The 12 best beauty products in the world, as voted for in the Marie Claire UK Prix D'Excellence Awards 2023

Combining the holistic joys of beauty with high-tech skincare research, this range is a true innovation. Through identifying the main skin concerns that women have—lines and wrinkles, pore visibility, loss of elasticity, lack of comfort and radiance—this range treats the skin in a way that oozes luxury and joy.

When a brand formulates powerful products that are easy to use, great for all skin types and effective, it creates the perfect recipe for success. Sisley Exfoliating Enzyme Mask is a multi-hyphenate in its own right. With its simple powder-to-foam formula, this product allows for maximum efficacy with superior results—and the latter because it only takes one minute for the formula to start working to reveal a smooth and radiant glow. 

Lately, skinimalism has been a huge trend amongst the industry. The effectiveness of products that contain multiple active ingredients that save us both time and money is always worth raging about. This serum is an intensive concentrate that includes hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, niacinamide and ferulic acid. It's the perfect combination that hydrates, brightens, smooths and neutralises free-radical damage on the skin. It’ll undoubtedly be a staple in beauty cupboards for years to come. 

This year, we are celebrating Guerlain's expansion into hair care with Abeille Royale Scalp & Hair Youth-Oil-In Serum. This product targets standard hair concerns for those with thin and weak hair through its iconic honey-enriched formulas, leaving hair nourished, soft and strong without any heavy residue. And it's all thanks to its powerful thermo-active technology. 

Anyone who has ever had their hair coloured knows that it typically requires some extra TLC, and this is a concept that Kérastase understands completely. The brand is known for introducing formulas that target colour-related challenges, but its latest breakthrough innovation has proved a real stand-out in the luxury colour hair care market. This range is formulated with caring acids that help prevent colour-induced breakage, dullness and damage to leave hair feeling hydrated, healthy, and with a truly impressive shine.

It’s not often you come across a beautifully packaged and presented product that also delivers as impressively efficacious results as this—particularly when it comes to body care. This product ticks all of the right boxes and takes the mutli-hyphenate skincare concept to the body. Working to exfoliate, moisturise and protect the acid mantle all at once, to leave skin incomparably soft and glowing.

This winner was decided in collaboration with our Marie Claire beauty counterparts in the US. This product is the ultimate skincare/make-up hybrid, delivering a 90% skincare base formula that leaves skin glowing and nourished. Whether applied to the lips, cheeks or even the lids, it looks every bit as beautiful. We consider NU Lip & Cheek Balmy Tint a pioneering hybrid product that is proving a staple in make-up bags on both sides of the pond.

With new and exciting launches happening each week, we take a great amount of care throughout the testing process to ensure the winner is a product we absolutely love—and this year’s winner is no different. During this process, we have tested everything from blush to concealers but this product was the most outstanding. This concealer by Dior Backstage is the first of its kind for the brand. Its formula blends seamlessly into the skin creating a natural finish with waterproof wear—we consider it an absolute must have for every occasion. 

This is a revolutionary new product that takes hyaluronic acid advancement and efficacy to whole new levels. With over 40 years of research generating its own MolecuShift Technology, Shiseido has set the precedent for how this ingredient can be used in topical skincare products. With a day-time serum and a night-time serum, this system has your skin's every hydration need covered.

There is no denying that body care has ultimately become a staple when it comes to nurturing our mind, body and soul. This winner is a sumptuous vegan body cream that ticks all of the aforementioned boxes by caring for, repairing and nourishing skin expertly, while also being a total joy to apply—leaving skin and mind feeling equally as comforted after just one use.  With a 100% natural-origin fragrance, this product has truly set the bar high for luxury body care.

When it comes to hair care, over the past 12 months we have seen the bond repair category grow exponentially. We’re spoiled for choice with high-tech formulas that promise to repair hair bonds to strengthen strands and prevent breakage as well as split ends. This winner has proved itself to be a clear stand-out, impressing every beauty buff and hair expert that has been lucky enough to try it—championed for its fast delivering results that makes hair up to eight times stronger.

In recent years, we have seen an increasing number of brands expand beyond the industry and use their influence to push for change in the world at large. Our Beauty Gives Back award is our way of celebrating the brands who are putting in exceptional work to enrich communities all around the globe. The Body Shop's Be Seen Be Heard campaign, which works to amplify the issues around youth representation in politics and ensure that young people have a say in democracy, is just one excellent example of its many initiatives that aim to make the world a better place for all.

By focusing on regenerative farming, Weleda has committed to tackling the climate crisis by improving soil quality. Just like our skin, soil is a living, breathing eco-system which requires care. By using biodynamic methods and collaborating with regenerative farming projects around the world, the brand continues to strive at cultivating healthy soils, to continue creating its iconic products while sequestering carbon.

Through thinking outside of the box and creating game-changing technology, Zuvi has created a high-tech hair tool that doesn’t doesn’t just deliver damage-free drying, but also reduces carbon emissions by using 60% less energy than a conventional tool of its type. It is so groundbreaking, in fact, that if everyone around the world were to switch out their current hair dryer for this one, the energy saving would amount to the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the road.

Sharon Chuter is a trailblazer in her field who champions inclusivity and representation, in ways beauty has never seen before. Through her award-winning make-up brand, UOMA Beauty, she has challenged beauty standards and totally rewritten the previously divisive rules around inclusivity and diversity in this industry.