[unpaid] It’s 25 years of The Beauty Bible – the original book of beauty recommendations that we all treated like a trusted friend. There was nothing else like at it at the time and it acted as an independent guide when we were all so reliant on what we were told by brands. It was the educator we needed to make more informed choices as consumers and helped us be more confident making decisions. It’s first editions were well before the internet took hold so, other than magazines, there wasn’t anything else other than word of mouth.

I dropped in on the virtual award ceremony on Instagram last night where the Gold Award winners were announced. There are over 100 categories but the winners are all tidily edited on their website HERE. The best thing about The Beauty Bible is that Jo Fairley and Sarah Stacey have a panel of testers who all receive packages of product targeting their particular concerns. They feedback after trialling in real life over a period of months so they can see how real results square up to the brand claims. You can apply to be a tester HERE although I imagine the wait list is long.

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The awards are Gold, Silver and Bronze (it is the beauty olympics after all!) covering face, body, hair, make-up and sun-protection and, where possible, Jo and Sarah steer readers towards the ‘steal’ which is a product that represents exceptionally good value for money. Under each winner, you get Jo and Sarah’s take on the product, as well as comments from the testers giving good reason for the award. So, it’s definitely a ‘make yourself a cuppa’ (or wine), settle-in read – best of all, the winners really aren’t predictable – I hadn’t heard of several of the brands. I was glad to see Guerlain mascara scoop a bronze, and Lanolips get joint gold for their gloss because those are a couple of my favourites too.

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All products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.