion Sensitive Eye Cream helps crow’s-feet take flight.
$23 (Shop Now)
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EYE CREAM: Depuffing
The polymers in Dr. Brandt Needles No More No More Baggage tighten and debloat under-eyes (temporarily, but still).
$42 (Shop Now)
EYE CREAM: Moisturizing
Rodan + Fields Enhancements Active Hydration Bright Eye Complex tackles crepiness and shadows at once (and provides a perfect concealer base).
$70 (Shop Now)
EYE CREAM: Moisturizing
The ceramic applicator and cooling gel of Laneige Eye Sleeping Mask relax creases — and melt stress before bed.
$34 (Shop Now)
FACIAL SCRUB
Even overzealous scrubbers can’t overdo the tofu-like texture of Shiseido Waso Soft + Cushy Polisher. The silky soybean formula and tender plant-based granules pamper as they polish.
$32 (Shop Now)
MASK: Oily Skin
We’ve gone down a few rabbit holes in search of a mask that draws out deep-seated grime. Neutrogena Deep Clean Purifying Clay Cleanser and Mask explores every pore with salicylic acid and kaolin clay.
$9 (Shop Now)
MASK: Dull Skin
Suspended in a light, bouncy gel, Dior Hydra Life Glow Better Fresh Jelly Mask turns lackluster skin luminous with citrus-fruit extract and apricot-seed powder.
$69 (Shop Now)
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MASK: Dry Skin
Kiehl’s Calendula & Aloe Soothing Hydration Masque targets dehydration with natural humectants. The fluid gel holds moisture in place — even after you rinse it off.
$45 (Shop Now)
MASK: Eye Area
Patchology Flashpatch Restoring Night Eye Gels are infused with retinol and peptides and have the shape of giant quotation marks. The line-effacing results should come with exclamation points.
$60 (Shop Now)
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MASK: Sheet
We doubt the UPS dude who saw us in a Simple Skincare De-Stress Sheet Mask will ever return to our door. Whatever. Aloe and vitamins deliver everything our skin needs.
$3 (Shop Now)
MASK: Overnight
Slather on Aveeno Positively Radiant Overnight Hydrating Facial before bed and wake up to gloriously smooth skin.
$14 (Shop Now)
FACIAL SUNSCREEN
Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 isn’t kidding about the “unseen” part. Its chemical shields have a weightless finish that makes pores imperceptible.
$32 (Shop Now)
FACIAL SUNSCREEN
The SPF value in EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46 feels very specific; the mineral blockers feel like nothing at all.
$33 (Shop Now)
PEEL
Peter Thomas Roth 20% Glycolic Solutions Jumbo Peel Swab is…exactly what it says it is. What we can add: This oversize glycolic-soaked cotton swab has faded lines, rough patches, and dark spots brilliantly on our entire staff.
$48 (Shop Now)
ACNE: Allover Treatment
The maximum dose of benzoyl peroxide in Clean & Clear Persa-Gel 10 eradicates breakouts — present and future.
$5 (Shop Now)
Read the review +
ACNE: Spot Treatment
The salicylic acid and witch hazel in Murad Rapid Relief Acne Spot Treatment intercept emerging pimples right where they throb and shrink existing ones.
$22 (Shop Now)
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