We're Calling It: 20 New Beauty Products That Will Be Cult Favorites by 2020
As a beauty editor, I come in contact with hundreds of products each week in every single category of beauty. (This is not an exaggeration.) From fragrance to lipsticks to body washes to foundation to nipple butter (yep, really), my desk, car, bathroom vanity, and every crevice in between are stuffed to the gills with all things new and exciting in beauty. And yet, so too is my shopping cart.
You see, one would think that after writing and reading about beauty every day, I'd be overstimulated and want absolutely nothing to do with the stuff after hours. But that actually couldn't be further from the truth! Yes, I have formed a jaded and ever-skeptical eye when it comes to sleuthing and vetting products, but considering there are so many amazing brands and formulas out there—all of which debut on a rapid-fire basis—I'm constantly adding things to my need-to-try-or-buy list. Many things do come across my desk, but if they don't, or if there's something I love (or miss!) so much I know I'll need a restock, I pull out my wallet with a beauty-thirsty vengeance.
Each week, we'll be sharing the special products that caught our eye and gained the most swipes from our credit cards. Ahead, the best beauty products to buy right now from all of our favorite retailers such as Sephora, Nordstrom, Violet Grey, Dermstore, and more. Keep scrolling and happy shopping!
Violet Grey
The Body Oil
The new body oil of new body oils, this ultra-luxurious formula was created by Mutha Beauty's founder Hope Smith when she was pregnant. It's filled with 100% botanical ingredients that are rich in nutrients and skin-plumping fatty acids like rosehip oil, grape seed oil, and apricot oil. The finish is glowy and dewy, and miraculously, it absorbs into the skin with lightning speed while maintaining ultimate hydration.
The Cleanser
Every other skincare product embellished with words like "exfoliating," "hydrating," and "purifying," has nothing on Reflekt's diamond-in-the-rough cleanser. It's an underground celebrity must-have only the elite seemed to have known about until recently. Because the retailer is always one step ahead, it's now a staple on Violet Grey's website thanks to a boast-worthy roster of eco-friendly jojoba beads, hyaluronic acid, vegetable collagen, and vitamin B5. Together, they de-gunk accumulated skin yucks and make a dull, seasonally sad complexion sing.
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The Brow Product
Even though we know many makeup artists still love and use iconic formulas from Mac Cosmetics, we've admittedly been pretty caught up in our addiction to favorite brow-must-haves from Benefit, Anastasia Beverly Hills, and Glossier. Until, that is, this dual-sided little baby fell into our laps.
On one end, you have a liquid liner that creates precise, feathery strokes (superior, we must say, to Glossier's new famed Brow Flick!) and on the other, a long-lasting powder formula to gift your arches with definition that's velveteen-smooth.
The Hand Treatment
Why is it that handcare is one of the first things out the window when it comes to our beauty routine? Luckily, this epic hand peel from Susanne Kaufmann is so beautiful it's taken top priority on our vanities, and it's probably the best hand treatment we've used to date. (In fact, it's so good, it's been selling out on Violet Grey. Here's why it's magical: featuring biogomm’age—a unique, biodegradable exfoliant bead that encapsulates antioxidant-rich vitamin E in plant-derived cellulose—plus other rejuvenating ingredients like vitamin B, shea butter, and sweet almond oil, it's this winter's sole solution for stubbornly dry, chapped hands.
The Body Exfoliator
This revolutionary new product from the body and sex goddesses at Nécessaire has been making waves ever since its launch a few months ago, and honestly, we think it's surpassed the beloved paths other cult favorites like the Body Lotion and Body Wash paved before it. If you're after sparkling-smooth skin this winter, you'll love the harmonious way bamboo charcoal, pumice, glycolic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, and marula oil work in tandem to slough and soften the skin without any of the irritation commonly associated with other scrubs or exfoliators.
Sephora
The Blush
Celebrity makeup artist Patrick Ta is known for making his A-list clientele glow to the heavens. And, bless him, this year he launched his very own beauty brand outfitted with the most glimmering of essentials. The latest? A velvety blush that comes in four different monochromatic moments: She's Sincere, She's Passionate, She's Adorable, and She's Seductive.
The Lip Treatment
Laneige's overnight Lip Sleeping Masks sit atop the bedside table of every single beauty editor I know. I didn't think I could be any more obsessed with my signature Vanilla formula, but now the brand has debuted two new limited-edition flavors—Mint Chocolate Chip and Sweet Candy. Laden with skin-plumping, smoothing, and hydrating benefactors like vitamin C, antioxidants, and a unique Moisture Wrap Technology, chap—thank god—will stay at bay all winter long.
