The 2024 Oprah Beauty O-Wards (original) (raw)

Every year, thousands of new products flood the market and your feeds, vying for your likes and dollars. It’s easy to fall down rabbit holes of reviews and hours of TikToks only to emerge with way too many items in your cart—and even more beauty concerns than you had when you started. In order to surface this year’s all-stars, our beauty editors spent a year separating fly-by-night trends from new discoveries that will stand the test of time, interviewing experts, and lathering, swiping, blending, and spraying every lotion, potion, and wand we thought might be a contender. These 73 winners represent the cream of the year’s beauty crop. You’ll find makeup for all skin tones, hair products for the fine and thin to the thick and coily, skincare and femme care for every body, and the tools that impressed us most. So start scrolling—it’s glow time!

Kevin Cremens

Best Cream Foundation

No Makeup Makeup Foundation

If you know, you know: Makeup artist Victoria Jackson’s original compact was a revelation in the ’80s, and it’s baaack, still offering just enough coverage (redness concealed, freckles more subtle) to look polished while feeling like nothing on the skin. It’s also clean (fragrance-free, cruelty-free, vegan) and comes in 13 inclusive shades. “The FlexShade technology makes it much easier to find your shade because one color works on multiple skin tones. And I love the result—your skin but better,” says creative director Adam Glassman. For a seamless finish, apply it with a brush and use the included sponge for touch-ups. Watch Jackson explain the power of no makeup makeup here!

Natasha Lindemann/Trunk Archive

Best Brow Product

Milk Makeup Kush High Roll Brow Tint/Gel

This is the first brow gel we’ve seen that works like “tubing” mascara, meaning the formula wraps around each hair and coats it in a no-smudge, tinted tube. “You’ll want to scrape off any excess from the wand and use a light hand, because it finds, tints, and fluffs brow hairs I didn’t know I had,” Sandoval Box says. “My arches looked so much fuller and more defined.” Nourishing oils, like hemp seed, castor, and sunflower seed, condition hairs and prevent brows from looking stiff or unnatural.

Best Skin Tint with SPF

Laura Geller Beauty Better Than ‘Block Skincare-Infused Serum Foundation

Give us a great multitasker, and you have us for life. This triple threat is a foundation, serum, and sunscreen all in one. It protects with SPF 50+ and antioxidants, offers light-to-medium coverage (choose from six shades), and hydrates with all-star ingredients like niacinamide, grapeseed oil, and vitamin E.

Best Liquid Liner

UZO Blaque Liquide Eyeliner

This sleek pen’s felt-tip applicator is truly special. It’s extra fine and has the slightest amount of give: soft enough that it doesn’t poke but firm enough to give those of us with a less than steady hand a lot more control and precision. Plus the highly pigmented formula is waterproof, so all the loveliness you create will stay put.

Best Concealer

Saie Slip Tint Radiant All-Over Concealer

This light-as-air, hydrating tint, which comes in 25 very wide-ranging shades, achieves the ultimate sleight of hand: It conceals blemishes while seeming—and feeling—invisible. We recently wore it through a marathon day of errands on a sultry day in New York City, and it never felt heavy or sweaty. Sure, the teeniest bit settled into a few fine lines by evening, but we patted it out easily and kept on going.

Best Under-Eye Corrector

Caliray Hideaway Under Eye Color Corrector

“Here’s my hot take on dark under-eye circles: Don’t bother with metal rollers or creams. You’re better off covering them with makeup,” says beauty director Kate Sandoval Box. The product for the job is a corrector, which is like a concealer with a peach or pink undertone to cancel out blue or greenish circles. We compared a bunch and found Caliray’s especially blendable, even on mature skin, with shades for most complexions.

Kevin Cremens

Best Cream Blush

Haus Labs by Lady Gaga Color Fuse Glassy Blush Balm Stick

This serum-meets-blush stick contains hardworking ingredients like fermented arnica to reduce redness and goji berry complex to plump skin. It’s available in eight shades, and you can build the pigment to your liking, whether you prefer a soft, diffuse look or believe there’s no such thing as too much blush. “My favorite part is the glassy finish. It instantly makes skin look healthy and dewy,” says beauty editor Genesis Rivas.

