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2009 Readers' Choice Awards -- Results -- Part 1

2009 Readers’ Choice Awards — Results — Part 1

The results are in! It’s been a really incredible time compiling nominees and then watching the votes come in.  We had some close races in a few categories, with the difference being as little as one (or even tied!) at times.  It’s always fun to see how those turn out, because you never really know until the very last vote comes in–plus, it really shows that every vote counts and may be the one that turns the tide.

Did your favorites win?  Were you surprised by any of the winners?

Best Beauty Brand of the Year: MAC Cosmetics

With a crushing 49.0% of the vote, MAC Cosmetics picks up Best Beauty Brand of the Year. This marks MAC as a three-time winner in this category. Urban Decay (9.9%) and Make Up For Ever (7.6%) were the second and third, respectively, but it was clear MAC was, again, going to win this category by a landslide.

Best New Product of 2009: Sigma Brushes

Sigma Brushes really caught your attention this year and 14.4% of you found them the best new product of 2009. With 11.8% of votes, Chanel Rouge Allure Laques just barely edged out Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. II (11.4%) to come in second and third, respectively.

Most Surprisingly Amazing Product of 2009: Sigma Brushes

Sigma Brushes (15.6%) really caught a lot of you by surprise this year — but in a good way. I’m definitely going to try to give them a test during the new year, since so many of you seemed to enjoy it. MAC’s Style Black Mineralized Eyeshadows (10%) were another surprise favorite, along with Chanel Rouge Allure Laque (9.3%) and MAC Perfect Topping Mineralize Skinfinish (7.9%).

Most Disappointing Product of 2009: MAC Tri-colour Lipglass

Limited edition in nature, but still one of the bigger disappointments of the year, were MAC’s Sugarsweet Tri-colour Lipglasses — 16.9% thought so, at least. Maybelline’s Lash Stiletto (14.5%) was another product that missed the mark, with CoverGirl’s LashBlast Length Mascara (9.4%) not working out so well either.

Check out the Best/Worst MAC Collections of 2009, Mascaras, Eyeshadow Base, Eyeshadow, and Eyeliners!

Best MAC Collection of 2009: MAC for Hello Kitty

MAC for Hello Kitty just might have been one of MAC’s strongest selling collections of all-time, judging by the anticipation over the collection, but also by your vote — 22.7% favored this over all other MAC launches this year. Style Black (14.3%) and Blonde, Brunette, Redhead (11.03%) followed in second and third, respectively.

Worst MAC Collection of 2009: Baby Bloom

No love for Baby Bloom this year, as it was considered the worst by 11.8% of voters. In High Def (8.0%) and Baroque Boudoir (7.6%) followed closely as second and third, respectively. Interestingly enough, Love That Look was the least likely to win worst, because it barely received any votes for worst — only two!

Best Mascara: CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara

Are you surprised that CoverGirl’s LashBlast Mascara has beaten an eternal crowd-favorite, Dior DiorShow? Well, that’s what happened this year, and by no small margin. CoverGirl LashBlast pulled in 18.5% of the vote, while Dior DiorShow only garnered 9.1% of the vote. L’Oreal Carbon Voluminous Mascara (6.0%) came in third. Last year, LashBlast also took home Best Mascara as voted by readers, but the margin was much, much smaller. Were you a DiorShow fan who has now switched to LashBlast? ‘fess up!

Best Drugstore Mascara: CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara

Hey, if CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara wins Best Mascara, period, it better win drugstore, right? It picked up 30.8% of votes, with L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara (12.6%) and Maybelline Colossal Mascara (7.7%) coming in second and third, respectively.

Worst Mascara: Maybelline Great Lash

Two years in a row, Maybelline’s Great Lash has taken home the not-so-happy award of Worst Mascara. This year, they do so with 14.7% of the vote with MAC ZoomLash Mascara (10.4%) and Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara (10.3%) coming in second and third, respectively.

Best Eyeshadow Base: Urban Decay Primer Potion

Now a three-time winner, Urban Decay Primer Potion still hung in there with a very strong hold — 41.8% of votes. What was interesting about this particular category is that there were three really large vote-getters, while the rest were quite scattered. MAC Paint Pots (20.3%) and Too Faced Shadow Insurance (18.2%) came in second and third, respectively.

Best Eyeshadow: MAC Eyeshadow

Another win for MAC, the first winner for this newly added category–they collected a whopping 54.2% of the vote. Urban Decay (13.2%) and NARS (5.8%) weren’t able to close the gap and came in second and third, respectively.

Best Pencil Eyeliner: Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner

41.1% of those who voted have fallen for Urban Decay’s 24/7 Eyeliner for your go-to for pencil eyeliners! Make Up For Ever AquaEyes Eyeliner (8.9%) and Stila Kajal Liner (6.7%) came in second and third, respectively.

Best Gel Eyeliner: MAC Fluidline

With 48.0% of the vote, MAC Fluidline really pushed out the rest of the nominees. Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliners (12.8%) and Stila Smudge Pots (11.9%) were second and third, respectively.

47 Comments

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Christine Avatar

You know how some products you can have multiples of, but others you kind of just need one? I love and own pretty much all of MAC brushes (at least permanent ones). Even if Sigma brushes are comparable and cheaper, I don’t have an actual *need* for them and don’t see myself using them when I already invested my money into MAC brushes, you know? So they’ve just never been high on my list of things to buy, but I’ll try to make room in my budget to try them out for a review on the blog this year–because for 2009, I worked on purchasing all of MAC’s brushes to do a full series of MAC brush reviews, so that ate up quite a bit!

