The 45 Best Beauty Products We Tried in 2021

"Self-care" is undoubtedly one of the biggest buzzwords in beauty this year. You could even be tired of hearing it at this point, but it being semi-overrated can't discount that it's something we have to do once in while. Think of it like a haircut, or a root touch-up, but for your inner peace.

That said, if your definition of self-care is pretending to be in a Vogue Beauty Secrets episode, you've come to the right place. We have not one but 45 potential additions to your routine below—all of which we have tried, tested, and swear by ourselves. Scroll ahead to see the winners of this year's edition of the Preview Beauty Awards!

Skincare | Body | Hair | Makeup: Base | Makeup: Eyes & Lips | Fragrance

Best Skincare Products 2021

Best Daily Cleanser: Careline Skin Jelly Cleanser (P285)

Formulated with aloe vera extract and centella asiatica, Careline Skin's Gentle Jelly Cleanser washes away dirt and oil while keeping your skin calm, fresh, and hydrated.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Acne Cleanser: Neutrogena Deep Clean Acne Foaming Cleanser (P249)

With a combination of salicylic acid and Neutrogena's Amino Micellar Technology, this cleanser provides a gentle yet deep clean that'll bid your breakout woes goodbye.

SHOP: Shopee/Watsons

Best Makeup Remover: Lululun Cleansing Reset Water (P795)

For something that's free of oil, alcohol, and fragrance, the Lululun Cleansing Reset Water sure packs a punch when removing makeup—yes, including waterproof mascara.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Exfoliator: Ole Henriksen Glow2OH Dark Spot Toner (P1770)

Leave the brightening and smoothing work to this potent glycolic and lactic acid toner from Ole Henriksen.

SHOP: Sephora

Best Serum: Kiehl's Micro-Dose Anti-Aging Retinol Serum (P4950)

Everything intimidating about retinol doesn't exist in this serum. Instead of peeling and dryness, its micro-dose formula offers gentle skin turnover and barrier repair perks from ceramides and peptide.

SHOP: Lazada

Best Face Oil: Pili Ani Self Care Night Recovery Oil (P3200)

Finishing off your night time routine with this rejuvenating oil will make your dream of waking up with glowing skin a reality.

SHOP: Available on piliani.com.ph, Powerplant Mall

Best Hydrating Moisturizer: Sunnies Face Dream Cream (P795)

A cross between a serum and a gel-cream, Sunnies Face's first skincare product is a do-it-all tub you can count on for a smooth, hydrated base.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Brightening Moisturizer: Laneige Radian-C Cream (P2550)

Two weeks is all the Radian-C cream needs to give you radiant, more even-toned skin. To cop that bouncy, K-beauty glow though, you don’t have to wait longer than a few seconds.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Eye Cream: Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate Matrix (P5000)

This eye concentrate trains your eye area to repair itself, promoting cell and collagen renewal to target everything from crow's feet, puffy eyes, and dark circles.

SHOP: Zalora

Best Eye Serum: Clarins Double Serum Eye (P4550)

Reminiscent of the brand's best-selling face serum, the Double Serum Eye helps firm, smoothen, and brighten with its unique bi-phase formula enriched with 13 hardworking plant extracts.

SHOP: Available in Rustan's

Best Sunscreen: Two Lips Screen Pore-Refining Sunscreen Gel Cream SPF 50 PA+++ (P3150)

Aside from stellar sun protection, Screen refines the look of pores with prebiotic components and niacinamide. It also leaves your skin with a glass skin finish that’ll be a shame to cover with makeup.

SHOP: Lazada

Best Tinted Sunscreen: Celeteque Tinted Face Stick SPF 50 (P399)

Keep this nifty sunscreen stick in your makeup bag for sheer, matte coverage and antioxidant protection on the go.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Acne Treatment: In Her Element Maskne Gel (P445)

If you want to zap a mask-induced zit by morning, a layer of this powerful acne gel with cica, salicylic acid, and tea tree will do you no wrong.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Sheet Mask: Dr. Franz Anti-Aging Dual Mask System (P2800)

Unlike your average sheet mask, this two-step system uses patented technology to deliver high doses of hydrating and barrier-strengthening ingredients deep into the skin's layers for a youthful glow.