Kevin Cremens

Best Mascara

Sarah Creal Back Of The Cab

If you have mature or hooded eyes and often end up with smudged mascara, meet your magic wand. This “tubing” formula wraps around lashes and doesn’t budge until you wet them and gently run your fingertips across them. Every over-40 Oprah staffer who has tried it says there’s no going back.

Best Lip Gloss

Carolina Herrera Good Girl Gloss

Since when has lip gloss been a luxury item? Since now. This richly pigmented formula delivers a high shine without feeling heavy, tacky, or sticky, and contains two next-level ingredients: hyaluronic acid to make it moisturizing and peppermint extract that plumps lips without making them tingle. And no surprise, the packaging is stunning and customizable. Just add charms and tassels.

Best Face Palette

Iconic London Multi-Use Cream Face Palette

Life is complicated enough; your makeup routine shouldn’t be. This palette streamlines three steps into one product, containing a highlighter, two blushes, and three bronzer shades to perfect your complexion and give it a soft pop of color. The cream formulas are also effortless—just dab them on with your fingers and get on with your day.

Best Bronzer

Makeup by Mario Softsculpt Bronzing & Shaping Serum

“It was love at first swipe,” says Sandoval Box. This winner is sheer, easy to blend, comes in seven shades, and gives you that just-back-from-a-day-on-the-water, sun-kissed look. Even more seductive is its clever design. You can apply it like a serum—pump some out and spread it all over for a warm glow—or twist off the cap, where you will find a wand you can use to swoop bronzer across cheekbones and along your jawline.

Kevin Cremens

Best Eyeshadow

Chanel Ombre Essentielle

A single stroke of these gorgeous shades will ruin you for all other contenders. The powder is so finely milled and so richly pigmented that it sweeps on effortlessly, and imparts true, pure color that lasts.

Best Lip Liner

Ami Colé Soft Shape Lip Liner

Yup, it’s back in a big way, and this creamy matte formula (available in five shades) swiftly lines and fills in lips, while moisturizing ingredients prevent them from looking cakey or feeling dry. The pièce de résistance: It’s waterproof! “I’m a huge fan of the brand’s lip oils—I literally don’t leave home without one—and I love using this first to create some definition. They’re the perfect duo,” says contributing lifestyle editor Holly Carter.

Best Liquid Foundation

Bobbi Brown Weightless Skin Foundation

With 53 shades to choose from (based on global research using 7,000 faces), we guarantee you’ll find a perfect match. Once you do, you’ll discover that the formula’s medium coverage stays on—and looks seamless—all day, thanks to built-in oil absorbers that keep skin naturally matte and hydrators that prevent flaking and creasing.

Best Powder Blush

DIBS Beauty Duet Baked Blush

It can be a tough sell, especially for people with dry or mature skin. But this baked formula, which feels almost creamy as it blends into cheeks and never clumps, made us reconsider. The complementary color combinations do the work for you; swirl the two shades together with a fluffy brush, then sweep on your cheekbones for a healthy flush of color.

Best Pencil Eyeliner

WYN Beauty by Serena Williams Glideline Longwear Eye Pencil

Do we picture Serena Williams’s iconic, perfectly swooped winged eyeliner whenever we glide her new makeup brand’s jet-black pencil across our lashlines? Of course we do! It’s certainly the easiest—and perhaps only—way to replicate at least one of her graceful, power-packed moves.

Kevin Cremens

Best Lipstick

Nars Explicit Lipstick

This year brought a sea of sheer lipcolors in oil, balm, and stick form—and then there was Nars, a sexy, unabashed lipstick-lipstick. It delivers what we want from a classic bullet: comfortable slip, a punch of pigment that stays on far longer than lip balm, and a satin (not dry, but not glossy) finish. It comes in 36 shades, ranging from neutrals to statement reds, and refillable packaging. “I wore Undressed, a neutral, warm pink, on my wedding day,” says Rivas. “It looked stunning in photos and lasted with minimal touch-ups.”

