Bustle Beauty Awards 2022

The beauty industry looks remarkably different now than it did 10 years ago. Shade ranges have expanded, campaigns include more skin and body types (and ages!), and new, buzzy brands are being launched by the day. The progress we’ve made is exciting, but the sheer amount of new things being launched every day can also feel overwhelming (just ask anyone who’s tried to buy a new mascara and felt analysis paralysis).

This was the inspiration behind Bustle’s first-ever Beauty Awards — our expert-vetted, editor-curated list of the best beauty products on the market, created to help you sift through the noise and pinpoint the products worth your hard-earned cash. Our winners reflect the products you’d find in our own medicine cabinets — a mix of mainstream, drugstore, luxury, indie, and so-indie-you-haven’t-heard-of-it-yet brands at every price point, for every lifestyle.

Over the course of six months, we reviewed over 3,878 submissions, tested 648 products, and narrowed it down to just 85 winners — 15% of which are Black-owned — in the categories of skin care, hair, makeup, body care, nails, fragrance, and tools. We enlisted the help of 47 BDG staffers, plus 10 guest judges to test and review products (on themselves, and occasionally on their celebrity clientele), before finally selecting our winners. We evaluated products based on efficacy, inclusivity, ingredients, and innovation. We also included a Reader’s Choice category, where you voted on the two brands — MVP of the Year and Rookie of the Year — that are making the beautysphere a more inclusive, diverse, and vibrant space. We hope you find a new favorite product — and some lightness, and joy — ahead.

- Faith Xue, Executive Beauty Director, BDG

- Rachel Lapidos, Senior Beauty & Lifestyle Editor

- Erin Stovall, Senior Beauty Editor