SHOP: shop.belomed.com

Best Body Care Products 2021

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Best Body Wash for Dry Skin: Olay Creme Body Wash Brightening and Firming (P349)

The niacinamide and peptide in this Olay body wash addresses dull, uneven skin tone as it washes away impurities with its creamy leather.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Body Wash for Sensitive Skin: Safeguard Gentle Micellar Unscented Face & Body Cleanser (P339)

This body wash was probably made unscented on purpose so nothing will distract you from how impressively it removes 99.9% of germs, dirt, and sebum without an overly drying feel.

SHOP: Lazada/Watsons

Best Body Gel: Hyaloo Glow Boost Deep Hydrating Gel (P365)

This is the body moisturizer for people who don't like body moisturizer. The lightweight gel absorbs as quickly as you can apply it, charging your skin with four types of hyaluronic acid, vitamins C and E, and niacinamide in the process.

SHOP: Lazada/Watsons

Best Body Lotion: Nivea Intensive Moisture Body Milk (P213)

The luxurious finish that this nourishing lotion leaves on dry skin is almost unbelievable for its price. All the more reason to stock up, if we're being honest.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Hair Removal Device: Braun Silk Epil-5 (P4499)

Braun Silk-epil 5 is like a smartphone for hair removal. Using an intelligent sensor, it gets rid of even the shortest strands of hair in the most effective and pain-free way possible.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Daily Intimate Care Product: Lactacyd Pro Sensitive Feminine Wash (P239)

Lactacyd's Pro-Sensitive Feminine Wash has a gentle, milky formula that restores the pH balance on your intimate area to protect you from itch and irritation on the daily.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Special Intimate Care Product: Gynepro Ultra Protection Feminine Wash (P80)

As tempting as soap can be for that time of the month, you'll be much better off with the odor, itch, and irritation protection that chlorhexidine digluconate offers through Gynepro’s red day feminine wash.

SHOP: Shopee/Watsons

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Best Hair Products 2021

Best Shampoo for Color-Treated Hair: Tresemmé Blonde Brilliance Shampoo (P286)

When you can't run to the salon for a toning session, TRESemmé's Blonde Brilliance purple shampoo lets you DIY your way to vibrant, non-brassy hair with ease.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Shampoo for Damaged Hair: Dove Keratin Tri-Silk Serum Shampoo Intense Repair (P132)

Pumped full of damage-repairing keratin, Dove's Keratin Tri-Silk Serum Shampoo helps nourish dry and rough hair from the core, leaving hair at its softest and most manageable yet.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Scented Shampoo: Herbal Essences Herbal Essences Argan Oil of Morocco Shampoo (P279)

The fresh vanilla scent of the Herbal Essences Argan Oil Shampoo is nothing short of addicting. But you know another reason to keep coming back? The moisturizing perks of its argan oil content that brings dull locks back to life.

SHOP: Shopee/Watsons

Best Conditioner: Cream Silk Ultimate Reborn Dry Rescue Tri-Oleo Conditioner (P139)

Dry, dehydrated tresses are no match for the moisture-locking power of the Cream Silk Dry Rescue Conditioner, which frees hair from up to 97% of parchedness right from the first wash.

SHOP: Watsons/Shopee

Best Treatment for Dry Hair: Pantene Collagen Miracle Hair Treatment Shots (P49)

Feeling extra dry? Give this golden tube 10 minutes and it'll quench and repair your strands with a mixture of collagen and pro-vitamin B5 that strengthens hair from the inside and out.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Treatment for Hair Fall: Kérastase Genesis Anti Hair-Fall Fortifying Serum (P2950)

The 1.5% aminexil in Kérastase's Genesis Scalp Serum improves hair's hold in the scalp, minimizing hair fall and breakage while creating an optimal environment for hair growth.

SHOP: Lazada

Best Heat Protectant: Fuwarie Hair Mist for Curl (P495)

The next time you're in the mood for waves, give your locks a generous spritzing of this curling mist to shield it from heat damage and unwanted frizz. You'll love its refreshing floral scent, too.

SHOP: Lazada/Zalora

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Best Base Makeup 2021

Best Primer: Shiseido Synchro Skin Soft Blurring Primer (P2200)

A pea-sized amount of the Shiseido Synchro Skin Soft Blurring Primer gives a soft-focus, pore-refining finish that'll tempt you to skip foundation.

