Presenting the 2026 Prix D'Excellence Awards
The year's best new beauty products are waiting for you.
The best of the best new beauty products are worth celebrating, which is why our team of Marie Claire editors from around the world tested hundreds of exciting launches over the last year. The winners include nine American brands and nine international, all of which feature innovative formulations and breakthrough ingredients that leave your makeup, skin, and hair looking and feeling their best. On the hunt for exceptional results? Allow the 2026 Prix D'Excellence Award winners to be your guide.
US Prix D'Excellence Winners
Skincare
Nicknamed the "5D Facelift in a Bottle" this innovative lifting, sculpting, and rejuvenating serum targets multiple layers of the skin to plump and hydrate for a more youthful, radiant complexion.
K-Beauty fans and newbies alike will swoon over this elegant mineral SPF formula. It has zero white cast, feels weightless on the skin, and leaves an otherworldly glow for hours.
Hair Care
Seal split ends and banish tangles with this editor-vetted overnight repair serum. With clinical results that support two times more hair strengthen, two times smoother and softer hair, and 75 percent frizz reduction after one month, you'll be left with the healthiest, most beautiful hair of your life.
Look no further for that hydrated, silky soft and shiny finish when you flat iron. Bond-building technology ensures that your hair remains healthy and protected, even up to 410 degrees while heat styling, and you can rest assured that your curls will bounce back after wash day—no lingering damage left over.
Makeup
For breathable coverage that works with your skin, not against it, this editor-beloved formula is a must in your glam routine. The serum-like finish glides over the skin like a dream, and your complexion is left with a beautiful, glowy finish—no dark spots or uneven tone left in sight.
2026 is the year of the lip balm renaissance, and Patrick Ta has been leading the way. This innovative formula has the feel of a lip mask with the shine of a gloss, for a hydrating finish that radiates luxury.
Body Care
As one of the most innovative body care formulas to launch over the last 12 months, Cyklar has taken the everything shower to a whole new level. If softer, smoother, delicious-smelling skin is your goal, add this in-shower moisturizer to your routine ASAP.
Infused with 50 percent hydrating glycerin and a light-as-air feel, this body wash provides that clean skin feel with the rich moisture of a body oil. Plus, the budget-friendly price point for the quality cannot be beat.
Beauty Tool
If you're looking for speedy wet to dry styling, minus the damage, this Shark tool cannot be beat. The addition of high pressure air flow to lightly heated ceramic plates adds a one-two punch of straightening power that evaporates liquid and smoothes all at the same time. The result? Silky smooth tresses in half the time, no damage required.
International Prix D'Excellence Winners
Special Jury's Prize
For a decadent face cream that works for day or night, this Lancôme formula is elite. Smooth, nourish, and plump fine lines for a radiant, youthful finish every time you apply it.
Jury’s Favorite
A luxe, bi-phase serum that harnesses the power of red camellia extract (Chanel Beauty's signature ingredient) this ultra fine mist will leave your skin rejuvenated and hydrated with every spritz.
Formulation
An ultra-concentrated dose of replenishing black bee honey and vitamin C, this seven-day course of replenishing ingredients will leave your skin unbelievably radiant and youthful.
Precise ingredient delivery is the goal with this aesthetics-inspired formula, which utilizes an 18 micro-point applicator with PreciseDelivery Technology to apply brightening niacinamide, renewing red clover extract, and replenishing cinnamon extract.
Makeup Creation
For lit-from-within color that melts into the skin like a dream, this cult-favorite formula is a beauty minimalist's dream. The cream blush imparts the prettiest hint of color, with a stunning selection of buildable shades to suit any aesthetic.
Makeup
Lip color has never felt this comfortable—or looked so chic. The melting texture glides onto the skin with ease, creating a veil of light to medium translucent color that lasts. It's the true epitome of luxury lipstick.
Sun Protection
Protect the skin against UV damage while also reversing signs of aging, all in one silky SPF formula. You'll see improved skin luminosity, a more even tone, and hydration, with the clinical results to prove it.
Body Care
Body serums are hotter than ever, and this formula is one of the easiest ways to exfoliate and renew the skin for a softer, more radiant finish. The milky texture is rich in hibiscus flower acids for a gentle renewal that instantly smoothes the skin.
Hair
Want mega-watt shine and frizz control? Look no further than this stylist-beloved hair oil. It's ideal for fine to medium hair types that want soft control and smoothing power without the weight or grease.
Research
If you want to skip your Botox appointment but not deal with pesky fine lines, reach for this powerful, peptide-rich formula. It mimics the effect of injectables by targeting nine types of expression lines, with visible results in just one week.
Tighten the skin without the facelift with this double-patented lifting serum. Designed to address sagging skin around the jawline, cheeks, forehead, and neck, this formula both tightens and deeply hydrates for a toned, youthful-looking complexion.
Why Trust Marie Claire
For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion, and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.
