They started at 4.30am and finally wrapped up around midnight. Here are some of the highlights in pictures.
The Tweet that kicked off the day…over in Australia, Black Chicken Remedies were the first to share the news while London was just waking up.
Celebrating their big win(s).
More big winners…
One of the organic stand-outs for your spring beauty shopping list? Bamford’s deliciously rich, skin loving Cleansing Balm (I cannot recommend this enough if your skin veers towards dry or you’ve passed the 40-45 mark and you love an all-natural, nourishing balm. The little wooden heart spatula and the fold-out illustration stole our hearts but the proof of the pudding was the fabulous balm.
One of my personal favourites and a great his/hers win, from Bloomtown Botanicals…
Earmark this Exfoliant if your skin acts super-sensitive… this was a lovely discover this year! Plus here’s a product for the beach bag for those sun-lounger days heading our way this summer? Claudia’s Herbal Calming Lotion Comforting Spritz was designed to cool, soothe and de-stress sun-damaged, red, ultra-dry or stressed skin and it works.
One of the brands – like Weleda, Tropic Skincare, Murad and Dr Organic – that really swept the board was Hungarian spa brand Omorovicza, maker of exquisite serums and the best facial self-tanner we’ve tried.
The Awards took place on 2 March, the second meteorological day of Spring and Connock London captured the mood perfectly
Jet-setting over to Madrid quickly, where Dafna Skincare scooped two additional awards after her double win last year. Dafna Skincare landed at CONTENT BEAUTY & WELLBEING in London recently so if you’re in the shop soon, do have a look – this is intelligent botanical science-meets-nature skincare, with an Ayurvedic twist and there’s a lot of love around for her brand right now as it starts making a name for itself outside Spain where it pops up in the pages of ELLE and lots more glossies.
Meanwhile, Wiltshire-based candlemakers (I always think they should be called candeliers?!) Charles Farris have been making them since 1845 but we’d never tried one of theirs before, until last December. This Clove, Tobacco and Mint Tea candle went down particularly well with the judges.
Another Best of British, facialist to the A-List (faci-A-LIST?) the lovely Sarah Chapman’s Skinesis range always gets high rankings year after year and this year two of her new launches – a brilliant eye-comforting, eyelash-conditioning makeup remover and her clever lip duo scored well, too. Along with the legend that is Overnight Facial. We love Sarah. Some of Britain’s best beauty brands are the facialist-created skincare ranges – and Sarah’s one of the very best.
More brands that did well across the board were…
Gaia Spa was a popular favourite this year, including their Body Balm in cool bamboo packaging – here’s their tangerine and peppermint infused body oil in its gorgeous glowing emerald-green bottle.
Always a hotly-contested category – aka the super oils and elixirs – there was quite an eclectic line-up this year, ranging from British entries Aurelia and Mallow + White to French favourite Caudalie. Cornwall-based brand Siskyn and Vanderohe No. 1 were among the highest-ranked newcomers for 2017 and the standard was just stellar – really fantastic!
One of the categories we’re most proud of (because it’s so much a part of our 2017 ROCK YOUR AGE philosophy) is 2017’s NEW award: Best Skincare Product Age 60+. ARK Skincare did well in the 50+ group while Spanish spa brand Germaine de Capuccini scooped the 60+ Best Product win. (“Nos gusto (with an accent) mucho”!)
OK…I’m hogging the picks now – but one of my desert island body oils, and one I will use for years to come, is this lavender and rosemary oil from Voya – it’s literally a clean beauty fan’s dream. West Coast of Ireland brand Voya is one of those rather rare brands whose heritage and geographical heart, if you like, absolutely shines through their products. Every time I use this oil I feel like booking a spa weekend somewhere in Galway. It’s just lovely and the scent is utterly natural and authentic. You can almost hear the waves crashing against those grey rocks as swirls of seaweed gather below and it’s time to get ready for dinner prepared by a fabulous Irish chef!
And applause for SenSpa because they recently launched a new skincare capsule collection with a really (really) affordable, luxe oil-serum (the pink packaged products just to the right of the middle of the pic). Grab yours at Waitrose!
We haven’t really pointed this out much, but it is worth pointing out, I think:
“NO ads, NO sponsors, NO tie-ins with any brand on the planet”. If Awards are rigged in any way, or bow to sponsors in any way, I think this absolutely negates the whole point of them!! Awards should be a genuine and totally objective quest and recognition of excellence, with no bias or funny stuff going on whatsoever.
100% tried, tested and loved by 18 judges over 5 months of testing (the awards opened on 1 September – it’s important to properly test skincare for at least 28 days if possible). 38 countries entered, luckily not all at the last minute, but it suddenly got extremely busy on 6th December, the day entries officially closed. (The postman hates us but his wife loves us!)
On to a nail winner before we wrap things up today…
The loveliness that is Kure Bazaar. Founded by a Brazilian model, Kure Bazaar’s free-from incredible palette of shades nail polishes are made from – yes, we kid you not – wheat and potatoes. When eco ideas meet the runway. Nice.
On another side of our planet, in India, it was almost bed time Kate Humble, who Tweeted that her sweetpea and verbena body wash by Humble had won an Editor’s Choice Award.
Back in London, beauty guru Kate Shapland and Nancy Cruickshank’s MyShowcase team were quick to pick up on the fact that 15 Beauty Shortlist Awards winners were part of the MYSC edit.
The excitement on social media carried over into Sunday, in the end, but by 11pm on the big day I was so ready for a long bath at the end of it all after 19 hours straight. And a little Kiss (from) The Moon…
To see this season’s newest beauty shopping list, pop over to the 2017 AWARDS WINNERS page here
Tried, tested and loved (or not loved, in some cases) over winter…just in time for spring.
Dates for the diary
THE BEAUTY SHORTLIST MAMA & BABY AWARDS open for entries on MONDAY 3 APRIL. Please note: this year entries will close promptly within a few weeks, so please look out for the Online Entry Form which be up on or just before 3 April.
The 7th annual 2018 INTERNATIONAL BEAUTY SHORTLIST AWARDS will be open for entries on Friday 1 September 2017, closing in November.
Thank you so much for your support, and for making these so exciting!
We hope you enjoyed them.