Violeta Sofia/Trunk Archive

Best Face Oil

Sweet July Skin Irie Power Face Oil

If you’re worried that an oil will clog your skin or make you break out, fear no more. This lightweight version, an essential in Ayesha Curry’s Sweet July Skin line, packs a punch with exfoliating salicylic acid, antioxidant-rich and hydrating squalane, and antiseptic neem seed oil to reduce inflammation. Apply it underneath or in place of moisturizer.

Kevin Cremens

Best Firming and Plumping Serum

InnBeauty Project Elastic Skin

Now 83% Off

TikTokers went crazy for snail mucin this year (yes, the trail of goo snails leave behind is deeply hydrating and plumping), but we’ll stick with this vegan version, thank you very much. It has the same ultra-moisturizing, uniquely viscous texture of the real stuff without feeling sticky, and it tightens and firms with copper peptides and growth factors. “I love that it’s suitable for sensitive skin,” says Rivas

Best Toner

Mary Kay Balancing Toner

We used to tell our friends to skip this stuff because old-school formulas stripped skin of its vital moisture (can’t you just smell the fumes now?). But color us reformed: This gentle, alcohol-free version gets absorbed right into skin while balancing and preparing it for serum and moisturizer.

Best Vitamin C Serum

Dr. Whitney Bowe Beauty Asta C

It’s notoriously difficult to formulate a vitamin C product that’s potent, stable, and doesn’t smell or feel medicine-y. But Dr. Bowe, the doc behind the viral skin cycling method, has done it: This silky fluid has two top-notch forms of the vitamin andzero scent, and it soaks in fast. “It feels so nice, I look forward to putting it on every morning,” Sandoval Box says.

Best Dark Spot Serum

La Roche-Posay MelaB3

Discoloration is one of the most stubborn skin issues. But this formula, tested on our team’s wide-ranging skin tones and types, throws the kitchen sink at it with all-star actives like niacinamide and retinyl palmitate and a breakthrough ingredient called melasyl, which helps prevent more dark spots from forming. During testing, we experienced a noticeable brightening, and a few of our spots really have faded.

Best Hydrating Serum

Versed Water Rush

Now 30% Off

When friends say their skin feels parched no matter what they do, we suggest doubling down with a product containing humectants followed by one containing emollients. Make sure the first is a serum with hyaluronic acid like this fragrance-free, easy-on- the-wallet winner, which also contains glycerin. Let it sink in a bit, then smooth a moisturizing cream with shea butter or ceramides on top.

Best Night Cream

Yoé Ympossible Cream

Here’s what happens when an entrepreneur looking for truly clean skincare meets an Italian cosmetic chemist: a night cream that combines must-have hydrators (ceramides, hyaluronic acid), bioactive anti-inflammatories (chebula, red algae, vitamin B), and dark-spot diminishers (vitamin C and tranexamic acid) and is also hypoallergenic, vegan, and free of known endocrine disruptors. “It’s so hard to find a rich, luxurious anti-aging cream for sensitive skin—but this is it!,” says Sandoval Box. If you prefer something that sinks in quickly, the brand also makes an Ympossible Cream Light. “I use this one in the morning; it feels fantastic and gives me a noticeable glow,” says Glassman. Bonus: Both PCR bottles are refillable.

Best Post-Treatment Serum

RescueMD DNA Repair Complex

Now 35% Off

“After a recent Matrix Pro microneedling treatment, a procedure that strategically injures skin so it can come back plumper and smoother, the dermatologist handed me a blue bottle and said, ‘Put on this and only this,’” says Sandoval Box. “My pinkness vanished within hours, and my glow lasted weeks.” In addition to peptides, antioxidants, and hydrators, the serum contains lapachol, a tree extract that helps along the skin-repair process. P.S. It’s excellent for sunburns, too.

Best Eye Serum

Lancôme Rénergie Yeux H.C.F. Triple Serum

We are always loathe to recommend extraneous steps to our skincare routine, but this eye serum does more than meets the eye. It helps depuff, soften fine lines, and maybe even lift droopy lids a touch. As you press down on the bottle’s pump, formulas emerge from three separate chambers: vitamin C+ and niacinamide; vitamin F; and hyaluronic acid and a peptide. Mix them, then smooth over, under, and all around.

