Your sweet 16 list for this, Inspire’s fifth annual beauty awards, is an absolute cracker — every choice a bona fide star.
Voted for by you via post, email or online, the winners give a fascinating insight into what we’ve all experienced in these weird 12 months.
Our beloved creams and cosmetics have got us through what has been a curious year: full of ups, downs, and periods of prolonged frustration; released from the torpor of lockdown, but with the pandemic’s end not yet in sight.
Words such as ‘soothing’, ‘nourishing’ and ‘reviving’, which featured on the labels of plenty of your winners, reflect a need for collective comfort.
Hannah Betts announced the five winners of Inspire’s fifth annual beauty award. Pictured left to right: Glossier Boy Brow pomade, Tweezerman Classic Slant Tweezer, Clarins Supra Lift & Curl Mascara, Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution M.I. Kiss, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, Monika Blunder Beauty Blunder Cover, Lancome Blush Subtil Powder Blush and Dr Michael Prager Urban Protect Night Oil With Retinol
Hair salons were shut until April 5, so we invested in a Dyson Supersonic hair dryer (£299.99, dyson.co.uk) to raise our blow-dry game. We know you really rate your Dyson — this is the third time it’s won one of our gongs.
We also found facials to be out of fashion, so we used cosmeceutical grade skincare.
The eyes had it — and still do, as masks have never really gone away, while online purchasing was more necessary than ever.
Yet, when rules on masks did relax for a while in July, we also returned to make-up for going ‘out out’ — not least, at long last, lipstick. Your top pick: Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution in M. I. Kiss (£25, charlottetilbury.com), a delectable tawny berry.
Five years into this annual celebration of the best in British beauty, and its the third time you’ve voted for Weleda Skin Food, the organic stalwart receiving the highest number of votes across all the categories.
Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation has triumphed before, while Glossier, Aromatherapy Associates, Avene, Clarins and Lancome are also among your established favourites.
I, too, cherish Lancome’s Blush Subtil Powder Blush (£32, lancome.co.uk), although I am miffed that the brand discontinued my cherished shade — the eternal make-up lover’s lament. While you’re all extremely up-to date, there are still great classics.
You’re bang up-to-date with Monika Blunder Beauty Blunder Cover concealer, (£45, cultbeauty.co.uk), which launched here in June and became an instant make-up artist obsession thanks to its natural-looking coverage.
Hannah said Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation provides the most seamlessly luminous base, while Bioderma’s affordable Sensibio H2O Micellar Water can be used to remove the day’s grime
Yet you also know that Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (£35.20, armanibeauty.co.uk), which hit the market in 2000, still provides the most seamlessly luminous base.
Your lash love, Clarins Supra Lift & Curl Mascara (£23, clarins.co.uk) only appeared at the end of July and quickly became its website’s top seller. However, your brow product of choice is Glossier’s lustrousness-imparting Boy Brow pomade (£14, glossier.com), which became a cult buy back in 2015.
At the same, your skills as a high-low connoisseur have been demonstrated. You’ll splash out on your Dyson, but cunningly scrimp on Weleda’s cult ultra-rich Skin Food (£8.25 for 30ml, weleda.co.uk), a tube of which is sold every 16 seconds.
You remove the day’s grime with Bioderma’s affordable Sensibio H2O Micellar Water (£5.30 for 100ml, boots.com) because cleanser is a basic that stays on the face for very little time.
However, you’ll save up to sleep in Dr Michael Prager’s brilliant, brimming-with-antioxidants Urban Protect Night Oil With Retinol (£90 for 30ml, pragerskincare.com), because the eight hours in which this potent potion will be saving your skin are worth every last penny.
You may not have been able to score a facial while spas were closed, but you did your homework and came up with Dr P. Gloriously replenishing, his is a formula unmatched for quality, purity of ingredients and efficacy — plus one hell of a morning-after gleam. You are clever.
Your commitment to daily sun protection — the only proven anti-ager — is laudable.
The breakthrough that I waited for decades: British women embrace not just a little bit of SPF in their foundations or day creams, but also the best to wear here and abroad.
Perhaps you sported it on staycation, perhaps to sit at your desk — either way, you were covered.
The stupendous Hawaiian Tropic Mineral Skin Nourishing Facial Milk SPF30 (£8, boots.com), released this spring, scored an extremely high number of votes.
It’s soothing for even sensitive skins and non-pore-clogging.
Your day cream, Avene’s redness-reducing Antirougeurs Day Soothing Emulsion SPF30 (£12.37, boots.com), also boasts a solid protection factor.
