Our beauty cabinets are now filled with next-level gadgets—and for good reason. “Thanks to technology such as miniaturized devices and artificial intelligence, we can achieve more speed, performance, individualism, and precision than we could with just our fingers alone,” says Guive Balooch, the global managing director of augmented beauty and open innovation at L’Oréal Groupe. We tested hundreds of these tech-forward innovations across hair care, skincare, makeup, and fragrance this year; here are the standouts that are expanding the boundaries of beauty.
NEW TOOLS
These gadgets and gizmos found a permanent spot in our beauty routines this year.
SMART HAIR DRYERS
The technology inside these health-conscious dryers is the next best thing to having a stylist on call.
MAGIC MAKEUP
Add these cool formulas and innovative packaging designs to your cosmetics bag.
LED CRAZE
There has never been a better time to jump on the LED train. These are our favorite picks for hair and skin.
FRAGRANCES' NEW FRONTIER
These beauty icons have redefined what it's like to wear a fragrance.
BOND BUILDERS
Bond builders have infiltrated every corner of the beauty space—from haircare to makeup—with formulas that promise unyielding strength.
SUPER SKINCARE
Inside these jars and vials is cutting-edge science for glowing skin.
Why trust Harper’s Bazaar?
For more than 150 years, Harper’s Bazaar has been the preeminent fashion and beauty resource for women at every age. We cover what’s new and what’s next in beauty by working with the world’s leading authorities in dermatology, plastic surgery, cosmetics, skincare, haircare, and fragrance. Every story we publish has been thoroughly researched and vetted by our team of beauty editors and industry experts.
How are the Beauty Icon Award winners chosen?
Our editors test more than 1,000 new launches every year to identify the most innovative releases across every beauty category. We spent time at CES in Las Vegas to scope out the future of beauty tech, and interviewed dozens of fragrance, skincare, and makeup experts—as well as brand founders—to discover what's trending in product development. For the 2024 Beauty Icon Awards, Bazaar enlisted the help of technology and beauty experts to curate our list of the 43 coolest beauty breakthroughs to level up your routine.
How do you license a Bazaar beauty award?
Email the team at hearst@wrightsmedia.com to help with all things licensing.
Jenna Rosenstein is the Beauty Director at Harper's BAZAAR across both print and digital. While attending NYU, she held internships at Women’s Wear Daily, Bloomingdale’s, Harper’s BAZAAR, and Allure, the latter of which she parlayed into her first job as the Beauty Assistant. She left Allure three years later as the Senior Beauty Editor. She spent a few months at Refinery29 overseeing branded content in the same title, before finally landing back at BAZAAR to manage all beauty content. When she's not testing every lipstick known to mankind, getting zapped by new lasers, or interviewing experts and celebrities, you can find Rosenstein at home in New Jersey with her son, husband, and black cat named Maddie.
Tiffany Dodson is currently the associate beauty commerce editor at Harper’s Bazaar, where she specializes in trend forecasting, building relationships with major and emerging brands, and crafting shopping stories—from holiday gift guides to product road tests. Tiffany's work has previously been featured in outlets like SELF, Bustle, and Teen Vogue, and she's been quoted as a commerce and beauty expert in publications and platforms like The Business of Fashion and NPR’s Life Kit podcast.
