PEOPLE and Today staffers with various skin types and concerns came face-to-face with 147 skincare products, including cleansers, moisturizers, serums and more. What they discovered were 33 gems — from a $15 holy grail that delivers instant hydration to parched skin to a $140 treatment totally worth the splurge—that were crownedthis year’s PEOPLE Beauty Award winners.
Best Micellar Water:Garnier SkinActive Micellar Gentle Peeling Water
Formulated with glycolic acid to gently exfoliate as it removes makeup, one tester said it made their “skin feel clean, not tight.”
$24$18 at AmazonBuy on for $12
Best Cleansing Balm:Tatcha The Indigo Cleansing Balm
“This balm is like butter!” said a tester of this formula, which does an impeccable job of removing makeup and leaves skin silky. If you’re on the lookout for a greatbeauty product, this is it.
$37 at AmazonBuy on for $38
Best Cleanser for Dry Skin:Thayers Hydrating Milky Cleanser
A creamy formula made for parched skin that our testers said they’ll buy “again and again.”
$15$14 at AmazonBuy on for $15
Best Cleanser for Sensitive Skin:La Roche-Posay Lipikar Cleansing Oil
It got excellent reviews, including from an acne-prone tester who is now a convert.
$17 at AmazonBuy on for $19
Best Cleanser for Dull Skin:Clark’s Botanicals Heal + Hydrate B3 Cleanser
This luxe foaming cleanser contains brightening vitamin C.
Buy on for $50
Best Exfoliator:Peach & Lily Glass Skin Face Polisher
Testers loved that this is customizable—the more water you mix the powder with it, the gentler the exfoliation—which is how one managed to use it everyday for a week without any irritation.
Buy on for $48
Best Toner:StriVectin Multi-Action Clear Daily Brightening & Retexturizing Toner
Made specifically for blemish-prone skin, this liquid exfoliates with beta-hydroxy acid, unveiling a smoother complexion.
Buy on for $39
Best Brightening Serum:Current State Vitamin C Brightening Serum
It features two forms of vitamin C to help boost radiance. Agreed one tester, “it woke my skin up in the morning.”
Buy on for $19
Best Do-It-All Serum:Olay Super Serum
This one—which is packed with power-house ingredients like niacinamide, a collagen peptide and vitamin E—has an “amazing” consistency testers said.
$35$30 at AmazonBuy on for $35
Best Splurge Brightening Serum:Kinship Brightwave 10% Vitamin C + Peptide Brightening Serum
$45 at AmazonBuy on for $45
Best Plumping Serum:Philosophy Dose of Wisdom Bouncy Skin Reactivating Serum
“Pure luxury!” is how one tester described this serum, which features hyaluronic acid and makes skin “noticeably more supple.”
Buy on for $68
Best Smoothing Serum:Dr. Dennis Gross DermInfusions Serum
Billed as an needle-free alternative to injectable filler, this serum is chock full of hyaluronic acid to plump the skin and instantly smooth the look of fine lines. Said testers: “it’s awesome.
$75 at AmazonBuy on for $75
Best Hydrating Moisturizer:Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Cream
Packed with moisturizer MVP hyaluronic acid, amino acids, and electrolytes, this scored major points for making skin feel supple for hours.
Buy on for $23
Best Moisturizer for Oily Skin:Estée Lauder Nutritious Melting Soft Creme
Testers loved this skin-balancing (it has sweet kelp to control sebum) multitasker you can use once a week as a mask or daily as a moisturizer.
Best Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin:Summer Fridays Rich Cushion Cream
“Light,” “fluffy,” and “velvety” were words that came up in describing the texture of this soothing cream, which also has a nod from the National Eczema Association.
Buy on for $52
Best Moisturizer for Fine Lines:Chanel N°1 de Chanel Rich Revitalizing Cream
“The texture is unreal,” said a tester of this indulgent cream. Red camellia extractandoil plus ceramides hydrate and nourish to eliminate crepiness.
