This year’s Glossy Beauty Awards highlight the incredibly competitive industry and also consumers’ desire for new and innovative products from the brands they love. 

The most prominent trend among brand submissions this year was product category expansion. Other trends included consumer-centric marketing approaches and increased transparency. Many brands showed that delivering clean, effective products, personalized experiences and meaningful connections to their audiences is a priority. And all entries carried a throughline of increased focus on community. Launching initiatives such as mentorship programs and influencer squads for building and nurturing the brand community were among popular tactics. 

A notable finalist for one of the new categories this year, Best Use of Emerging Technology, is YSL. To create an unforgettable, immersive beauty experience, the luxury beauty brand created the ”YSL Beauty Zone VR Pop-Up” at Sanya Mall, in partnership with China Duty-Free Group. The pop-up blended offline retail and VR immersion, with the intention of redefining beauty engagement. By using an Oculus VR headset, users could be instantly transported to a 360-degree beauty zone. They used an intuitive controller to become active explorers in the experience, which highlighted three pillar YSL products: the Bold High Pigment lipstick, the signature Libre perfume and the Night Reboot serum. Users spent an average of over 300 seconds immersed in the VR environment. The encounter boosted purchase intent and sparked user-generated content sharing among younger audiences, generating organic buzz and social media virality. 

Native was recognized as a finalist for Best Category Launch thanks to its new aluminum-free deodorant spray. According to the brand, Native is committed to using naturally derived and high-quality ingredients in all its products and providing consumers with a wide selection of gender-forward and gender-neutral scents. Between 2019 and 2022, body spray was one of the brand’s most customer-requested products. In response, the Native team worked to deliver one product to suit both needs. As of July 2023, Native’s deodorant sprays are driving 22% of the brand’s deodorant sales growth since launching in retail. 

Sephora earned a finalist slot for Most Engaged Brand Community. To further its commitment to DE&I, Sephora established the Sephora Squad about five years ago. According to the company, the Squad of influencers is representative of Sephora’s diverse audience and has served as an organic opportunity to tap into the beauty community. When launching the Squad, the brand’s vision was to create an institutional path similar to college alumni networks which nurture relationships and brand loyalty. To implement this, Sephora introduced its “Squad” alumni and mentorship program where influencers receive additional development, educational opportunities, event invitations and brand partnerships. 

Another new category this year, Most Innovative Makeup Brand highlighted R.E.M. Beauty as a finalist. The makeup brand founded by Ariana Grande strives to dominate the beauty space by invoking individuality, expressiveness and confidence through clean, innovative, high-quality and effective cosmetics. The brand has been lauded by both the editorial community and consumers, with its loyalists dubbed The Flight Crew. And it’s engaged with content creators across multiple social media platforms, resulting in viral product moments. Thanks to R.E.M. Beauty’s unique and community-focused content strategy, its products regularly sell out and the brand has earned great respect, despite the crowding in the celebrity-owned beauty brand market. 

Madison Reed snagged a finalist spot for yet another new category: Most Innovative Hair Care Brand. Leaning into its reputation for revolutionizing the hair-color industry, the brand expanded its membership and rewards program, Limitless, renaming it Limitless Pro. The result was 50% month-over-month growth since launch of Limitless Premier and Limitless Plus and 40% month-over-month growth since the launch of Limitless Pro. Also during the year, the company launched the Bonding Time Bond Building Treatment — the first bonding treatment designed specifically to protect hair color. To further Madison Reed’s innovation and growth, the company has also expanded to more than 1,500 Walmart stores nationwide allowing for more accessibility. 

Stay tuned for the reveal of this year’s winners. In the meantime, check out the full shortlist below.

