26 Reader-Loved Skin Care and Makeup Products During Black Friday

This expansion of Black Friday and Cyber Monday from a four-day affair to a weeks-long event is great for mitigating shopping panic and buyer’s remorse—but if you don’t shop for a living, I can see how all the options can be overwhelming. My colleagues are doing a great job of providing shopping cheatsheets, and I created my own. Well, it’s actually your own—below are the 26 most popular beauty products among InStyle readers during the last few Black Friday and Cyber Monday seasons. 

7 Most Popular Amazon Black Friday Beauty Products

Cosrx Snail Mucin 96 Power Essence

You can count on Amazon for a good sale on any random day of the year, but during Black Friday, the discounts are steeper and the offerings more plentiful. Replenish your stock of the forever popular Cosrx Snail Mucin, grow your hair out with First Botany’s shampoo and conditioner set, find a new retinol with CeraVe’s affordable option, and more soon-to-be favorite products.  

Redken Extreme Length Shampoo

Most shampoos are innocuous at best—they do the job but seem interchangeable. The products that cut through the noise tend to be incredibly exceptional as is the case with Redken’s Extreme Length Shampoo. 

A combination of salicylic acid, citric acid, and biotin gives it the prowess that lead to “8 inches” of growth in a single year, according to one of the 5,800-plus five-star shoppers. 

Jerome Alexander MagicMinerals AirBrush Foundation

The Jerome Alexander MagicMinerals AirBrush Foundation is available in 12 shades and comes with a brush. It’s a spray can that disperses tiny mist particles of the light coverage foundation. (I imagine that has to be the most satisfying application ever.) 

It’s formulated with hyaluronic acid and matrixyl 3000—a dynamic duo that provides moisture while promoting elastin and collagen production. One of the 13,300-plus five-star shoppers said this “covers and evens out wrinkles and age spots.” 

Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Eye Cream

Lighter dark circles, less visible wrinkles, and more hydrated skin? It’s a trifecta of benefits possible thanks to the science behind retinol and hyaluronic acid. Nearly 15,000 five-star ratings (and Jennifer Garner’s seal of approval) back up these claims, too. One such shopper saw a plethora of changes after using this eye cream. “My under eye-area is so smooth, the bags are gone, my skin is brighter and the wrinkles are half [as deep].” 

7 Most Popular Black Friday Skin Care Products

If InStyle readers have taught me anything, it’s that some of the best skin care is under $25—take Dermelect’s $14 hand cream, Advanced Clinicals’s $15 Retinol Body Lotion, and Nature Well’s retinol face and body cream. That doesn’t make splurge products moot—Tula and Dr. Brandt’s respective wrinkle-reducing serums are reader-loved and have impeccable reviews. 

Versed Doctor’s Visit Instant Resurfacing Mask

Dull, deflated, congested, bumpy, and (tonally) uneven—if any of those adjectives describe your skin then Versed’s Instant Resurfacing Mask is your solution. The weekly treatment is formulated with vitamin C and alpha hydroxy and beta hydroxy acids that gently (shoppers say they experienced no irritation, redness, or inflammation) slough away dead skin cells, hyperpigmentation, excess oil, and trapped sebaceousness. 

A shopper in their 50s said this makes their skin “feel so young.” Another shopper praised it for making their skin look “clean, bright, soft, and supple” after a mere two-minute use. 

Nature Well Clinical Retinol Advanced Moisture Face and Body Cream

If you’re the least bit invested in skin care you are likely tired of hearing about the near-magical benefits or retinol but it’s true! It’s the only topical anti-aging ingredient with FDA approval—the benefits include wrinkle reduction, collagen production, brighter skin, and way more. 

Not all retinol products are made equal, however, and if you’re looking for an effective one try out Nature Well’s editor-approved and shopper-loved face and body cream. This uses encapsulated retinol (i.e. the retinol is encased and doesn’t touch the superficial layers of the skin) meaning less potential irritation. This is also formulated with jojoba and coconut oils which make this incredibly moisturizing, too. 

One shopper said, “[Nature Well’s Retinol Face and Body Cream] kept my super dry skin moisturized all day and night, reduced wrinkles around my eyes and forehead, smoothed its texture, and evened out my complexion.” 