Buy on for $115
Best Firming Moisturizer:Lancôme Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream
The initials in the name stand for hyaluronic acid, peptides, and niacinamide, which all address sagging. And that’s just what it does—quickly.
Buy on for $145
Best Mineral SPF Moisturizer:Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Mineral SPF 30
This one takes the gold for being much easier to spread than other SPFs and wearing well under makeup. One tester called it the “Rolls-Royce of sunscreens.”
Best SPF Moisturizer:Clinique Moisture Surge SPF 28 Sheer Hydrator
Fans of the brand’s cult-favorite MoistureSurge 100H rejoice: There’s now a version with sunscreen that testers say doesn’t compromise on texture. “It glides on your skin.”
$50 at AmazonBuy on for $48
Best Sunscreen:Shiseido Urban Environment Vita-Clear Sunscreen SPF 42
This vitamin C-spiked sunscreen glides on so beautifully and absorbs so quickly, it’s hard to believe it’s a powerful SPF.
$38 at AmazonBuy on for $38
Best Night Cream:RoC Barrier Renew PM Moisturizer
Testers said they woke up looking “dewy” and “refreshed” after using this cream, which has soothing green tea and ceramides.
Buy on for $17
Best Retinol Treatment:Laneige Retinol Firming Cream Treatment
Ideal for retinol newbies, this one smoothes fine lines without irritating skin. Plus, it has hyaluronic acid for a hit of hydration.
$39 at AmazonBuy on for $37
Best Clarifying Mask:Hero Cosmetics Pore Purity
Testers described this as “creamy” and “very moisturizing”— which is no small feat for a formula made with sulfur-rich, oil-absorbing volcanic clay.
$20 at AmazonBuy on for $20
Best Firming Mask:Derma E Advanced Peptides & Flora Collagen Cryo-Gel Mask
Stash this cooling gel in the fridge and it’ll feel extra heavenly on skin. One tester swore it left her looking “less puffy,” and “more alive.”
$20 at AmazonBuy on for $23
Best Nourishing Mask:Shani Darden Signature Nourishing Facial Mask
Like a chill pill for stressed-out skin, this treatment contains colloidal oatmeal and a triple-tea complex to soothe redness and irritation.
Buy on for $58
Best Brightening Mask:Kate Somerville Mega-C 30% Vitamin C Brightening Mask
According to our testers, including one with hyperpigmentation, this citrus-hued formula delivered on its promise of evening out skin tone.
$65 at AmazonBuy on for $72
The Best Treatment:La Mer The Resurfacing Treatment
Buy on for $140
Best Do-It-All Eye Serum:No7 Future Renew Damage Reversal Eye Serum
Our testers love what this formula is (line-smoothing, firming and hydrating) as much as what it isn’t (sticky or irritating).
$20$17 at AmazonBuy on for $30
Best Brightening Eye Cream:Herbivore Super Nova 5% Vitamin C + Caffeine Brightening Eye Cream
Anyone with dark circles needs this vitamin C and caffeine-spiked potion in their arsenal. Testers were impressed with the effects—and how“easy” it was to apply.
Amazon
Best Depuffing Eye Cream:Murad Targeted Eye Depuffer
Bags are no match for this ginseng-and caffeine-packed formula. After a week of use our testers noticed a reduction in puffiness and an overall “brighter look.”
Buy on for $64
Best Eye Treatment for Fine Lines:Peter Thomas Roth Even Smoother Glycolic Retinol Eye Patches
A must for anyone battling lines around their lids. Testers found it made skin look more plump and makeup apply more smoothly.
Buy on for $65
Best Lip Balm:NudeSkin Nudescreen Lip Primer SPF 30
This balm delivers tons of hydration with mineral-based sun protection and testers gave it extra points for the universally flattering pink tint.
Buy on for $18
Best Lip Treament:OleHenriksen Pout Preserve Peptide Lip Treatment
The creamy citrus scent is reason enough to love this balm, but what makes it a winner is it leaves lips looking impressively plump.
$29 at AmazonBuy on for $22
source: people.com
