This afternoon CEW hosted its 25th Annual CEW Beauty Awards Luncheon, the industry’s most significant event recognizing the year’s most creative and innovative beauty products. The event drew more than 1,100 people to the New York Hilton Midtown, where the winners were named across 46 categories from more than 1,000 entries, representing more than 500 brands.

The use of plant-based active ingredients stood out among Beauty Awards Winners. Shiesido’s Ultimate Power Infusing Concentrate (Anti-Aging Prestige winner) powers its formula with botanical extracts of reishi mushroom and iris root; Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex Synchronized Recovery (Best Seller winner) aims to prevent and repair the visible impact on skin of modern day assaults, including lack of sleep, UV, pollution, and even exposure to blue light at night with the power of 8-hour anti-oxidant protection which contains Vitamin E, Yeast and Algae extracts; Drunk Elephant C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream uses extracts from cucumber, strawberry, apple and kiwi; and Beauty by Popsugar Be Sweet Tinted Lip Balm SPF15 (Indie Makeup winner) contains extracts from green tea, blueberry and hibiscus flower.

The naturals trend continues to bloom as the demand for these types of products becomes more global. Musc Impérial by Atelier Cologne (Niche Fragrance winner) developed its formula from 89 percent renewable natural origin ingredients; method sea + surf (Men’s Grooming winner) is completely made from naturally-derived ingredients; Kopari Beauty Coconut Shower Oil’s (Bath and Body Prestige winner) naturally-derived formula contains 100 percent pure, organic, sustainably-sourced coconut oil; and, Weleda’s Skin Food Body Butter (Bath and Body Mass winner) boasts a seal from NATRUE, created by the International Natural and Organic Cosmetics Association to certify natural and organic cosmetic products.

In cosmetics, long-lasting options that keep makeup locked-in-place was a key trend. Shiseido’s Kajal InkArtist 4-in-1 liner (Eye Product Prestige winner) promises 12 hours of waterproof wear; L’Oréal Paris’ Longwear Waterproof Brow Gel (Eye Product Mass winner) offers an impressive 48 hours; and, bareMinerals’ BAREPRO 16-Hr Full Coverage Concealer (Face Product Prestige winner) is designed to be crease-proof and waterproof for up to 16 hours.

Hydration was also a trend among Beauty Awards winning products, ranging from hair to skin care. Living Proof Restore Dry Scalp Treatment (Hair Shampoo/Hair Conditioner winner) uses hyaluronic-acid with the goal of providing moisture to the scalp, while Rodan + Fields Enhancements Active Hydration Body Replenish (Bath and Body Prestige winner) uses the ingredient in its formula to lock in skin’s moisture; Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask (Indie Skin care winner) features a blend of vitamins, ceramides and antioxidants to hydrate thirsty, stressed-out skin; and, Charlotte Tilbury Collagen Lip Bath (Lip Treatment winner) is designed to enhance and moisturize lips using marine collagen.

In response to the growing wellness industry, which the Global Wellness Institute estimates to be a $4.2 trillion global market, CEW added new award categories for Beauty Wellness Supplements and Aromatherapy. HUM Nutrition Inc. took home the Beauty Wellness Supplement award for Collagen POP, a dissolvable collagen and vitamin C tablet that aims to firm and hydrate skin. The Aromatherapy award was given to Naturopathica for its Chill Aromatic Alchemy, an essential oil blend designed to promote relaxation.

Another new category, Rising Influencer Awards, was added this year in partnership with Preen.Me. The awards, which acknowledge up-and-coming influencers in makeup and skin care verticals, were given to Alina and Inessa of The Vike Twins (@theviketwins) and Kate Fleming (@the.skincare.diary), respectively.

Beautycounter was awarded the highly-coveted Indie Brand Award, which awards the brand with a complimentary spotlight booth at 2019 Cosmoprof North America, a $5,000 value. And, LOLI Beauty was presented with the Sustainability Excellence Award, which recognizes a brand taking steps towards sustainability within the beauty industry.

Award winners will be able to display CEW’s Beauty Awards seal on product packaging, collateral, as well as social and e-commerce platforms, to distinguish their product as beauty’s best.

“After 25 years, the CEW seal of approval continues to help consumers navigate the beauty aisles to make informed purchase decisions. As the only awards program selected by industry insiders, we provide winners with credibility and have become the industry’s most important recognition,” said Carlotta Jacobson, President of CEW.

The 2019 Beauty Awards winners will be able to participate in several exciting partnerships to reach consumers and gain visibility. All winners will remain on CEWAwardWinners.com throughout the year with shoppable links, and will be promoted via PR Newswire following the awards, garnering 75 million impressions. On May 24, select winning products will be featured in Taxi TV’s NYC Taxis, garnering 70,000 impressions. In July, the winners will be featured in a QVC Beauty Show. There will also be major consumer-facing press outreach through both traditional and online outlets, including bloggers and social media.

TO SEE THE FULL LIST OF 2019 BEAUTY AWARDS WINNERS, CLICK HERE.