SHOP: Zalora

Best Foundation: Happy Skin Second Skin Serum Cushion Foundation (P999)

The natural coverage and fresh matte finish you'll get from Happy Skin's Second Skin Serum Cushion Foundation already beats many cult-favorite cushions out there. The skin-loving cocktail of hyaluronic acid, kahai, oil, niacinamide, and SPF 15 that it comes with is but a bonus.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee/Watsons/Sephora/Zalora

Best Skin Tint: Issy & Co. Active Skin Tint SPF 30 (P499)

We're not exaggerating when we say that Issy & Co.'s Active Skin Tint is the perfect lightweight base for the tropics. It seamlessly fuses the benefits of skincare and makeup with an oil-free formulation, broad-spectrum sun protection, and a sheer and breathable finish anyone will love.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Concealer: Dior Forever Skin Correct Concealer (P2600)

The "forever" in the Dior Forever Concealer is there for a reason. Its full coverage will stay on your skin for as long as you let it, so you never have to worry about touching up.

SHOP: Available in SM Aura Premier, The Podium Mall

Best Cream Blush: Nars Air Matte Blush (P1800)

With the pillowy feel of a mousse and the staying power of a powder, the Nars Air Matte Blush adds a delicate flush that looks and feels like skin.

SHOP: Available in Rustan's

Best Powder Blush: Ever Bilena Advance Bloom Blush (P199)

For those who love the customizability of a powder blush, the buildable and blendable shades of the Ever Bilena Advance Bloom Blush can do no wrong.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Highlighter: Stila Heaven's Hue Highlighter (P1450)

Stila’s Heaven's Hue Highlighter blends smooth like butter, effortlessly rendering a luminous pop even without a brush or pro blending skills.

SHOP: Available in Rustan's

Best Eye & Lip Makeup 2021

Best Eyebrow Product: Benefit Powmade (P1330)

Benefit's Powmade gives everyone the best shot at pulling off flawlessly sculpted brows, containing built-in brush wiper for better pigment control plus a waterproof and smudgeproof formula that'll stay on all day.

SHOP: Lazada/Sephora

Best Eyeliner: K-Palette 1Day Tattoo Procast the Eyeliner (P895)

The flexible and fine point on the K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Procast the Eyeliner can create the subtlest feline flick in various colors—burgundy, pink, and purple included.

SHOP: Lazada/Zalora

Best Mascara: Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara (P750)

Rare Beauty's Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara perfectly coats and separates each strand with its curvy brush so your lashes still look like your lashes, but better.

SHOP: Sephora

Best Lip Balm: Colourette Colourbalm (P299)

Colourette's Colourbalm imparts a glossy sheen that’ll remind you of the first tube of lip gloss you owned, except it's miles lighter, more comfortable, and the shades are as flattering as can be.

SHOP: Lazada/Shopee

Best Luxury Lipstick: Guerlain Rouge G Luxurious Velvet (P1900, refill; P2050, mirror case)

Guerlain's Rouge G Luxurious Velvet Lipstick in Flame Red delivers a fiery, orange red that feels as plush and luxurious as its velvet-decorated case.

SHOP: Sephora

Best Drugstore Lipstick: Maybelline Color Sensational Ultimatte Lipstick (P299)

As if having so many foolproof shades in one range wasn’t enough, the Maybelline Color Sensational Ultimatte Lipstick is so pigmented that one swipe looks like three.

SHOP: Shopee/Watsons

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Best Fragrances 2021

Best Gender Neutral Fragrance: Maison Francis Kurkdjian gentle Fluidity Gold Edition (P11,350, 70ml)

The warm, scrumptious trail of vanilla and ambery woods that comes with a spritz of Maison Francis Kurdkjian's gentle Fluidity is definite date night material, regardless of what bathroom you use.

SHOP: Available in Adora, Greenbelt 5

Best Floral Fragrance: Chanel N°5 L'Eau Eau de Toilette (Price available upon request)

Known as the minimalist N°5, the Chanel N°5 L'Eau tenders its predecessor’s floral heart with a fresh, citrus twist and a powdery drydown that embodies youthful elegance.

SHOP: Available in Rustan's Makati

Best Citrus Fragrance: Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Forever Pour Femme (P6650, 100ml)

The sunniest Light Blue flanker yet, Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Forever renews the beloved fragrance with a cheerful layer of orange blossom and white flowers.

SHOP: Available in major department stores

Best Woody Fragrance: Tom Ford Oud Wood (P12,600)

Dark, smoky, and sensual at heart, Tom Ford Oud Wood possesses the kind of allure one would expect from a luxury fragrance with rare oud, sandalwood, and amber.

SHOP: Available in Rustan's Makati

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Produced by Nicole Arcano

Art by Bacs Arcebal

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