There are some beauty products everyone seems to love — the cult favorites, or beloved basics that moms, daughters, hipsters, scenesters, homebodies and busybodies all proclaim as the. best. ever. These products are regulars backstage, and in beauty editor handbags — and they should be in your makeup bag and medicine cabinet.
From Amazon to the drugstore, these are the beauty products that everyone will flip for. Buy them for yourself or, you know, buy one for a friend. She’s guaranteed to love it.
Nars blush, “Org*sm,” $30
17,000 reviews and counting, this award-winning peach-pink blush with a touch of warm-gold shimmer really does look beautiful on everyone. “It’s the color of your face after you have the most perfect sex on the most perfect beach. Well, in a perfect world,” writes an Allure beauty editor. Kind of a steal for $30 and no strings attached. It’s been making us all look glowily gorgeous since it launched in 1999.
Here’s some of the most telling testimony to its magic from we’ve ever read: “This blush is awesome. I have metastatic breast cancer so my meds and condition pretty much wipe out my natural glow. People compliment me all the time about how wonderful I look… I must thank my mom for my good skin but I need to thank NARS blush for my ‘glow.'”
Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara, $9
This mascara is the bomb, and wins one beauty award after another to prove it. Its spiky wank catches each and every lash, giving you defined, up-to-there lashes. (Someone once asked me if I had falsies on.) But you don’t have to go full Twiggy — one coat can give you natural, defined lashes, and it never, ever clumps. “I’ve been using this product for years now and it is hands down the best mascara that exists,” writes one reviewer. One of Glamour’s beauty editors gives it her seal of approval. “It meets my number one requirement for mascara: It never leaves me looking like a raccoon at the end of the day.” 
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, $28.00
This cult classic is no-frills yet fantastic. The olive oil-based cleanser removes the toughest, not-going-anywhere makeup, including waterproof mascara, without ever stripping your skin. Lightweight, hydrating, but doesn’t leave a trace, DHC Deep Cleansing Oil works on everyone. “I have acne prone skin, cystic acne to be exact, and this product has helped my skin tremendously,” wrote one reviewer. “I have very dry skin,” wrote another reviewer. “Basically, this is a must have.”
Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay, $11
It is consistently rated one of Amazon’s best sellers, and sixteen thousand review-writing devotees (and counting!) swear by this mask. With a fabulously mysterious provenance story behind that homespun label, here’s all that matters: when mixed with equal parts apple cider vinegar or water, this 100 percent bentonite clay mask is a lifesaver for oily or acne prone skin. “WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO ORDER THIS!?!?!” PeppyPoppy asked incredulously. Another reviewer posted compelling before and after pictures. “This is the only thing that has ever worked for me. And I have tried EVERYTHING to fix my skin. My skin seemed to look even worse when I’d try to wash it, tone it etc. I tried cheap brand and expensive brands. And all in all I probably spent 100s of dollars on acne care. I was to the point where I gave up and Decided to live with the acne. But this mask is like the holy grail of acne solutions.”
Tom Ford Lip Color, $55
They’re the Ferraris of lipsticks — a ridiculous splurge, but once you make it, you’re ruined for all others. Gorgeously rich and saturated color, these lipsticks are hydrating and long lasting. “I know you’re probably looking at the price and yes, it’s a pretty steep one,” one reviewer commiserates. “But the quality of this lipstick is impressive.” “My holy grail lipstick,” writes another.
“If you fall in love with one of these shades, if you’ll wear it to death and then some. The formula is top notch, super creamy and slightly moisturizing.”
La Roche Posay Anthelios SPF 60 Melt-In Sunscreen Milk, $36
When it comes to matters of style, we idealize the French for good reason. They know what they’re doing with this sunscreen. It’s not greasy or chalky, and it’s crazy-effective. Even Consumer Reports signs off on this sunscreen, and they’re not easily swayed by style points. “This is by far her favorite sunscreen,” one reviewer wrote of her volleyball-playing daughter, “and we have tried a lot.”
Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, $17
Mario Badescu should call this Miracle Drying Lotion. This weird-looking but effective concoction can clear up blemishes overnight. Dip a q-tip into the salicylic acid and calamine formula, and whiteheads, blackheads, and cystic bumps will disappear.
Fresh Tinted Lip Treatment in Rose, $24
When you want a pretty, sheer pink pout and you don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard — think, just ate a cherry popsicle or had an face-flushing makeout sesh — you want this lip balm. It’s got SPF 15 and thousands of fans for a reason. “They smell great, they condition well, and the pigmented ones provide the most amazingly natural flushes of color,” one reviewer wrote. “My husband always comments on how soft my lips are and I have to give credit to this stuff,” wrote another, to which we say: Bring on that epic makeout sesh.
Glossier Boy Brow, $16
We love the affordable, millennial brand Glossier for their simple, barely-there, you-but-better makeup. The Boy Brow is a tinted wax that lightly fills in brows and shapes them without looking like “too much.” Wrote one reviewer: “I’ve used Benefit’s Gimme Brow and Anastasia’s brow gel but neither compare. Boy brow is perfectly pigmented, totally controllable, and is small enough to travel easily with, on top of the super cute packaging. I live for this stuff.” So will you.