Best Acne Treatment

SkinMedica Acne Clarifying Treatment

Breakouts are no match for this potent prizefighter. It’s made with 2 percent salicylic acid to reduce existing pimples and prevent future ones from forming, while niacinamide and bakuchiol (a plant- based ingredient with similar benefits to retinol) even out your skin tone and reduce the appearance of post-pimple dark spots.

Best Healing Moisturizer

Dr.Jart+ Cicapair Intensive Soothing Repair Milky Lotion

“As a beauty editor, I’m constantly testing new formulas. After a bad reaction to a serum—occupational hazard—this milky soother saved my skin,” says Rivas. It’s lightweight yet hydrating and soothes the skin barrier, or outermost layer, with Centella asiatica and allantoin. If you have sensitive skin, it’s a must-have.

GEORGE/Trunk Archive

Best Retinoid Serum

Paula's Choice Pro Retinaldehyde Dual-Retinoid Treatment

For the skincare-literate, the vitamin-A derivative retinoid needs no introduction. For newbies: It’s the GOAT, reducing fine lines, minimizing dark spots, and firming skin. This first-of-its-kind serum combines two versions of the active: retinal, which is one notch below prescription strength (this one is encapsulated in soothing calcium), and a precursor of adapalene (a retinoid known for its acne-clearing power). Despite the fully loaded formula, we haven’t experienced an iota of dryness or irritation while using a pea-size amount a few times a week—just smooth, clear skin.

Best Eye Masks

PCA Skin Hyaluronic Acid Microneedle Eye Patches

Now 12% Off

“Found my new favorites,” said Glassman the morning after trying these under-eye hydrators. The crescent-shaped patches stay put through a night of sleep, giving the teeny built-in cones of hyaluronic acid ample time to dissolve and infuse into your skin, leaving it plump and smooth.

Best Micellar Makeup Remover

Sofie Pavitt Face Micellar Cleansing Pads

New York–based aesthetician Sofie Pavitt (a trusted skin whisperer and acne banisher) is the mastermind behind these pads. Each gentle, plant- based round is soaked in a solution that contains micelles, tiny cleansing molecules that latch onto makeup and grime and then easily whisk away with water. They don’t leave your skin raw or coated in residue like other wipes. Use them alone or as the first step on days you need a double cleanse.

Best Exfoliant

Kiehl's Clearly Corrective Daily Re-Texturizing Triple Acid Peel

For smoother, clearer, brighter skin minus any redness or rawness, we love this quick, twice-daily leave-on peel. Use it like a toner, patting it onto skin with your palms or a cotton pad. The low dose combo of alpha hydroxy acids, polyhydroxy acid, and salicylic acid guarantees a glassy complexion 24-7.

Best Lightweight Moisturizer

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream

Give it up for this year’s one and only unanimous winner! We’ve all scraped the bottom of multiple jars of this cloud- like, fragrance-free gel- cream, which soaks right in and leaves skin luminous with glycerin, shea butter, niacinamide, squalane, and aloe. It also creates a smooth base for makeup and is ideal for combination and oily skin.

Best Cleanser

Olay Cleansing Melts + Vitamin C

These postage-stamp- size squares of woven fiber transform into a bubbly cleanser as if by magic. Keep a stack by your sink so you can easily grab one, add some water, and lather. You’ll also want to stash some in your carry-on; hooray for no spills and one less TSA-examined liquid. “It takes a lot for me to be wowed after decades of testing beauty products, but these did just that,” says Sandoval Box.

Kevin Cremens

Best LED Mask

1. Therabody TheraFace Mask

The bad news is if someone were to walk in on you wearing this mask, they might scream. The good news is you’ll be way too blissed-out to notice. Red, blue, and red + infrared wavelengths stimulate collagen production, fight acne-causing bacteria, and increase circulation—all as the device’s “micro-motors” give an incredible face and head massage (read: you’ll want to use it regularly). “There are no wires, so I can walk around and get things done while I treat my skin,” says Glassman. Testers also found that it cleared up a pimple quickly and gave skin that healthy, well-rested radiance you have after a chill vacay—so according to beauty math, it’s a great deal.

