For the last year, Team Cosmo has been busy. Doing what, you ask? Just testing about 500 different beauty products to narrow down the best of the best in order to bring you (yup, you, lucky reader) our biggest beauty awards of All. Frickin’. Time. Behold: Our 2024 Holy Grail Beauty Awards, a collection of 216 of the very best products, tools, and treatments of the year—all tested by 25 outrageously choosy, beauty-obsessed editors.

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Wondering what you’ll find here? We’ve got cream bronzers to fake a just-back-from-vacay glow, quick fixes for redness and rosacea, innovative in-office treatments to smooth and brighten, new signature-worthy scents, hall-of-fame-worthy acne solutions, and way more (there are a whopping 216 awards, after all). Grab a snack, settle in, and feast your eyes on all of our favorites—or feel free to bookmark it for when you need to stock up on mascara, face wash, dry shampoo, and beyond.

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Lady Grey earrings.
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THE MAKEUP FINDS THAT DON’T MISS

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Alexis Bittar earrings.

THE SKINCARE WE CONSIDER LIFESAVERS

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THE BODY TREATMENTS TO TRY FROM HEAD TO TOE

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THE HAIR PRODUCTS THAT GUARANTEE A GOOD HAIR DAY

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Cyril earrings.

THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE FRAGRANCES

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Agmes necklace and ring.
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THE ESSENTIALS FOR YOUR HANDS, FEET, AND NAILS

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Agmes earrings. Jenny Bird rings.

THE TOOLS AND DEVICES WORTH TALKING ABOUT

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THE BEST PRO TREATMENTS TO GET IN-OFFICE


Our Methodology

April 2023 to December 2023: We (aka the Cosmo beauty team) compile data on new and noteworthy beauty launches while continually researching and reviewing the thousands (yes, actual thousands) of products that come across our desks.

December 2023: The Cosmo beauty team organizes 500+ standout products and treatments into categories across skincare, haircare, makeup, fragrance, nails, tools, and pro treatments.

January 2024 to March 2024: The top products in each category are sent to a select group of beauty-obsessed Cosmo staffers for an eight-week testing period. These staffers are asked to honestly evaluate products based on the following criteria: efficacy, ease of use, value, and innovation.

March 2024: Cosmo staffers submit their favorite products, along with detailed feedback and testing notes, to the Cosmo beauty team for review. We then take all of that info and use it to create this list of 216 winners.

May 2024: We share all of the winners—and exactly why testers love them—in this easy-to-shop story.


Lead image: Jenny Bird earrings.



Additional reporting by: Marisa Petrarca. Photographs: BriAnne Wills. Stylist: Andrea Zendejas. Hair: Izumi Sato using Bumble + Bumble at 87 Artists. Makeup: Tiffany Leigh Patton at Paradis NYC. Manicures: Mamie Onishi using The GelBottle at See Management.

Headshot of Beth Gillette

Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers skincare, makeup, hair, nails, and more across digital and print. She can generally be found in bright eyeshadow furiously typing her latest feature or hemming and hawing about a new product you "have to try." Prior to Cosmopolitan, she wrote and edited beauty content as an Editor at The Everygirl for four years. Follow her on Instagram for makeup selfies and a new hair 'do every few months. 

Headshot of Deanna Pai

Deanna Pai is a freelance beauty writer and editor currently based in New York. She has more than 10 years of experience writing about beauty and wellness.