Beauty Awards: The 22 Best Makeup Products of the Year

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One of the top beauty themes of the year was daring, convention-bucking color with midnight blue lips, ultraviolet eyes, and celestial glitter aglow returning to the spotlight. And no wonder: Who doesn’t love a high-impact punch in a one-second swipe? To make all of our wildest beauty dreams come true (including a barely-there glow if that’s more your thing), designer makeup brands reimagined, revamped, and reinvented everything for eyes, lips, and cheeks. Case in point? A diamond-tipped lipstick for extra-crisp corners (no liner required), a four-in-one brow contouring click pen, and a high-coverage concealer that just won’t quit. Below is a buying guide to the best, most statement-making products of the year that you’ll 100 percent want to try for yourself.

The Best Lip Color

“This lipstick is like the sleek race car you ogle on the street. With its sexy, slim shape and super-intense pigment, everything about it screams life in the fast lane. And frankly, when I’m putting on this lipstick—I have it in the shade Rouge Extraordinaire—that’s exactly the mood I’m going for.” —Bee Shapiro, New York Times columnist and founder of Ellis Brooklyn.

The Best Primer

“Thanks to just about every one of my friends on the Internet, I couldn’t go a day without seeing this primer in a makeup tutorial. So naturally, I had to try it, and it is the perfect skin-care-meets-makeup product. A little goes a long way, so I apply less than a pea-sized amount to areas where I have enlarged pores to create a smooth canvas before applying.

Makeup

The Best Foundation

“This was one of the most exciting launches of the year! Forty shades broken down into different undertones with an incredible buildable formula make this the ultimate essential. The formula feels thin, but it’s got solid coverage, so you need only a tiny amount to cover your entire face. I like to start from the center and work my way out with my fingers, a brush, or a sponge. You can go back and add a second coat for more coverage or dab a little extra anywhere you need it. Oh, and it’s excellent for your neck, chest, shoulders, and legs.

The Best Concealer

“It’s hard to find a concealer that blends seamlessly with my skin; this one is super lightweight. It also comes in such a wide shade range, so it’s easy to find your perfect match. It’s my secret weapon for getting that everyday no-makeup-makeup

The Best Powder

“This powder is seriously so good. It’s finely milled and unscented and gives the perfect filter-like finish. It’s my favorite when I want to look extra polished since it blurs pores, locks down makeup, and keeps my T-zone from looking too shiny.