Best of Beautydebuted in 1996, along with the Spice Girls' “Wannabe” and Nintendo 64.
How do we do what we’re doing, and how has our doing been done?
I started to study Abstract Expressionism.
Courtesy Photos
We want that.'
I took some Chinese calligraphy classes because I wanted to learn different gestures, different brushes.
We used sculpting tools.
Cindy Crawford appeared in our first Best of Beauty issue in 1996, with fellow supermodel Niki Taylor on the cover.
Sometimes I used an airbrush to make explosions.
“Best of Beauty was a marathon.
It would be about 11 days of shooting.
Photographed by Roger Cabello
The assistants would set everything up, the products and the lighting and the tools.
And then, most of the time, I shot by myself at night.
Usually, the last shoot wasnail polishbecause of the smell.
Photographed by Roger Cabello
The designation doesn’t come lightly.
“Fresh out of college, my first job was for the launch issue ofAllure.
I was responsible for designing the Reporter section.
Photographed by Horacio Salinas
Classic design with a sense of urgency and importance.”
By the Numbers
The funniest factoids from the past quarter-century.
803Breakthrough nominees submitted by beauty companies in 2016, a particularly inventive year.
Deanna Filippo
This year, a $550 hair tool took the prize.
208Total number of Best of Beauty categories in 2020.
(If you need further proof that the beauty marketplace has mushroomed: We had 73 in 1996.)
Photographed by Mario Testino
2Emergency calls placed to a dermatologist during testing in 2014.
(Another was placed to a plumber.
There was in-shower body mud involved.)
Figuring out what “clean beauty” means to us was a dirty job, but someone had to do it.
310Number of highlighters submitted for testing in 2017; a ginormous leap from 44 the year prior.
2Number of magazines with seals of approval for beauty products in 2002.
(Good Housekeepinghad us beat by about a century.)
Senior beauty editor Dianna Mazzone’s dog, Sushi, assesses a handful of makeup brushes.
Number of magazines with seals of approval for beauty products in 2021: 27 and counting.
Ace of Base
The year was 2014.
The face was Cara Delevingne.
News editor Nicola Dall’Asen’s arm was regularly covered with swatches of lipstick throughout the testing process.
We kind of had one give a shot to do it and get it right.
And we got it.
“It was pretty spontaneous.
Dall’Asen arm was also host to its fair share of eye shadow swatches, too.
And actually quite quick.
What’s funny is I didn’t even launch the bottle cap.
It was a happy accident.
Associate beauty director Sarah Kinonen did her best to go full spa experience — at home — for her skin-care testing.
And Cara was such a sport.
She was not at all bothered by it.
She’s a professional, which made everyone else’s job easier.”
This isn’t even a third of what beauty assistant Talia Gutierrez received in Best of Beauty packages.
Any toddler will tell you: Cleanliness is subjective.
And beauty products offer no exceptions.
So in 2019, Allure decided to establish our ownclean standardand accompanying Best of Beauty seal.
Deputy editor Kara McGrath looking more comfortable lying on a pile of Best of Beauty packages than it actually was.
But it was worth it.”
News editor Nicola Dall’Asen’s arm was regularly covered with swatches of lipstick throughout the testing process.
In March of 2020, Best of Beauty season had commenced on schedule.
Then some other things happened.
Since then, product testing has occurred remotely and relied on the domestic networks of Allure editors.
The most discerning critics of all: total strangers.
“Do you want to try one of these?”
the stranger said, gesturing to the 140 fragrances on his kitchen table.
The glass menagerie stood still, like puppies on adoption day.
A few bottles winked in the afternoon sun.
Neither do I, thank God!
(Mike actually called them “losers,” but I’d never say that.)
Dall’Asen arm was also host to its fair share of eye shadow swatches, too.
Associate beauty director Sarah Kinonen did her best to go full spa experience at home for her skin-care testing.
We’d laugh and sometimes choke.
But something was missing.
I felt relief anytime somebody showed up at my door to drop off a package or deliver mapo tofu.
“Do you want to try one of these?”
I would say, and they’d always say “yes,” and they’d always be honest.
This isn’t even a third of what beauty assistant Talia Gutierrez received in Best of Beauty packages.
Thank You Notes
We couldn’t have done it without you.
The future is looking…slightly apocalyptic and influenced by the Disney Channel.
Jennifer Hussein, commerce writer:“I’ve always wanted the hair wand inPhil of the Future.
His sister waves it over her hair and it straightens it in seconds.”
Talia Gutierrez, beauty assistant:“A sunscreen that protects all day.
No more reapplications every two hours.”
Also, an electric toothbrush with built-in toothpaste."
And I cant wait to write some captions about it."
Dianna Mazzone, senior beauty editor:“An at-home robot that cleans your dirty makeup brushes and sponges.
Or better yet, a same-day laundry service for them that also offers pickup and delivery.”
Now, read more about the 2021 Best of Beauty products:
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