Best-Selling Beauty Products: The Most Popular Items Right Now
It’s safe to say that when it comes to beauty products, we’ve seen our fair share. Practically every day, we’re inundated with a new cream, stick, shadow or tool promising to make our lives easier, or at least prettier. We’ve tried and tested more products than we’d like to admit. All things considered, we know what it takes for a product to hack it in this business (and to sell off the shelves, both virtual and IRL).
With all this savvy, though, we were curious: Which products were selling out across the country, just in time for fall? New York’s popular products are one thing, but there are 49 other states to take into consideration. In order to get the scoop, we went straight to the source, polling department and beauty supply stores in 30 of the most populated cities across the country to learn which beauty products were the top sellers.
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Overall, we found some surprises, some glaringly obvious realities and a few products that are absolutely dominating the country. Below are our final findings, including the most popular product in each category, plus some front runners that stood out.
- Most Popular Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Naked Palette. Whether the Naked, Naked 2 or Naked Basics, practically every city we polled noted this as their top-selling product for eyes. With its range of universally flattering colors and endless possibilities for makeup looks, we can’t say we’re shocked that this multi-use palette won its spot on the podium.
- Most Popular Mascara: Benefit They’re Real. Sweeping the nation (quite literally) by storm with its debut last year, Benefit’s best-selling mascara is a girl’s best friend when it comes to tricking people into thinking you’re wearing falsies. Available in regular and travel-size versions, we recommend buying in bulk to be prepared at home and on the go.
- Most Popular Eyeliner: Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner. Staying power that’s matched only by the array of colors offered, this option from Urban Decay doesn’t budge once it’s applied. Available in the traditional pencil or a liquid state, when you’re trying to get a cat eye, this liner is your go-to.
- Most Popular Blush: NARS Blush in Orgasm. From its coral-peach base to its subtle flecks of gold shimmer, Orgasm gives girls of every skin tone the perfect, just-flushed look. We have a hunch that the risquè name has a little something to do with the allure of the product, too, so snaps to NARS for brilliant branding.
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- Most Popular Foundation: bareMinerals Foundation. The makeup for girls who hate wearing makeup, we can’t blame ladies around America for making this such a star product. Between the precise color matching, the various finish options and the barely-there feel, this one’s an all-around winner in our book.
- Most Popular Primer: Smashbox Primer. A range of more than five options for priming whatever kind of situation you’ve got on your skin, Smashbox’s product gives you a smooth base for the rest of your face. We’re especially fond of the Blemish Control and SPF 20 options, but to each her own.
- Most Popular Lip Product (It’s a Tie!): Lipstick Queen Lipcolor and bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lip Gloss. Lip products was the most varied category, proving that recession or otherwise, girls love their lipsticks, glosses and the like. The two most prominent products in this category were well-deserving, with Lipstick Queen’s lipcolor being among the best quality we’ve ever worn, and Benefit’s lip gloss giving that perfectly non-sticky, super saturated color that we all want in a gloss.
- Other Notable Front-Runners: Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation and Too Faced Bronzer. Both products worth their hype, these standouts may not have dominated the entire country, but they earned their stripes based on geographical region. Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Foundation was most popular in warmer climates (Atlanta, GA and Miami, FL), while Too Faced Bronzer went to the head of the class in drearier locations (Denver, CO, Seattle, WA and Salt Lake City, UT).
- Surprising Stand-Outs: CK One Lipstick, Diorshow Mascara, Buxom Tahiti Bronzer and Make Up For Ever HD Foundation. Making waves as the best-sellers in New York, NY, Seattle, WA, Phoenix, AR and Portland, OR respectively, these products are more than worthy of their titles.
We want to know: Are these products the most popular in your city? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
*The information in this article is based on a survey of over 50 department and beauty supply stores in 30 states across the United States of America.
