How We Vet Products

When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, from shampoos and conditioners and hair wraps to ballet flats and luggage sets, 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 personally spoken to (more on that in a moment). We’re committed to featuring a diverse range of brands, products, experts, and price points for our readers—because, more than anything, we want to help you look and feel your best.

How We Research Products

Our award-winning team of Marie Claire writers and editors test a range of products across categories including fashion, beauty, home, lifestyle, food and drink, and more.

Beauty

In addition to trying a constant stream of products across hair, skincare, fragrance, makeup, and nail categories, the Beauty team at Marie Claire ensures that our content is in line with up-to-date scientific research. We do this by consulting recent studies and clinical trials; by dissecting ingredient lists and manufacturer information; by speaking to estheticians, celebrity hairstylists, dermatologists, makeup artists, and other experts; and by regularly reviewing and revising our content so that it reflects the most current information. 

While we only feature products we personally recommend, we strive to be clear about how you can expect products to work on individual skin types, skin tones, and hair textures. We aim to be as specific as possible about how products should be used for best results, and which products only work for specific consumers or under specific circumstances.

Fashion

With the goal of recommending clothing, accessories, investment pieces, and trends to our readers, the Fashion team at Marie Claire constantly attends market appointments, fashion shows, brand launches, and more. We speak to designers, stylists, buyers, and trend experts to identify the materials, brands, styles, and products to direct our readers to; we carefully consider the labor practices, craftsmanship, and sustainability policies of the brands we highlight. 

Our team strives to highlight small businesses, BIPOC-owned businesses, and women entrepreneurs.

Sexual Wellness

In order to provide recommendations within the sexual wellness category that are safe, effective, and high-quality, the Marie Claire team attends product launches, informational sessions and presentations, and expert panels. We also consult peer-reviewed studies and consult with sex experts such as brand founders, sex toy engineers, pelvic floor experts, gynecologists, and sex therapists and counselors. We only recommend sex toys from established, reputable brands with a proven track record of safety and efficacy, and we exclusively recommend toys that are made from durable, body-safe materials.

When possible, we test and review sexual wellness products ourselves in order to ensure their efficacy, but we also source from experts and reviewers when recommending products in order to be mindful of all preferences, anatomies, genders, and relationship statuses. When recommending toys, lubricants, and other products, we also make note of how to use them safely.

Our Experts

Marie Claire editors have an extensive network of experts who are deeply familiar with the brands, products, trends, and services in their respective fields. These include board-certified dermatologists, plastic surgeons, designers, stylists, founders, influencers, creative directors, aestheticians, hair stylists, specialists in their respective fields, and more.

Awards and Franchises

On our search to find the best of the best in every category, we stumble across products, brands, and launches that we love—items we can’t get enough of, companies we can’t stop raving to our friends about. We know that the women we look up to, from founders to A-listers, also have their favorites. That’s where our franchises, from The Essentials to Power Pick, come in. 

For Beauty Around the Clock, we speak to public figures about their beauty and wellness routines from morning to night; for Power Pick, our editors open up about the item or service they feel most empowered by. What I Wear to Work features iconic women talking about their go-to office look, while Fashion Test Drive sees our editors trying out luxury purchases in the real world. In Small Business Spotlight, we dive deep into the origin story and business practices of a small brand we want our readers to know about. And when it comes to the crème de la crème in beauty products, look no further than Marie Claire’s annual Prix Awards. 

Ethics and Integrity

At Marie Claire, we’re committed to transparency and inclusion. All partnerships, sponsorships, and/or pieces of branded content are clearly marked, and we maintain a clear division between editorial staff and content and sales staff and content. 

All content is fact-checked, with hyperlinks added to supporting documentation where appropriate. 

All opinions expressed about products are our own. Any products included in editorial content, as opposed to branded content, were expressly chosen by our editorial team with no input from brands or from our commercial partners.