Clean Beauty Brand of the Year
Beautycounter
Juice Beauty
Kosas
LAWLESS Beauty
Provence Beauty
VAHY

Beauty Brand of the Year
e.l.f. Beauty
Glow Recipe
Olive & June
Rare Beauty
Redken
rhode

Best Brand Collaboration
DedCool x OUAI
Dieux Skin & Iced Media
Dove & LinkedIn
Goody Tru Collection
Lush X The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Revolution Beauty x Fortnite 

Best Brand or Sub-Brand Launch Campaign
Clairol
OLAPLEX
Sweet July Skin 

Best Breakthrough Beauty Startup
Bubble
Jolie Skin Co.
LYMA
Pavise
Prakti
Sofwave

Best Breakthrough Wellness Startup
Rael
Here We Flo
Iota
O Positiv
Playground
Wonderbelly 

Best Category Launch
Beekman 1802
COOLA
Ephemeral
Hally Hair
Kosas
Native
Skinfix 

Best CSR Initiative
Eva NYC
FLAMINGO ESTATE
GUERLAIN
Hair Proud
The Body Shop
The INKEY List 

Best E-Commerce Experience
1r Agency x Function of Beauty
Beachwaver and Firework
Live Tinted & Hue 

Best Event
Byrdie Beauty Lab
Cetaphil x Think Coffee
Joah
MG2 & Victoria’s Secret
Neutrogena
Womaness 

Best Inclusivity Initiative
amika
Glow Recipe
Lancôme
Laura Geller
Lion Pose
SheaMoisture
skin by Dr. Simran Sethi

Best Influencer Partnership – Presented by Skeepers
BIC EasyRinse and Ariana Madix
Coconu X Merrick’s Adventure
EltaMD
Neutrogena and Movers+Shakers
Too Faced
Verb Products 

Best Multi-Platform Campaign
BIC EasyRinse and Ariana Madix
Briogeo
MAC Cosmetics
MERIT
R+Co & MERGE
Who What Wear & Clinique

Best Omnichannel Experience
Blue Wheel & VOLOOM
SkinCeuticals
Ulta Beauty

Best Product Launch Campaign
Beekman 1802 Potato Peel x Mrs. Potato Head
Benefit Cosmetics
Lottie London x The Vampire Diaries
NYX Professional Makeup
Pattern Heat
Saie 

Best Sustainability Initiative
GLOSSLAB
Hairstory
NÉCESSAIRE
Nimbi
Skinfix
Small Wonder

Best Use of Customization
1r Agency x Function of Beauty
Pro Lash
Prose
shu uemura
skin by Dr. Simran Sethi
Vivace Ultra

Best Use of Emerging Technology
Coty x Lynx partners x Polycount
DERMAFLASH
eos
NARS Cosmetics
Trendio
Urban Decay x Ulta Beauty x Super League
YSL Beauty

Best Use of Instagram
MONDAY Haircare
Who What Wear & Macy’s 

Best Use of Technology
FFFACE.ME
KIKI-World
Lancôme
NYX Professional
Pavise
TTDeye 

Best Use of TikTok
Briogeo
Essie
Glow Recipe
LYS
MAC Cosmetics
MONDAY Haircare
Rare Beauty 

Best Use of Video
BIC EasyRinse and Ariana Madix
Dove
Front Row & Jergens
Native 

Best Use of Youtube
HigherDOSE
MAC Cosmetics 

Founder of the Year
Hero Cosmetics
Jerrod Blandino & Jeremy Johnson, Toy Box Brands
Leslie Ann Hall, Iced Media
Oliver Zak, Mad Rabbit
Pritika Swarup, Prakti
Sally Mueller & Michelle Jacobs, Womaness
Tracee Ellis Ross, PATTERN Beauty

Men’s Beauty Brand of the Year
ATWATER
Cardon
Every Man Jack
Horace
Lumin
PrettyBoy 

Most Engaged Brand Community
Eva NYC
Glow Recipe
Le Mini Macaron
r.e.m. beauty
Sephora
Starface 

Most Innovative Haircare Brand
4U By Tia
Divi
K18
LolaVie
Madison Reed
NULASTIN®
Nutrafol 

Most Innovative Makeup Brand
Haus Labs
KVD Beauty
r.e.m. beauty
We Are ME Cosmetics 

Wellness Brand of the Year
Beekeeper’s Naturals
Foria
Rael
SmartyPants Vitamins
Supergoop!
Thorne

Read the article in full here.