Best Laser

2. NIRA Pro

This near-infrared laser is nonablative, which means it won’t affect the top layer of your skin while it heats the lower layers to stimulate collagen production. All you’ll feel is warmth, and it’s safe for every skin tone. In fact, it’s so easy—you don’t need to apply any special gels or sprays, just methodically move the tip across the skin as it pulses—that you may start to wonder if it’s working. Trust us and keep going: Collagen takes a few months to form, and when it does, it noticeably smooths fine lines and wrinkles.

Best Hair Removal Device

3. Silk’n 7

When you add up the time, money, and energy you can spend on hair removal appointments and ingrown-hair care, owning a device that gets rid of it permanently starts to make a lot of sense. This new at-home IPL machine has the latest tech with two forms of energy that are safe for most skin types (though, as with any hair removal device, people with fair skin and dark hair tend to see more success). The rotating head and three attachments help us treat spots we struggled with in the past, like our neck, chin, and jawline, and it’s great for the body, too

Ruo Bing Li/Trunk Archive

Best Scrub

Sio Beauty Multivitamin Face & Body Scrub

Oh, how we love a scrub that comes in a tube—it’s so much less messy and more sanitary than a water-logged jar. Plus, because this formula contains ultra-fine perlite, a natural alternative to plastic microbeads, it’s not only safe for our waterways but gentle enough for all skin types. As it sloughs away dead skin cells, it hydrates and brightens with vitamins A, C, and E.

Best Neck Cream

U Beauty The Sculpt Neck & Décolleté Concentrate

Minutes after you massage this upward from your chest to your jawline, you’ll feel a slight tightening effect, as if little invisible fingers were holding your skin up just a bit. Ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and squalane make the area more supple, while antioxidants zero in on free radicals, the molecules that wreak havoc on skin-firming collagen and elastin. “I’ve been using this nightly, and I really do feel a little less gobble-gobble,” Glassman says.

Best Lotion

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Daily Hydrating Body Lotion

Ultracreamy yet quick to absorb, this has become our post-shower go-to. Shea butter and avocado oil leave skin feeling silky all day, and the scent, a blend of zesty lemon, marine notes, jasmine, and rose, is warm and exhilarating—and not at all like the classic, medicinal Eight Hour fragrance.

Best Deodorant

AKT London The Deodorant Balm

“This has restored my faith in natural deodorants,” says Rivas. Founded by two musical theater performers who met in London’s West End, it’s made with arrowroot powder to withstand the sweatiest of activities. “While the idea of applying deodorant with your fingers originally felt—I’ll be honest—questionable, the cream smooths right on and absorbs quickly. It’s worth it because it works,” says Rivas. Best of all, it comes in five lovely scents plus an unscented version.

Best Body Wash

Dove Serum Body Wash

Now 20% Off

Dove’s latest range pairs its beloved moisturizing cleanser with ingredients tailored to your skin type, so it not only washes but addresses dullness, breakouts, eczema, rough patches, and more. Feeling dry? Reach for Hydration Boost with hyaluronic acid. Dealing with body acne? Try Acne Clear, which is infused with salicylic acid. To even out your skin, check out Glow Recharge or Melanin Even Tone. Each offers a delicious scent and a rich, sudsy lather.

Shani Darden Body Reform Treatment Serum

Now 20% Off

Our latest obsession from celeb facialist Shani Darden gives a neck-to-toe glow. Made with granactive retinoid (an ester of retinoic acid that

accelerates cell turnover at the same rate as a prescription-strength retinoid) and vitamin C, the fragrance-free lotion helps firm crepey spots

while smoothing bumps (such as keratosis pilaris). It also reduces the appearance of stretch marks and brightens uneven tone. Start applying it once or twice a week, then gradually ramp up as needed.

Best Post-Hair Removal Treatment

First Aid Beauty Ingrown Hair Pads

Right after a shave or bikini wax, swipe on one of these single-use pads to keep skin smooth and free of painful bumps. Doused in an exfoliating formula made with glycolic and salicylic acids, it sloughs away dead skin, preventing ingrown hairs. Witch hazel and aloe make them safe and soothing for sensitive skin.