Sixx Avatar

I’d probably put Sigma brushes on the end of my list if I were you then…they are nice, affordable substitutes if you don’t want to fork out for the “real” thing. The only Sigma brush I *might* like better compared to MAC’s is the SS224 vs 224. Otherwise, the SS109 SHEDS a lot…the SS187 is not as dense…the SS219 is also less dense & more flimsy etc. etc. But they’re flaws you might not notice if you’ve never owned MAC…

Jezi Avatar

I’m going to pop in the Sigma discussion and say, although their regular brushes aren’t always the same as MAC brushes, their travel set blows the MAC holiday SE brush sets out of the water in quality.

Katie Avatar

I also like this Sigma brush better than the MAC version for the reason that it’s a little shorter and a little denser so it takes less time and effort to blend out harsh lines. Or at least that’s my reason!

Sixx Avatar

I like it that the SS224 bristles are slightly shorter and less fluffy which works great for my smaller eyes. I say *might* only because I don’t actually own a MAC 224 but have played around w/it at the stores..

Haylie Avatar

I see your point Christine. For me they’re perfect because I can’t spend that much on Mac brushes lol. I have the MAC 224 and the Sigma SS 224 and the Sigma one is much denser and has shorter bristles while the MAC 224 is fluffier. Better for blending IMO. They’re a nice cheaper alternative even though they may not be the completely exact same as MAC’s brushes. They also would make a great gift!

Kacie Avatar

I think they’re worth the investment… I like several of the sigma brushes better than their mac counterparts. The 224 and 252 are my favorites.

ElleryAllison Avatar

I bet if you contacted the owner of Sigma she would send you a set to review and compare, I know I would appreciate a review from you.
I still haven’t decided wether it’s worth it to shell out the 80 bucks or not, and I really trust your opinion.

Haylie Avatar

Yeah they probably will Christine! They send them to like a bunch of gurus even ones that aren’t really popular. So I’m sure they’d send them to a beauty expert like you!

liz mendez Avatar

I LOVE their brushes but HATE HATE their customer service.

PRAY you never get something defective or broken, such a pain in the neck!! You’ll have to pay out of your own pocket to return them. So you PAY for the brushes, you PAY for the shipping, they send u broken stuff, then you have to PAY shipping again or they wont exchange them. SHAME ON YOU SIGMA!!!

shontay Avatar

Well, I knew mac would win best brand. No surprise there. I’m disappointed Too Faced didn’t win for best shadow base. I never bought into UD Primer Potion.

Ana Avatar

Having both in my collection I can confirm UD has a far superior product. On my Lids (oily) two faced ALWAYS creases. UDPP is simply the best. You look morning time perfect at 10 pm 🙂

Mel Avatar

I used to be in love with DiorShow and tried Lash Blast on a whim when it first came out and liked it a lot better! The fact that it costs a whole lot less is also a big plus haha

Elise Avatar

Nothin’ can really beat MAC with their eyeshadows in terms of popularity and pigmentation.. but I really wonder if there are other brands out there who can be at par or maybe better than MAC eyeshadows.. it wouldn’t hurt to try…

Christine Avatar

I think they’re accessible, easy to use, have a huge, huge variety in both shades and finishes, a lot *are* pigmented… and the price is right.

I know some of the top eyeshadows (in terms of quality) are MAC, Urban Decay, and Make Up For Ever. Those would be the top three I see mentioned a lot, with NARS right behind ’em.

Rosie Avatar

I’m a total geek but it’s honestly exciting to read these and see what won :). Thanks for the fun stuff! Happy New Year, Christine.

kpenn09 Avatar

Wow, I am SO surprised that LashBlast won best mascara! I’m a mascara junkie, and of all the brands I’ve ever tried, it ranked by far the worst for me!

KC Avatar

Well my main MAC choices made it. I voted for Voluminous Mascara, speaking of which I need a new tube. Never heard of Sigma brushes though.

Jinny Avatar

There is a woman on youtube that does an honest review and comparison to MAC brushes. Michele1218 is her screen name.

Personally I don’t like sigma brushes I don’t own them but my “thrifty” friend does and I didn’t enjoy them like I do my MAC brushes.

Cherie Avatar

Good round up! Always interesting to see reader poles 🙂

I actually like MAC’s Zoomlash but the brush blows… Is it the same formula as the rest with just a different brush?? I’m not sure.. anybody?

Catherine Avatar

Yay! I voted for MAC for Hello Kitty as well as UDPP and their 24/7s. I think MAC for Hello Kitty was just such an epic collection. I can’t remember being as excited about any other one during the year.

Jenny Avatar

Hi Christine! I recently found your website when looking for make-up tips and I’m so glad I did! Thank you so much for all the great info!
I have a question and I didn’t know where to put it so I’m putting it here where you were talking about products..

Foundation.. I feel like I can never find a shade that fits me! I’ve tried all kinds of different brands and things and I cant spend 67493248 dollars on it! I’m sort of pale I guess, definitely not tan but everything looks to light or dark on me! Any advice on finding the right shade or foundation? =]
thanks!
Jenny

Christine Avatar

Hi Jenny,

Look online for brands with really, really big shade ranges, because that’s a sign you’re more likely to find the right match for you. Second, ask for samples when you’re at the counter. Don’t be shy, either! Ask for three or ten. 🙂

R Avatar

haha, mac wins everything. Sorry, makeup forever should have been voted best eye shadow. I love Mac but come on, I know one thing for sure, makeup forever should win best foundation if there’s ever a category for that. Not just for the HD, but for the matte one too.

Christine Avatar

Different strokes for different folks, R! 🙂 I know I like MUFE’s eyeshadows, but I don’t feel they’re incredible. They do excellent matte shades, but I think their shimmers could be more creative and just have more to them – the eyeshadows feel like a one trick pony to me, but it’s great that you love MUFE’s and have found the right eyeshadow for you!

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