Cult beauty products that are worth the hype
The top 3 according to 90 votes from people: The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% · Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair · NARS Orgasm blush. (Updated Aug 23, 2026.)
Skincare and make-up products that have stayed best-sellers for years and that beauty editors (Refinery29, Marie Claire) and industry insiders still buy with their own money.
Top 15
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1
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
Cheap, effective serum that sells one unit every six seconds.
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2
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair
The first skincare product with hyaluronic acid (1982); more than ten bottles sold every minute.
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3
NARS Orgasm blush
Peachy-pink shimmer blush (1999) that defined the brand.
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4
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream
Reliable moisturiser, ten pots sold every minute worldwide.
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5
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5
Pharmacy repair balm that dermatologists recommend.
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6
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+
The yellow lotion of the 1968 3-step system.
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7
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz
Ultra-thin brow pencil (2008), one of the most reviewed products ever.
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8
Maybelline Great Lash mascara
The pink-and-green tube sold since 1971, one every few seconds.
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9
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream
Multi-use balm created in 1930 that's still everywhere.
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10
Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk lipstick
Nude-pink shade that became the brand's most iconic launch.
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11
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask
K-beauty overnight lip mask that went viral.
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12
Augustinus Bader The Cream
Luxury cream with 'TFC8' complex, a celebrity favourite.
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13
Dior Lip Glow
Colour-reactive balm that adapts to your lips' pH.
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14
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush
Selena Gomez's highly pigmented liquid blush, launched in 2020 and a viral bestseller.
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15
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector 'Champagne Pop'
Highlighter (2013) that set the gold standard for glow.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 15… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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16
Shiseido Eudermine Revitalizing Essence
Lotion launched in 1897 with barely changed formula.
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17
Glossier Boy Brow
Brushable brow pomade launched in 2015 that became Glossier's signature product.
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18
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Foundation
Rihanna's 2017 launch with 40 shades, widely credited with pushing the industry towards inclusive ranges.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (12)
The Ordinary Niacinamide, cheap and actually works.
Still using Cicaplast years later. Some things really are worth the hype.
Eight Hour Cream is a lifesaver in winter.
Cicaplast saved my skin after a bad reaction, cheap and amazing
The Ordinary niacinamide for $6 beats serums 10x the price. Best bang for buck.
Augustinus Bader is $300 for a tiny jar, absolutely not worth the hype
Agreed, there are much cheaper creams that do the same.
Advanced Night Repair is worth every penny, my skin looks visibly better when I use it consistently.
And Rare Beauty's liquid blush! One dot is enough for the whole face
Eight Hour Cream: lips, cuticles, eyebrows, dry elbows... my mum used it for everything
Where's Fenty's Pro Filt'r foundation? 50 shades at launch changed the industry.
Pillow Talk is the perfect nude, flattering on literally everyone I know