30 Award-Winning Makeup Products That Are Truly Changing The Game

This multipurpose, humidity-resistant stick offers lightweight, buildable coverage with a natural-looking, soft-matte finish — plus, it can be used as a concealer too. Formulated with iris extract and glowy pigments, the silky cream hydrates the skin and blurs the appearance of pores to create a fresh, even look that lasts up to 24 hours.

Stick foundations are famously easy to use and super portable, and this full-coverage pick, available in 36 shades, from SHEGLAM is no exception. Glide the creamy solid across your skin and blend it out using a dense brush to create an even, second-skin finish. The formula’s Magfixing technology attracts powder placed on top to lock the foundation in place and fight oxidation.

Skin tints opened up a whole new world for those looking for that lightweight, your-skin-but-better type of coverage. With 24 shades to choose from, Kosas’ BB Burst Tinted Gel Cream provides the plumping hydration of a tinted moisturizer with the buildable coverage of a liquid concealer. Infused with zinc, copper peptides, and saccharide isomerate, it helps to calm redness, firm, and offers skin barrier support.

Imagine if a hydrating serum and a concealer had a baby — this pick would be it. Infused with ceramides, peptides, and hyaluronic acid, the creamy formula helps to quench thirsty skin while offering buildable glow-boosting coverage. “I am blown away by this concealer,” says BDG Executive Beauty Director Faith Xue. “It goes on watery and light, but somehow actually covers, conceals, and leaves my skin with a smooth, second-skin finish.” The applicator’s curved surface and pointed tip make it easier to precisely target specific areas of the face, especially around the nose and under-eyes.

Makeup artist Lisa Eldridge’s famous “pinpoint” concealing technique is all about completely camouflaging blemishes, dark circles, and redness while still allowing your natural skin to shine through — and this new concealer, available in 16 gel-cream shades, makes executing her brilliant method a breeze. After scribbling the pencil on or around areas of concern in a non-uniform shape, Eldridge recommends using your fingertips or a tiny brush to buff out and blend the edges of the concealer with the surrounding skin. The pencil’s built-in sharpener ensures you’ll always have a precise point to work with.

In addition to a green-tinted option to neutralize redness, this foolproof color-correcting serum comes in five skin tone-specific shades to address concerns like blemishes, dark spots, and dullness. Using it is as simple as applying a face serum — the fast-absorbing formula acts like one, too, by helping to balance sebum and boost radiance with rosebay willowberg extract and kazanlak rose complex.

Makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic is one of the masterminds behind Kim Kardashian’s famous contour, so it really should come as no surprise that he created one of the best liquid contouring products on the market. The silky-smooth, buildable serum can be used all over the face to create the most believable sun-kissed glow or on specific areas to sculpt and define. In fact, the packaging conveniently features both a pump and a wand applicator to cater to each task.

On top of delivering a natural-looking sun-kissed glow, this antioxidant-spiked cream bronzer helps to protect your skin against pollution. Available in four shades, the hydrating, non comedogenic formula transforms from a lightweight cream to a powder, making blending a breeze and ensuring a weightless feel on your skin throughout the day.

Fact: Makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes wears some of the best blush on the entire internet. The secret to achieving her signature rosy look for yourself is picking up her Soft Smudge Lip and Cheek stick. Available in five buildable and versatile shades, the multipurpose product imparts a sheer wash of soft-matte color to the cheeks and lips.

The Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush is a must-try for anyone who has previously sworn off powder blushes. Available in six buildable shades, it combines the lightweight, airy texture of a powder with the blendability of a cream. With its pearlescent finish, it gives skin a healthy, lit-from-within glow.

This cream highlighter serves up a dreamy glow in three pretty shades and offers broad-spectrum sun protection. The mineral formula’s zinc oxide-based SPF 50+ shields the skin from UVA and UVB rays, while allantoin moisturizes and bisabolol neutralizes redness.

Gloriously glowy, never cakey and flaky, this powder highlighter can be used on the face, eyes, body, and even the lips. Housed in an elegant gold compact, the powder comes in five buildable bronze, gold, pink, and purple shades that adapt to different skin tones to create an illuminated, angelic look.

The revamped version of this makeup artist-favorite palette is like having a full lineup of complexion products in the palm of your hand. In fact, celebrity makeup artist and TZR guest judge Daniel Martin calls it a kit staple. “The shades, both on their own and mixed, create endless options to neutralize and harmonize whatever makeup look you're creating on the face,” he says.

Perfect for drawing on sleek cat eyes, these neutral cream eyeliners glide across your lids to deliver high-impact definition that doesn’t budge. The formula offers a little playtime before drying down to a waterproof finish too, so you can blend out lines to create a sultry smoky-eye look, too. And you don’t have to worry about locating your long-lost eyeliner sharpener either — each stick comes with its own built-in.

Buildable, ultra-blendable, and smudge-resistant, these creamy eyeliner sticks are bound to become a staple in your makeup routine. In eight neutral matte and shimmery shades, they can create a wide-range of looks and double as eyeliner. “I don't think I've ever fallen in love with a product this quickly,” says TZR Fashion News Writer Meguire Hennes. “The bronze shade is my new daytime eyeliner, and at night, I pop on a few more layers for extra drama.” These shadows are also a great option for traveling, thanks to their mess-free stick format.

Often overlooked for their 12-pan sisters, eyeshadow quads are tiny but oh-so mighty when it comes to creating dimensional eye makeup. Each Le Regard Ombres d’Hermès Eyeshadow Quartet features three complementary powders in neutral shades, plus a bold fourth shade — all of which can be used on their own or layered together to create a wide variety of striking looks.

