The Cosmo Beauty Awards 2026: How We Test, Score, And Pick The Winners

Day in and day out, the Cosmo Editors are always on the hunt for the best beauty products worthy of recommending to you, our Cosmo Girls. From the new releases sent by brands to the ones we personally shop off the shelves, we're always testing, debating, and occasionally side-eyeing any item that lands on our desks.

It all leads to the annual Cosmo Beauty Awards, now in its ninth year, where we narrow down the products that stood out from the rest—and decide which ones truly deserve a spot in your routine. We'd like to consider it as our personal marathon. 😉

This year, we're playing The Long Game. With everyone tuning into sports, getting into their fitness era, and treating the Philippine heat like an endurance sport of its own, we're putting our beauty picks to the test, too. Which ones can go the distance, hold up, deliver, and earn a permanent spot in our routines?

If finding the best in makeup, skincare, bodycare, fragrance, wellness, and tools is a sport, consider us your veteran athletes—and we're ready to share which products made it to the podium.

Before we unveil our finalists, here’s a look at how we got there. From nominations and testing to scoring, we're breaking down the Cosmo Beauty Awards 2026 vetting process so you know exactly how each product made the cut.

We receive new and upcoming beauty releases practically every week, but we also buy plenty ourselves. We kick off Beauty Awards season by nominating products we've personally reached for throughout the year. We test them during office days, shoots, events, and real-life moments—from workouts and dates to travels.

Once we have our theme and initial shortlist, we invite brands to nominate their best products and services for consideration. To qualify, products must have been released between September 2025 and October 2026.

The Cosmo editors spend months putting every nominated product through its paces. Each product is tested by at least three editors, giving us multiple perspectives before we rate it against five criteria: Quality, Value for Money, User Experience, Lifestyle Fit, and Immediate Impact.

We tally the scores, share our experiences, and deliberate as a team to determine which products truly deserve the black-and-pink seal of approval. 😉

For the first time ever(!), you get a say in the Cosmo Beauty Awards, too. Meet the Cosmo Crowd Favorites—your chance to tell us (and your fellow Cosmo Girls) which new beauty launches deserve a spot on your roster.

We've rounded up some of the most exciting releases of the year, and now we're handing the final call over to you. Vote for your favorites every day, then watch this space—we'll reveal the Cosmo Crowd Favorites by the end of October.

Cast your vote here.

Who's behind the scores? Meet the editors putting these products to the test, with years of beauty journalism and hands-on experience between us.

Ida has been reviewing products and services professionally since 2017 (she's even ranked the best Brazilian wax services in Manila 🙂‍↕️), but her love for beauty started long before it became part of her job. She was the girl watching YouTube makeup tutorials at midnight and showing up to 7:30 a.m. college classes in a full beat.

She started out writing shopping stories, then moved into affiliate content, where she learned to look beyond the hype and focus on what actually works and what's worth the price. Since then, she's tested everything from sensitive-skin saviors to workout-proof makeup, gotten glammed up for the biggest industry events, and picked the brains of makeup artists, brand founders, and celebrities shaping the beauty conversation.

Today, as Cosmopolitan Philippines' Executive Editor, she still loves trying a new product or treatment. She's just much harder to impress.

Alyana is Cosmopolitan Philippines' Asst. Managing Editor and a beauty and lifestyle journalist who's been testing and writing about beauty professionally since 2019 (read: getting paid to do what she loves). Her beauty journey started much earlier, at age 12, when she picked up her first BB cream and began her quest for the perfect winged eyeliner. She’ll admit to a past life of block eyebrows and blush blindness, but years of interviewing beauty experts have helped steer her right.

These days, she's hunting for sweat-proof formulas, the perfect shade match for her light-olive-neutral skin, cluster lashes that can survive a cryfest, and anything that can tame humidity-induced frizz. Oh, and the occasional wellness retreat, please and thanks!

Cheska Santiago is Cosmopolitan Philippines' Lifestyle Editor and a beauty journalist who's been writing about, testing, and obsessing over beauty for more than seven years. She started her career at Cosmo.ph as a Beauty Editorial Assistant in 2019 and and has since covered everything from makeup and skincare to hair, treatments, trends, and the business of beauty. She's also helped produce the Cosmopolitan Beauty Awards, beauty shoots, events, and celebrity stories.

Her love for beauty started long before it became her job, back when she'd raid her grandma's vanity table—who was always in her signature red lipstick—and experiment with whatever she could get her hands on. These days, she's still her own beauty test subject, whether she's dyeing her hair every color she can get away with, trying the latest makeup and skincare, or falling down yet another beauty rabbit hole. The only difference? Now there's a byline attached.