InStyle says its 2025 Best Beauty Buys selected 160 winners from thousands of products editors and guest experts tried over the preceding year. The awards cover six beauty categories, and the reported criteria include formulation, performance, shade range, short- and long-term results, price, and packaging. The feature describes the approach, but does not publish a complete judge roster, scoring weights, or standardized testing protocols.
What the 2025 Best Beauty Buys covered
InStyle’s 2025 feature presents Best Beauty Buys as an annual evaluation across six areas: skin care, body care, hair care, makeup, nail care, and fragrance. It reports that editors and a curated panel tested thousands of products over the preceding year and selected 160 winners, including new launches and established favorites. “Thousands” is the publication’s description; it does not give an exact product count. InStyle’s 2025 feature is the source for these process details.
Who evaluated the products
The feature identifies the panel by professional disciplines rather than providing a complete, verifiable list of individual judges. The named disciplines are dermatologists, aestheticians, makeup artists, hairstylists, and nail artists. InStyle credits Lauren Valenti and Kara Jillian Brown on the article, but the accessible account does not establish that they were the full panel or identify every judge’s credentials. It would be inaccurate to fill in missing names by inference.
What the judges said they considered
InStyle reports six selection dimensions. It does not state how these factors were weighted or describe a standardized protocol for comparing products within each category.
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- Skin Type: Normal, Dry, Combination, and Oily
- Skincare Concerns: Dryness, Dullness, and Loss of Firmness and Elast
- Formulation: what a product is made of and how its formula is judged.
- Performance: how well it works for its stated purpose.
- Shade range: the shades offered, particularly relevant to color cosmetics.
- Short- and long-term results: both immediate effects and results observed over time.
- Price: cost as one consideration in the selection.
- Packaging: the product’s presentation and container as part of the evaluation.
These are the criteria the feature reports, not a published scoring rubric. Without category-level protocols or weightings, readers cannot use the article to reproduce the evaluation or determine how a particular trade-off affected a winner.
Examples of 2025 winners
ABC News’ May 19, 2025 shopping roundup identifies the following products as Best Beauty Buys picks. It is a selection of examples, not a complete inventory of InStyle’s 160 winners.
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| Product | Award listed by ABC News | What ABC’s description says |
|---|---|---|
| Karma Naturals Nail Polish Remover Wipes | Best Polish Remover | ABC describes the wipes as removing polish and being convenient for travel. |
| Agent Nateur Holi (Stick) Ambroxan Cloud Deodorant | Best Deodorant Stick | ABC characterizes it as aluminum-free and soothing or hydrating. |
| Lolavie Glossing Detangler | Best Detangling Spray | ABC describes it as a detangler, heat protectant, and frizz fighter. |
| Saie Glowy Super Gel | Best Liquid Highlighter | ABC lists it as the liquid-highlighter pick. |
| The Outset Lip Oasis Glossy Treatment | Best Lip Gloss | ABC lists it as the lip-gloss pick. |
| Violette_FR Yeux Paint | Best Liquid Eyeshadow | ABC lists it as the liquid-eyeshadow pick. |
| ISDIN Fusion Water MAGIC SPF 40 | Best Sunscreen | ABC discusses its finish and makeup layering as cosmetic-use considerations, not medical findings. |
| NARS Laguna Bronzing Powder | Best Powder Bronzer | ABC lists it as the powder-bronzer pick. |
Descriptions in the table are ABC News’ characterizations, not independent product tests. Its article includes purchase links and says it may receive a commission from purchases made through them; it also notes that some prices can change. That disclosure belongs to ABC’s roundup and should not be assumed to describe InStyle’s original awards feature. Read ABC News’ May 19, 2025 roundup for its listed examples and shopping context.
A brand-hosted awards PDF also lists e.l.f. Cosmetics Power Grip Primer, e.l.f. Cosmetics Camo Liquid Blush, and e.l.f. SKIN Bronzing Drops among InStyle Best Beauty Buys listings. It offers corroboration for those named products, but is not InStyle’s full winners list. View the e.l.f. awards PDF.
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How to interpret the award seal
Accolade Licensing, part of YGS Group, describes licensing the Best Beauty Buys seal for products that have earned an award. Its page says the program has a history of more than 29 years, while ABC News and Good Morning America described the 2025 edition as the 30th consecutive one. Those statements use different framings and dates, so they should not be treated as interchangeable counts. The licensing page does not publish specific rates or detailed terms. See Accolade Licensing’s Best Beauty Buys information.
A seal signals that a product received an award under the program; it does not, by itself, tell shoppers the scoring method, category-specific test conditions, or how the product will suit an individual. InStyle’s reported criteria give a useful outline of what was considered, while the missing weights and protocols limit how precisely readers can compare one winning product with another on the basis of the award alone.
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