October 1, 2009

It's that beautiful time of year again, and no, I'm not talking fall foliage or even fall fashion! It's time for Shecky's annual Beauty at Its Best Awards, where you reap the benefits of Shecky's year-long experiments with primping, plucking, lathering and scrubbing.

In years past, Shecky's team of beauty editors took it upon themselves to tap into a rolodex of 500+ beauty brand contacts in search of the best, so our readers never need be science experiments on the quest for getting gorgeous. This year, however, we raked in a record high of 2,000+ hair sprays, moisturizers, shadow palettes and oh-so much more to test, (Who knew there were so many serums?). And so, we decided to call in backup! Seven of our trusted beauty pundits (also known as our Beauty at its Best Committee) helped us scour the best budget buys, eco-friendly picks and must-have splurges, all in the name of bringing you the crème de la crème of prettifying products. We loved the beauty trends we found, from fountains of youth (like delicious Glowelle), to 2-in-1 styling tools (thank you Infiniti by Conair), to products infused with nothing but natural ingredients (say yes to Yes to Carrots!). In the end though, just 300 products received our stamp of approval, and we've got them all for you at Sheckys.com.

As if that weren't enough, we also went nationwide to find the best spa services in all of our Girls Night Out host cities. From NYC to LA, Chicago to Dallas, Miami to Minneapolis, we tested our fair share of masseuses, stylists and aestheticians (it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it) to find the ones who delivered the best body wraps, haircuts, manis and more.

Read, enjoy and be beautiful, for what could come more naturally?

Claudia Chan President Shecky’s P.S. If you’re wondering what that "C" icon means on some picks, those are my absolute favorites in the mix, for price point, ingredients and how happy they make me!