This year, yet again, you voted in your thousands, which just goes to show how important the unguents that make life beautiful are to you. Beautiful in terms of the experience they encompass — the smell, the feel, the pleasure of the ritual. But beautiful, too, in terms of their qualitative results — for you, these products actually deliver the goods.

As with last year, the products you chose were popular and commercially successful, rather than exclusive or obscure. Many of these products are ones that Style’s own testers have verified as effective and attractive, so if you haven’t tried some of them yet, you should do.

In fact, there were few shocks. Beauty-counter blockbusters such as John Frieda Frizz-Ease Hair Serum and Lancôme Juicy Tubes were among those that won for the second year running, as did that cult-classic-turned-bathroom-mainstay, Eve Lom Cleanser.

What can we learn from the awards about your tastes and proclivities? You like the luxury brands that are readily available, such as Clarins and Chanel. You like technology, but not just for the sake of it. What you want is technology that really works — such as the shine boosters in John Frieda Brilliant Brunette. You are not afraid to paint expressively with colour, hence the inclusion of Mac eye shadow. And, sometimes, you think it’s definitely worth loading up your basket with cheap and cheerful products, such as Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula.

So the beauty awards are not representative of what is cutting edge, but what is tried and tested and loved. The beauty industry augments and refines all of our lives. Here is what made you gleam and ping with lustre and lusciousness.

Bethan Cole

BEST HAIR PRODUCT SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER

JOHN FRIEDA BRILLIANT BRUNETTE/SHEER BLONDE
Brilliant Brunette’s mild organic fruit and milk acids help to promote “multi-dimensional shine”, while Sheer Blonde shampoo and conditioner deal with brassiness and green tinging.
Brilliant Brunette and Sheer Blonde shampoos and conditioners, £4.49 each; 020 7851 9800

IF YOU LIKE THIS, THEN TRY Glossing Shampoo, £16, and Conditioner, £16, by Frédéric Fekkai, from Space NK

BEST HAIR PRODUCT STYLING TREATMENT

JOHN FRIEDA FRIZZ-EASE HAIR SERUM
You only need to look at a 1970s edition of Top of the Pops to see the horror of LBFE (life before Frizz-Ease) and the crispy, parched halos of fuzz that once surrounded hair. Now, of course, all hair glistens, thanks to this small phial of silicone liquid. One is sold every 16 seconds in the UK alone.
£5.95; 020 7851 9800

IF YOU LIKE THIS, THEN TRY Shin Shine spray, £22, by Philip B, from Space NK

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