Tula Wrinkle Treatment Drops Retinol Alternative Serum

Although retinol is a skin care GOAT (greatest of all time), it has some notorious side effects often referred to as the “retinol scaries.” If you’ve experienced this, have sensitive skin, or just prefer a natural alternative, this Tula serum is a great option. 

The replacement ingredient is bakuchiol which has the same previously mentioned benefits of retinol. In the supporting roles are squalane, collagen, and Tula’s signature pre- and post-biotics. A shopper credited it with giving them their “softest and smoothest” skin ever. 

10 Reader-Approved Makeup and Haircare Products 

Now, for everything else—InStyle readers are very dedicated to their primers and hair growth/repairing products. In the former group, you’ll find Benefit’s Porefessional Primer and L’Oreal Paris’s Age Perfect Primer. In the latter category, there’s the Sharon Stone-used Augustinus Bader shampoo, Ouai’s thickening shampoo-conditioner set, and Olaplex’s iconic No. 3 treatment. 

• Benefit The Porefessional Hydrate Primer, $35; benefitcosmetics.com
• Kosas Revealer Concealer, $30; kosas.com
• Used by Martha Stewart: Merit The Minimalist Complexion Stick, $38; meritbeauty.com
• Used by Stewart and Sarah Jessica Parker: Merit Flush Balm Blush, $30; meritbeauty.com
• An Editor’s Desert Island Pick: Dermelect Nail Recovery System, $50 (Originally $70); dermelect.com
• Augustinus Bader The Shampoo, $60; nordstrom.com
• Ouai Fine Shampoo and Conditioner Set, $64; amazon.com
• Kristin Ess 3-in-One Titanium Flat Iron Hair Straightener, $74 (Originally $95); amazon.com
• Conair Infinitipro SmoothWrap Hair Dryer, $39 (Originally $55); amazon.com
• A Julianne Moore- and Margot Robbie-Used Brand: Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector Strengthening Treatment, $30; amazon.com
• L’Oreal Paris Age Perfect Face Blurring Primer, $11 (Originally $14); amazon.com 

Merit The Minimalist Complexion Stick

Merit’s The Minimalist Complexion Stick is the makeup It Girl of the last few years. It’s amassed a very strong and diverse celebrity fanbase comprised of Martha Stewart, Demi Moore, Cameron Diaz, etc. Picky beauty editors also continually give it their stamp of approval and thousands of shoppers are pleased, too. 

It’s a light to medium coverage all-in-one foundation, concealer, and contour stick that comes in 30 shades. “It helps hide my wrinkles [and] looks like my skin, only better,” one shopper wrote. 

L’Oreal Paris Age Perfect Face Blurring Primer

L’Oreal’s Jane Fonda- and Helen Mirren-used Age Perfect line of skin care and makeup products live up to the name, at least according to thousands of shoppers who have given various products their five-star stamp of approval. 

The Age Perfect Primer has too many benefits to count but I’ll list the main ones; it has a very subtle rosy pink tint that can even out certain skin tones, minimizes the appearance of pores, blurs away the severity of wrinkles, is formulated with a hydrating serum, and elongates makeup wear. 

“I have pores on my nose and chin the size of potholes on Illinois roadways,” one shopper said. “This diminishes their appearance, along with wrinkles from 63 years of living.”

Ouai Fine Shampoo and Conditioner Set

Everyone wants fuller longer hair, and Ouai’s Fine Shampoo and Conditioner Set is one of your best bets according to nearly 3,000 five-star ratings. (An editor and my sister swear by it, too.) The keratin, chia seed oil, and biotin work in tandem to make fine hair grow faster and thicker. 

Though those are the brand’s claims, shoppers back them up. One shopper was finally able to end their search for effective products thanks to this duo. “My hair finally feels healthy and is growing so fast. [It made] my hair so shiny as well.” 

InStyle readers (hi!) have great taste, and these 24 skin care, body care, hair care, and makeup products are proof. Treat yourself to the closest thing to a sure (beauty) thing with these reader hits, many of which are already on sale despite Black Friday being days away. 

OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

First Botany Peppermint Rosemary Hair Growth Shampoo and Conditioner Set

Dermelect Nail Recovery System

Dr. Hauschka Rose Day Cream

Advanced Clinicals Retinol Body Lotion

Dr. Brandt Needles No More Wrinkle Smoothing Cream