The Eye Quad
Mother Pat McGrath has done it again! Just in time for tinsel-draped holiday festivities, she's debuted three outrageously stunning shadow quads. Choose from Nocturnal Nirvana—jewel tones à la emerald, aquamarine, violet, and gold, Ritualistic Rose—floral notes of rose quartz, rose orchid, antique gold, and bronze, and Iconic Illumination—bronze-y gold, Bordeaux, chocolate brown, or alluring gold. All finishes are either shimmer, high-shine, glitter, or metallic. So yeah, we kind of suggest splurging for all three this season?
The Pore-Clearing Mask
Featuring the most-wanted products and ingredients within the K-beauty realm (all responsibly sourced from Korea's emerald island, Jeju), all eyes have been turned this year to Innisfree. Beauty editors have been gossiping about how amazingly great the formulas are for a while now, but we want you to get in on the magic ASAP. For starters, we suggest this dirt sucking clay maks which is basically like Roomba for your face. Oh, and it's only $15.
The Everything Palette
Everything celebrity makeup mogul Charlotte Tilbury touches turns to gold, but this best-selling cheek, eye, and face palette has new limited-edition shades you need to snap before it's gone for good.
Nordstrom
The Lip Gloss
We don't need much convincing when it comes to new holy-grail offerings from Chanel, but we need to shout about the brand's new Coco Gloss from the rooftops. Unlike many glosses we've tried, it boosts your pout with long-lasting hydration in addition to the brilliant, high-shine lacquer. Plus, no stick!
The Foundation
No matter the season, we want our skin to look like its most glowing, healthy self. Dior's newest foundation is the answer to all our prayers this season. It promises durable 24-hour wear, a nice dose of SPF (which is important, even come winter!) plus a poreless and breathable finish. Impressively, it's also super lightweight.
The Fragrance
Exclusive to Nordstrom, this heavenly and very cozy fragrance from Maison Margiela's beloved line Replica is the equivalent to your steaming morning cup of joe but just a bit more elevated. Made in France, top notes include coffee, red apple, and lemon essence, middle notes feature lavender, spearmint, and orange, and the base concludes with creamy milk mousse accord, Sri Lankan sandalwood, and Virginian cedarwood.
The Candle
We're so obsessed with beautifully scented candles here at WWW HQ we consider them part of the beauty set. Right now, Boy Smells is THE candle brand on our radar, and the only line we're shopping. This option is cherry red and perky, and the ultimate holiday antidote that feels right for the season but not fake or overly saccharine. It's exclusive to Nordstrom and anchored with heavenly blessings from rose, tuberose, oakmoss, and smoke.
The Matte Lipstick Trio
We'd honestly pay $45 for this bright red sequin pouch alone, but the fact that it comes with Nars's limited edition (and full-size!) set of Powermatte Lip Pigment makes it the steal of all steals.
Dermstore
The Vitamin C All-Star
Fact: makeup artists and celebrities alike obsess over 111Skin, founded by renowned Cosmetic Surgeon Dr. Yannis Alexandrides, MD. And, this C-packed cleanser is one of the brand's newest product offerings. Use it daily, and you won't believe how bright and even your face looks.
The Face Moisturizer
Water-based face creams have been all the rage in the past few years, but this new electrolyte-infused pick is our number one choice right now. It won't clog your pores, is actually affordable, and is achored with other smoothing and plumping ingredients like peptides and ceramides.
The CC Powder
By Terry is a luxe French makeup and skincare brand in high demand from beauty editors, celebrities, and makeup artists. We recommend everything, but this starlit brightening CC powder is the prettiest thing to grace your face with this fall and winter.
The Hair Hydrator
Brimming with antioxidants and other nutrients parched strands crave, R+Co's lates launch is THE chicest way to coat your hair with shine, healthy, and happiness this season. Oh, and it will never weigh your hair down or leave behind a greasy aftermath.
The Acne-Buster
CosRX is a fan favorite—not only for its waller-happy pricepoints but for its potent, very efficacious formulas. We're happy to report this is one of the best blemish-banishing products out there right now and is equipped with propolis extract, ceramide NP, madecassic acid to clear spots and pimples, fade lingering acne scars, and prevent future breakouts.
Up next: The Only Beauty Products That Mattered This Month, According to 10 WWW Editors
Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.