As for your most beloved beauty tool, it couldn’t get more practical than Tweezerman’s Classic Slant Tweezer (£22, boots.com). I’ve been devoted ever since they arrived in the UK back in my mid-20s.
What I truly love about your lists is their sheer joy. Your winners must do what the instructions say. You also understand that instilling enjoyment is an important part of the program’s success.
Hannah said reader’s aromatherapy choices are the same as hers – including Therapie Cherish Skin Repair Serum and Aromatherapy Associates’s Revive Evening Bath & Shower Oil
My aromatherapy options are yours. That multi-tasking daily joy — Therapie Cherish Skin Repair Serum (£15 for 30ml, cultbeauty.co.uk), a moisturising skin treatment that protects skin — is heavenly.
While Aromatherapy Associates’s Revive Evening Bath & Shower Oil (£49, aromatherapyassociates.com) is the sublime ylang ylang, sandalwood and patchouli concoction that has perfumed us all back into parties.
Speaking of parties, in this year of re-emergence, then re-stalling, I am thrilled that your eye make-up passion is Charlotte Tilbury’s Rock ’N’ Kohl Velvet Violet Eyeliner (£19, charlottetilbury.com).
It’s actually a flattering mauve, but no matter — by December 2022, when fun has finally stopped being cancelled, I’ll have you rocking it in the most stupendous ultra-violet.
Thank you for being there with me in 2021, and let’s keep plodding valiantly on into January.
This may not be the Christmas and New Year we yearned for, but it’s the one we’ve got, so let us sally forth and make it as beautiful as possible.
Your beauty awards winners are celebrated by the judges
ANABEL KINGSLEY
Philip Kingsley is the top trichologist and president of brand Philip Kingsley
Anabel Kingsley (pictured) said the popularity of at-home gadgets suggests that people are now using these to top up their styles between salon visits
Although many of the winners are indeed trusted, premium brands — including the Clarins mascara and my go-to Giorgio Armani foundation — there is also an exciting new emphasis on luxurious pamper products, such as Aromatherapy Associates’ amazing bath oil.
We’ve all been upping our self-care game since the locked-down first few months of the year. It has been a challenging time and, now that we’re working from home again and facing a festive period of cancelled parties, these nice rituals help to break up the day.
I’ve been burning tonnes of candles with essential oils to help me relax, feel good and get into the Christmas spirit.
I was also interested to see that Dyson’s hair dryer — which we use in all of our Philip Kingsley hair clinics — continues to be just as popular as ever. It’s brilliant for drying hair fast, at a low heat.
We all learned how to style, dye and blow-dry our hair last year. The popularity of home-use gadgets means that many people now use them to enhance their looks between visits to the salon.
DR MARYAMZAMANI
MZ Skin founder and leading expert in facial aesthetics
Dr Maryam Zamani (pictured) said this year’s results suggest we didn’t want to experiment too much in 2021, as there is comfort in knowing what you like
With a few exceptions, this year’s results suggest we didn’t want to experiment too much in 2021 — instead of adventure, we’ve opted for tried and tested friends.
We’re talking blue-chip brands: from the Weleda moisturiser I’ve been using for more than 13 years (since my son was a baby), to the Tweezerman staples.
And while French stars such as Clarins and Lancome still hold a place in your heart, it was good to see British entrepreneur Charlotte Tilbury’s eyeliner and lipstick win in two categories.
Many winners aren’t new products, they are old, well-loved favourites. Many of us have had a difficult year, both emotionally and physically. I believe there’s comfort in knowing that you can choose what you want.
Why change something if it’s working? You can find the right one and keep it.
ALEXIA INGE
Cult Beauty Cosmetics Website co-founder
Alexia Inge (pictured) said winners such as the Therapie serum show that our beauty regimes have become far more ritualistic
It’s great to see new independent beauty brands in the line-up this year.
The popularity of Monika Blunder’s complexion-enhancing concealer, for example — which sold out several times on our website since it launched last November — points to a strong trend for a more natural make-up look.
Monika is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after make-up artists, working on countless famous faces from Emilia Clarke to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and it’s lovely to see her getting recognition.
Her Blunder Cover, a concealer and foundation-bridger is the multifunctional formula from Herblunder.
There are 14 shades available that you can match to create a skin-identical color.
This suits perfectly the 2021 beauty priority, which is to appear healthy. It marks a change from pre-pandemic high-glamour.
Winners such as the Therapie serum prove that beauty regimens are becoming more ritualistic.
We want to lift our spirits and improve our physical appearance with soothing, effective remedies.
By the looks of things, that’s going to continue for at least the first few months of 2022.