Best Early Black Friday Beauty Deals

For experienced retinol users looking to level up, this treatment delivers a high-strength 1 percent retinol formula alongside antioxidants and skin-soothing ingredients. This product has relatively high potency and may be better tolerated by people with less sensitive skin or experience with retinoids. While it’s designed to improve wrinkles, discoloration, and sun damage, introduce it slowly to avoid irritation.

One of this product’s biggest strengths isn’t just the retinol—it’s the packaging. Each capsule contains a premeasured dose that’s sealed until use, helping protect the retinol from light and air, while ceramides help replenish the skin barrier and reduce moisture loss. 

This lightly scented micellar water from a popular French brand landed in the middle of every evaluator’s ranking. “It gets the job done,” said one evaluator. Another said it required a few swipes with a cotton pad to remove tubing mascara, “but nothing too strenuous.” Although the company claims that its product is designed for sensitive skin, the inclusion of fragrance means it might not be right for everyone.

This is a budget-friendly micellar to begin with; on sale, it’s a real steal. One evaluator found it effective and gentle; another said she had “no major qualms besides having to use a little bit more to get the tubing mascara off my face.”

You might find this gentle body wash in the baby section, but it’s a great option for adults, too. It has a light, nutty scent that reminded one evaluator of a clove-studded orange, and may leave the faintest scent on the skin if you use enough of it. That said, it dispenses quickly, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. One evaluator noted that she has sensitive skin that’s prone to dryness, and she found this body wash to be highly moisturizing, with no irritation afterward.

We’re a big fan of multitasking, and this 2-in-1 body wash and shampoo from Honest Co. is right up our alley. In our body wash evaluations, we found its creamsicle fragrance faint and pleasant, though slightly drying, and its bottle easy to use and dispense from.

This whole-body deodorant from Lume comes in a two-pack, available in 12 fragrances. According to the manufacturer, it provides 72 hours of sweat and odor protection, and its key ingredients include mandelic acid and caffeine.

This 2-pack of Mando Whole Body Deodorant is $13 off its price right now. Its key, odor-fighting ingredient is mandelic acid, and it comes in nine scents and one unscented version. In our evaluations, we found it worked well at combating odors, but its fragrance is strong (just be sure you’re okay with that).

Native Deodorant has a wide applicator and comes in a unique sea salt and cedar scent. It offers up to 72 hours of protection, according to its manufacturer. In our evaluations, it left white marks on dark clothing, so be cautious when applying it.

This aluminum-free deodorant from the classic brand Old Spice was found to have a strong scent in our evaluations, but if you don’t mind an intense fragrance, it can keep you dry—and it comes in a three-pack.

This moisturizing lip balm from Laneige comes in delightful scents like vanilla and blueberry that CR evaluators loved. Some of the options even offer a subtle hint of color for those mornings when you want a pop without the fuss. We found it slightly sticky and tacky, but the tackiness went away after the formula absorbed.

Mattifying lip products are rarely actively hydrating, and this tinted lip balm from NYX Cosmetics was no exception. Ginger Cowles, a managing editor at CR, who liked its velvety texture and didn’t initially find it drying, said that after wearing it for a couple of days, “my lips started to feel drier than usual. That tells me that even though it has a slight balm consistency, it’s not as potentially moisturizing or smoothing as the other products we tested.”  It’s well worth it, though, in her view. “I love the color so much that I’m willing to take that trade-off by using Aquaphor or Vaseline on my lips when I’m not wearing a tinted balm.”

This lightweight lip mask is unscented and is an excellent budget pick, especially for people with sensitive skin—it has a SkinSafe score of 100. It’s one of the lightest masks we tested, so it’s a reasonable pick for daytime; to wear overnight, you’re going to really need to pack it on.

Michael Todd was CR’s top pick for best electric dermaplaning tool. It was comfortable to hold and grip, removed peach fuzz with ease, and comes with several replacement blades. It even delivers a comforting vibration that we grew to love.

This tool was $15 less during Prime Big Deal Days, but this is still a nice discount.

This 1.5-inch hair straightener features tourmaline ceramic plates and an adjustable temperature that reaches up to 410°F. It also takes 30 seconds to heat up and has an auto shutoff feature that turns it off after one hour, so you don’t have to worry that you left it on.

This medium-hold gel has a floral, fruity scent. One evaluator said the silky product had the perfect amount of hold without weighing down her 2C-3B curls, and it controlled frizz well. However, another evaluator, with very thick 3A-B curls with low porosity and dense strands, thought it created knots and frizz for her on day two.

Make sure to apply the on-page coupon to get the lowest price.

This product has a very strong, but pleasant, coconut scent. Evaluators found it excellent for creating defined, shiny, frizz-free curls; one evaluator particularly liked it for refreshing her 6-year-old daughter’s braids and perm rod curls. 