Best Mist

Say La V. Refreshing Veauty Mist

For a hands-off approach to freshening up below deck, consider this quick-drying moisturizing and balancing mist. Rosewater and aloe hydrate and soothe skin while prebiotics help balance the microbiome and neutralize odors. And the scent comes from the rosewater, not an artificial fragrance.

Best Hydrating Balm

DeoDoc Meno Care Hydrating Balm

All skin becomes drier and thinner as we age, but vulva skin is especially delicate. A balm is your richest, most healing over-the-counter option, and this one—the creators include a gynecologist—is gentle, fragrance- and allergen-free, and deeply hydrating on contact.

Best Deodorizer

Ban Private Parts Deodorizing Lotion

File this under products we didn’t think we needed…until we tried it, and now we can’t start the day without it. Sure, we’ve gone off-label with deodorant before, but we like knowing that this one is hypoallergenic and made with ingredients specifically for skin down there. The tapioca-starch-based lotion-to-powder formula absorbs moisture and prevents odor so we feel free as a bird all day.

Christoph Klutsch/Blaublut

Best Dry Shampoo

Amika Perk Up Ultra

Blame it on bingeing America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, but we’ve never been more into a head-turning, bigger- the-better blowout. And this extra-strength dry shampoo takes fullness to another level. Aim it at roots from about an arm’s length away, wait a few minutes for the tapioca starch and bamboo stem extract to soak up excess oil, then massage your roots to build them up. Any remnants of white powder blend in easily—and holy hair!

Best Strengthening Shampoo and Conditioner

Nexxus Amino Bond Shampoo & Conditioner

“After using these sulfate- free formulas for a couple of weeks, I realized that my hair texture had become much softer and easier to style,” says Sandoval Box. Credit goes to keratin protein and amino acids, which help repair damage and make any hair texture stronger, springier, and more manageable.

Best Hair Mask

Fenty Beauty The Comeback Kid Instant Damage Repair Treatment

Rihanna, take our money. The whole Fenty Hair collection is great, but we found love in this damage treatment. After a single use (just swap it with your conditioner in the shower), we noticed how much healthier and less frizzy our hair felt— and the addictive amber scent did not disappoint. It’s also super versatile: For finer hair, try leaving it on your midlengths and ends for a few minutes, then rinse. For thick, coarse, and curly hair, massage it into wet hair from roots to tips and leave it in.

Best Shampoo and Conditioner for Wavy Hair

V&Co. Beauty Wavy Shampoo and Conditioner

Now 50% Off

This winning combo has a gorgeous ripple effect: In addition to the brand’s signature nourishing and reparative peptides, it contains rice protein to minimize frizz and boost elasticity and bounce. All that, and they’re each under 10 bucks at Walmart.

Best Shampoo and Conditioner for Fine or Thinning Hair

Fable & Mane Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner

Now 97% Off

Yes, they add volume. But they also do an inside job: strengthening and nourishing fine or thinning strands. The star plumping ingredient in the shampoo is fenugreek, and the hero in the conditioner is hydrating black seed extract. Both smell like Indian jasmine, sandalwood, saffron, and nutmeg, so your shower will feel like an Ayurvedic spa.

Kevin Cremens

Best Treatment for Grays and Blonds

Moroccanoil Treatment Purple

Now 47% Off

If your hair falls into this color range, it might be prone to dryness and to developing a yellow cast. This argan-oil-infused treatment (Oprah’s hairstylist uses Moroccanoil The Original as a last step to tame edges and flyaways) now comes in a purple tint to counteract unwanted tones as it smooths strands.

Best Shampoo and Conditioner for Color-Treated Hair

Herbal Essences Pure Grapeseed Color Nurture Shampoo and Conditioner

Because sulfates, the main cleansing ingredient and foaming agent in most shampoos, tend to strip haircolor, we’re constantly on the lookout for sulfate- free options that still give you satisfying suds and a deep clean. This one delivered so well that we double-checked the label—and for extra credit, it contains a potent dose of grapeseed oil, which helps slow color fading.