Beauty lovers know that some of the best mascaras on the market can be found at the drugstore. With an innovative wand featuring a spiral flexible blush, the Maybelline Lash Sensational Firework Mascara dramatically lifts and lengthens lashes to create a clump-free, falsies-like look. And with pro-vitamin B5, it offers conditioning benefits, too.

This volumizing mascara’s dense, hourglass-shaped wand gently grasps onto lashes, making each tiny hair appear thicker — and therefore your entire lash line fuller. The brush distributes the pigmented formula without clumping and gives lashes a boost in length. “I love this mascara!” says BDG staffer Copelyn Bengel. “It gives the feeling of enhancing your natural lashes without clumps or weight.”

Glossier’s brow pencil will help you kick your arches into shape in no time. Available in nine different colors — including multiple shades of brown, auburn, black, and gray — it features a precise angled tip for drawing on hair-like strokes, as well as a flat edge that allows you to quickly fill in sparse spots that need a little more oomph. “The tip's precision edge with an angled shape allowed for a rapid, feather-like marks that resemble brow hair,” says TZR Editorial Director Angela Melero. “I found filling in my arches took all of a couple minutes, leaving my brows looking full and feathery — just like I like them.”

Your brows are susceptible to falling flat too, but the right brow gel can help lock your full, feathered look in place. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze Gel features a dual-comb applicator that evenly distributes the humidity-resistant, flexible gel, sculpts them into your desired shape, and secures them for all-day wear.

Plant-based pigments are behind these nourishing lipsticks’ vibrant color payoff. Our testers praise the vegan formula for its smooth application and long-lasting finish. The brand’s ornate packaging makes the act of putting on lipstick feel like a luxurious experience. “The intricate box, the velvet cover, and the floral design on the Red Alizarine lipstick are all things that would make me more likely to use these lipsticks over another brand,” says BDG staffer Jillian Giandurco.

With 45 matte shades colors to choose from, MAC’s innovation delivers that shine-free finish you know and love with all the hydrating comfort of a lip balm. “I always find matte lipsticks to be too drying, but this lipstick was so creamy and the color lasted all day,” says BDG staffer Stephanie Sanchez. Infused with coconut oil, cocoa butter, and shea butter, the formula keeps lips hydrated and conditioned for up to eight hours all while providing rich, long-lasting color.

The liner shades in the Ami Colé Soft Shape Waterproof Lip Liner collection were specifically curated to complement melanin-rich skin tones. Available in a warm pink, rosy brown, cinnamon, hickory brown, and chocolate, the pencils can be used to define the lip line or all-over as a base before lipstick application. Thanks to a creamy matte formula infused with shea butter, vitamin E, and marula oil and an ultra-fine tip, these lip pencils apply smoothly and deliver impression precision.

Though they appear boldly pigmented in their sculptural tubes, these balms provide a subtle wash of wearable color and a dewy finish. While some formulas leave behind a slippery, greasy film on the lips, the Sulwashoo balms offers intense moisture that sinks in quickly to plump up and soothe dry lips.

Like skin care for your lips, this luxe lip balm from Eadem delivers a glossy finish in four buildable and flavored shades (plus a clear unscented version), while providing exfoliation and hydration. “I love how easily the product applies — not too much comes out at a time — and the buildable nature of the color is excellent,” says BDG staffer Kate Auletta. “I wore it for a full hour, and I swear it didn't budge. Even when it does eventually wear off, your lips stay hydrated and a hint of color is left behind.”

In blackberry, poppy red, rose pink, and clear shades, Victoria Beckham’s Posh Balm has a smooth, emollient texture that quickly melts into your lips to offer next-level moisture. The tinted options adjust slightly to the pH of your lips to provide a personalized wash of color. “I'm obsessed with the blackberry shade on my skin tone — it's so unique!” says beauty editor and TZR guest judge Maya Allen, who adds she’s a huge fan of Victoria Beckham’s top-tier formulations. “Plus, the balm actually leaves a lasting hydrating finish.”

This finely-milled setting powder continues the pore-blurring legacy of the brand’s POREfessional collection. A lightweight blend of kaolin clay and upsalite (a powdered mineral) soak up excess oil and sweat to keep skin looking matte. While some setting powders have the tendency to cake up or look dry, this one creates a seamless finish that minimizes the appearance of pores and increases the wear of your foundation.

This finishing powder is infused with skin-loving ingredients like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide to provide TLC to your complexion, while blurring pores and creating a shine-free finish. “The YSL All Hours Foundation is one of the few full-coverage foundations I like, so I had high hopes for this powder — and it didn't disappoint,” says TZR Deputy Beauty Editor Erin Lukas. “It cut the excess shine from my T-zone without making my skin look flat and chalky, and helped my set my foundation for the day.”

Dewy makeup tends to be more difficult to set than its matte counterpart. This ultra-fine setting spray solves the problem by enhancing your glow and leaving behind a glazed donut-like finish. It features a bi-phase formula infused with hyaluronic acid, green tea seed oil, and squalane to boost hydration levels while gripping onto makeup.

What sets this primer apart from the rest is its unique foam consistency — yes, foam. The plush foam glides over the surface of the skin and absorbs quickly to create a smooth, radiant canvas for your makeup. The formula also features ingredients like turmeric and saffron extracts, apricot extract, and wu-zhu-yu extract to offer long-term brightening and hydrating benefits to the skin. “If you want a guaranteed glow-up year-round, you need this primer,” says Allen.