The 2026 Glossy Pop Awards winners reflect an industry increasingly shaped by community, cultural relevance and experimentation. This year’s winners found new ways to connect with audiences through creator partnerships, social platforms and live experiences while placing greater emphasis on personalization and collaboration.
That shift was evident in the work of MAC Cosmetics, which won two awards this year: Best Use of TikTok for its grand store opening campaign and Best Brand Activation for its U.S. Sephora launch. The Sephora debut became a broader cultural event drawing on MAC’s creator partnerships, experiential activations and social storytelling. The brand’s TikTok Shop campaign similarly combined creators, live commerce and curated products, demonstrating how social platforms have evolved from awareness channels into destinations for discovery and purchase.
The Estée Lauder Companies won Best Brand/Retailer Event for its Celebration on Prince Street activation, which took a different route. Estée Lauder transformed a New York City street into an immersive fragrance experience that engaged leading editors, creators, stylists and tastemakers. The activation made fragrance the centerpiece of a highly shareable moment, extending the conversation onto social media and into beauty and fashion coverage. Together, the MAC and Estée Lauder campaigns demonstrated how beauty brands are building communities around shared experiences rather than relying solely on traditional product-led messaging.
As beauty and fashion continue to converge, innovative brand strategies are also emerging through collaboration and personalization. Beautyblender and Glow Recipe won the best Brand x Brand Product Collaboration award for their partnership. The companies bridged skincare and makeup with a custom Watermelon Glow Beautyblender that gave consumers an integrated approach to preparing, applying and finishing their skincare and makeup routines.
Across this year’s winners, creators and artists played an active role in shaping how products were discovered, understood and used. The result was a more fluid approach to brand building, where product innovation, creator influence, retail and digital commerce worked in concert.
Explore all the 2026 Glossy Pop Awards winners below.
Beauty Product of the Year – NEW
L’Oréal Paris – Launch of EverPure Iron Sleek
Best Ambassador Program
Thayers Slayers
Best Brand Activation
MAC Cosmetics x Sephora Launch
Best Brand Sport Partnership
Unrivaled’s Partnership with Sephora
Best Brand X Influencer Content Collab
CeraVe x Jake Shane Skinterrogation Experience at AAD
Best Brand x Influencer Product Collab
Garnier x TJ Palma — Curl Construct Mousse or Moose Stunt
Best Brand/Retailer Event
The Estée Lauder Companies’ Celebration on Prince Street
Best Campaign: Brand Launch
essie Color With A Reputation Campaign
Best Campaign: Product Launch
Armani beauty Luminous Silk Foundation
Best Community Engagement Strategy
Coach x The Sims 4
Best Influencer Event – NEW
Ulta Beauty – Ski Week: Top-Performing Influencer Event
Best Social Commerce Campaign
Calzedonia x January Digital: Social Built to Saturate
Best Use of Instagram
M·A·C Cosmetics — MACzine Digital Magazine Debut
Best Use of TikTok
MAC TikTok Shop Grand Opening: Record-Breaking Launch
Best Use of TikTok Shop
Dossier
Best Use of Video
Tecovas’ Love Letter to Texas Film
Brand of the Year
rhode
Brand x Brand Product Collaboration – NEW
Glow Recipe x Beautyblender Watermelon Glow Kit Launch
Fashion Product of the Year – NEW
Clarisse Jacket Fuels Hill House Category Growth
Founder of the Year
Hailey Rhode Bieber, rhode
Influencer Founded Brand of the Year
NYKZ by Nicole Guerriero
Most Innovative Use of Influencer Marketing
Beekman 1802, Milk RX Eye Treatments x Lipstick Lesbians
Wellness/Fitness Product of the Year – NEW
Teal Health’s Teal Wand