This lightweight coconut-scented foam provided good results for those on our panel with shorter hair. It gives good curl definition and keeps frizz at bay, but it’s not the best pick if you desire perfect day-two hair.

It isn’t often you find a curling iron for less than $20. This one wasn’t our favorite in our evaluations (it snagged hair), but it created bouncy curls and features 30 temperature settings. We found a lot to like about it, and it’s on sale for 31 percent off.

Hot Tools hair styling tools are a common sight at hair salons, and for good reason. Our evaluators found that this flat iron heated up fast and was easy to use. It has variable heat settings to give users more control, and the plates are slightly longer than most straighteners, a feature that could be useful for styling longer hair. It’s important to note that the temperature consistency isn’t reliable and could vary by as much as 20 degrees from the set temperature during use. It has a 2-hour window before it automatically shuts off, so you’ll want to remember to unplug it after every use.

This flat was CR’s top pick thanks to several features: it heated up in just 21 seconds, stabilized the fastest, and maintained a consistent temperature over time. Our testers all loved the way it made their hair straight and sleek in no time.

The Laifen is a budget-friendly hair dryer, even when it’s not on sale, and this is just a few dollars more than the best price we’ve seen in months. It’s similar in appearance to the Dyson Supersonic: T-shaped, with a compact head that makes it easier to hold. Its concentrator attaches magnetically and can be rotated without taking it off entirely. Our testers found the buttons well-designed and easy to use, and the icons easy to read. Plus, it’s not too loud, reaching 79 decibels in our tests. The Laifen comes with only one attachment (a concentrator), and lacks a one-touch cool shot. It’s the least hot of all the hair dryers we tested, reaching 108° F in our tests on its highest setting. And at 71 inches, the Laifen’s cable is the shortest of all our recommended dryers.

The Revlon One-Step Volumizer is beloved for a reason: It just works. One tester shared this pro tip to achieve the best results: Keep tension on the hair and work in smaller sections. Otherwise, you may end up with a head full of frizz.

We saw this Revlon tool for $35 during Prime Big Deal Days, so the price could drop again closer to Black Friday.

In our at-home evaluations, this straightening comb worked best for testers with curly hair. It has five temperature settings, an auto shutoff feature, and is extremely lightweight. One tester especially liked that it could straighten the hair right at the root better than the Drybar Straightening Brush it was tested against.

This steamer was the only one we tried that made no noise. We found it comfortable and effective, and a cinch to use. It was easy to store, too. It’s marked down 20 percent for this sale.

If you’re looking for a new hair towel that stays put, this might be the one you’ve been waiting for. Our testers found that the YoulerTex hair towels stayed snugly in place. They’re a bit thicker than other towels we evaluated, but this didn’t make them any more absorbent. The testers all said their hair was still damp after about half an hour of wear time, but it might be the perfect choice if you’re the kind of person who sleeps in their hair towel.

These 5-blade razors come in a 12-pack and include a shower holder for convenience. In our tests, we found them to be lightweight and not especially flexible, but their low cost is undeniable (just go slowly around your knees and joints).

This 5-blade razor can be conveniently attached to your shower wall with a magnetic holder and includes four refills (plus, it comes in sweet colors like cool blue, coral, and mint). In our evaluation, we discovered they didn’t have the sharpest blades, but they work fine in a pinch (consider adding shaving cream to your routine to help the blade glide along).

The Gillette Venus was a clear winner in our evaluations of the best razors. The silver handle is pleasantly weighted, and it has a grippy spot for your thumb that makes it easier to hold in the shower, and the razor head has a large lubricating strip. Since the head is so bulky, you may need to angle it carefully while shaving difficult areas, such as the hollow of an underarm or an ankle.

CR testers agreed: Harry’s Original Razor provided the closest, cleanest shave without irritation in our evaluations. It has a small head that glides over curves and a rubberized handle grip that makes it much easier to maneuver around tricky body parts such as the chin, knees, and ankles. It has an aloe-infused strip and comes with three blade refills.

Our evaluators found that the St. Tropez Classic Bronzing Mousse was the perfect beginner’s self-tanner, creating a light, believable golden color and being easy to apply. It was the best pick for lighter skin shades because it was too subtle to make darker skin shades pop. We didn’t notice any color transfer after the application.

This tanner was $5 less during Prime Day fall sales, but you’re still saving a good chunk here.

The Nishel Travel Toiletry Bag is a hanging organizer, meaning you can hang it on the bathroom door with every compartment laid out in full view. This bag, on sale for 27 percent off, is an antidote to disorganization. It has several compartments, two of which have different-sized mesh pockets. Our evaluator also noted that it has a large capacity but still zips up easily, even when full. The low price is reflected in the quality of the material; however, if you don’t mind the fabric looking a little on the cheaper side (the reviewer noted theirs attracted a lot of dust), this could be a great choice.