Best Hair Oil

Biolage Smooth Proof Serum

This oil is so non-greasy that you can apply it on wet or dry hair and it sinks in instantly. Rub a couple of drops between your palms and smooth it through damp strands before blow- drying hair to protect it from hot tool damage, or scrunch it into curls to hydrate and define them. “I use it on dry hair to help tame the halo of fuzzies I get on humid days,” Rivas says.

Best Styling Cream for Wavy and Curly Hair

Curlsmith Full Body Volumizing Lotion

If air-drying makes your fine waves or curls fall flat, especially on the top of your head, prepare for liftoff. After applying leave-in conditioner, we work this all the way through strands to make curls look fuller, and on days we need a touch more hold, we cocktail it with a little gel.

Best Gel for Curly Hair

Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Sculpting Gel

We can’t stress the benefits of a good bond builder. But beware: When every product in your hair routine has a bunch of bond-building protein, you can end up with strands that are too strong (imagine a bodybuilder who can’t touch his toes). Happily, this styling gel is protein-free (it’s also free of fragrance, alcohol, and silicone) and still offers firm hold and nice shine.

Best Setting Foam

TGIN Miracle Styling Multi-Use Setting Foam

If you like to mix it up texture- wise (wash-and-go curls on Wednesday, sleek and straight by Saturday), we highly recommend adding a setting foam to your styling arsenal. This one keeps curls hydrated, lustrous, and defined, and it’s less crunchy than gel. It also comes in handy for more structured looks, like finger waves, or for wrapping hair before setting it under a hooded hair dryer.

Best Leave-In Conditioner for Curls

Shea Moisture Bond Repair Leave-In Conditioner

Bond builders in this leave-in conditioner help repair broken chemical bonds inside hair strands, restoring strength and elasticity. The great thing about this conditioner is that it’s made specifically for types 3 and 4 hair, so you’ll not only fix damage but also add much-needed moisture to your curls or coils.

Best Leave-In Conditioner Spray

Color Wow Money Mist

It takes literally one second to spritz this on, and poof— your hair is shinier and silkier, whether you hit it with a hair dryer or flat iron or let it dry au naturel. The lightweight leave- in also makes a fantastic detangler and protects strands from UV and heat.

Best Finishing Serum

Dyson Chitosan Post-Style Serum

The Titan of Tools has rolled out its first styling product. After drying hair, press the bottle into your palm to dispense a perfectly dosed drop of lightweight serum, then work it from midlengths to ends. Chitosan (a mushroom extract) gives strands a flexible hold, which means less frizz and no sticky stiffness.

Best Volumizer

Roz Root Lift Spray

The best volumizers—ones that give major oomph without any tacky residue—are aerosols that emit superfine mists. This newcomer is the first VOC-free aerosol, meaning it doesn’t emit air pollutants. “When my haircolorist applied the clean, rose-scented spray before a blowout, the result was Cindy Crawford–level volume,” shares Sandoval Box. “But even when all I do is spritz this on dry hair, I get such a pretty boost with no stiffness.”

Best Hair Tie

Mane Rainbow Fabric Hair Ties

Stretchy enough not to snag or dent hair and just grippy enough to stay put, these sorbet-hued ’80s throwbacks are looped in our hair or stacked on our wrists pretty much always. Though they’re made for all textures, we’ve found that the wide-cut fabric is especially awesome for fitting around thick and coily hair.

Conduit +n Zaicew/Blaublut

Best Styling Stick

Briogeo Style + Treat Sleek Stick

You’ve dried your hair and pulled it into a style—now, how to tame all those baby hairs? For instant polish, grab this smart stick and ever so gently slick them back into your ponytail or along your forehead. The clean formula (free of silicones, alcohol, and petrolatum) won’t dry out, flake, or damage strands.

Beth Sternbaum/ Art Partner/Trunk Archive

Best Co-Wash

Aveda Be Curly Advanced Co-Wash

A co-wash can be a real curl saver. Unlike harsher, sulfate-loaded shampoos, this sulfate- and paraben-free vegan formula cleans hair without stripping an iota of moisture. It also nourishes, makes detangling easier, and strengthens, leaving hair soft and defined. Fortified with vegan peptides and kokum seed butter, it’s ideal for 3A to 4C textures that thrive when well-moisturized.

Best Curling Iron

T3 SinglePass Curl X

“I’m beyond thrilled for T3’s latest version of the curling iron I’ve used almost daily for years,” Sandoval Box says. It has an extra-long barrel to accommodate long hair and big sections, so you can whip through a full head of hair faster. “The biggest improvement is how gentle the clamp is; I can pump it as I twist the barrel around my hair, and it never snags or sticks.”

Best Flat Iron

If your hair is delicate, damage-prone, or textured, this tool is worth the investment. A typical flat iron’s temperature fluctuates as you use it, resulting in too-hot spots that fry hair or too-cool areas that force you to run it through the same section over and over again. This one stays consistent at the ideal 365 degrees (hot enough to work, not so hot to damage). ”I confidently recommend it for every texture from very fine to very coily,” Sandoval Box says.

Best Haircolor Tool

L'Oréal Paris Colorsonic

“No matter how practiced I’ve become, doing my roots at home is a project,” says Sandoval Box. “This innovation, which took 10 years to develop, addresses all my pain points.” First, you pop your color cartridge (sold separately) into the device, and it mixes it for you! Then, the color comes through the device’s built-in brush, which distributes it so you don’t have to part your hair into sections. “Once I cover my roots, the remaining color is saved in the cartridge and ready to use next time— no waste.”

Best LED Hair Tool

CurrentBody Skin LED Hair Regrowth Helmet

Hair growth devices are all over the internet these days, but this one has the key attributes we look for, like red LED lights at a wavelength of 640 nm, which according to dermatologist Robert Finney, MD, increases blood flow to hair follicles and reduces inflammation to trigger new growth. The sleek hands- free helmet beams all over the head at once (no moving a wand around), and if you commit to daily 10-minute treatments, you can expect to see new growth in around 16 weeks.

Kevin Cremens

Best Brush

FHI Heat UNbrush

Perhaps you, too, have been mesmerized by video after video showing this number’s smooth plastic bristles slip-sliding through a tangled mane. “I tested it on my daughter’s sensitive head and rarely heard a peep of protest. It was an enormous improvement from the usual ordeal,” Sandoval Box says.

Best Tinted Moisturizer

Kosas BB Burst

Scores of people tried this gel cream this year—and then raved about it on social media. Perfect for days when you want minimal makeup, it has a lightweight gel texture that stays put and gives just enough coverage to even out your skin tone and create a beautiful, your-skin-only- better finish. It also contains ingredients like skin-plumping copper peptides and soothing zinc.

Best Lip Balm

Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm

Over four million people, us included, watched the TikTok video featuring this formula’s buttery, balmy texture, which quenches dry lips instantly. It’s available in tinted and untinted options, including Iced Coffee, a beautiful warm brown that looks stunning on all skin tones.

Best Fake Nails

Olive&June The Super Stick Mani

Even if every other fake nail has popped off within minutes of your application, give these a go: They’re the easiest to put on (just apply the sticker, then press on the nail), and they’ve far surpassed our wear expectations, holding steady for days—sometimes a week! If you can’t go full Dolly Parton, there are chic designs with short lengths, too (all the better to type/cook/live with).

Kate Sandoval Box (she/her) is the Beauty Director at Oprah Daily. She has over 18 years of experience at national women’s media brands; and, in fact, started her publishing career at O, The Oprah Magazine. She’s also held beauty editor roles at Shape, Self, Latina, and Cosmopolitan. Kate tests hundreds and hundreds of beauty products that cross her desk each year and interviews many top experts, celebrities, and indie brand founders to bring you the best in beauty. Follow her on Instagram.

Genesis Rivas is the Beauty Editor at Oprah Daily, where she covers hair, makeup, skin, nails, and more. Before joining the Oprah Daily team, she wrote for several publications, including InStyle, Real Simple, and Shape. When she’s not testing, researching, and writing fun and educational beauty content, you can find her dancing and eating her way through New York City. Follow her on Instagram or TikTok

Holly Carter is the style features director at O, The Oprah Magazine. Obsessed with all things hair and any shoe with studs, she’s currently working on upping her social media skills and decluttering her apartment sans Marie Kondo.