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Every single product that receives a GQ Grooming Award earned it because we think it will improve your life in some way. It's little things, generally—a comfortable shave, a more-interesting scent, slightly whiter teeth. But taking care of yourself adds up to more than the sum of its parts. It's the charge of feeling your best and the pleasure of a considered routine with products you love using. And trust us: you're going to like these 84 winners. 

In case you're looking for something specific. 

One of the most welcome personal-care trends of the past few years has been companies developing body care products with the same ultra-potent ingredients you used to only find in tiny, expensive bottles of stuff meant for your face. Take Fur’s Silk Scrub exfoliant, which combines chemical and physical exfoliation to dissolve and buff away gunk—it’s like a brightening face mask for your entire body. And this trend isn’t limited to just small labels—our go-to drugstore brands are getting in on the action, too. Axe’s Acne Control soap bar uses powerful salicylic acid to clean deep inside pores in a way that normal soap just can’t. If you’re dealing with bacne, this deserves a spot in your shower caddy.

Of course, normal soap is exactly what you should be using most days, and you’ve got more options than ever. For something unscented, the plush texture of the Skin-Caring body wash from Seen made it a clear winner. If you prefer something lightly scented, Cardon’s Vital body wash will make you feel like the grimiest shower is a summer downpour in an evergreen forest. And if you’re looking for something strong, look no further than Cremo’s Vintage Suede body wash—it’s a gigantic leather scent you would swear came from a niche perfumer.

No matter how gentle your shower routine is, you always want to add moisture back once you dry off. For a traditional lotion, look to the Humidifying Body Cream from Humanrace, which uses another fancy skin care ingredient, the natural retinol alternative bakuchiol, to keep your entire epidermis hydrated. But we also love Bathing Culture Heat Wave body oil. It won’t sink in quite as readily, which isn’t great when you’re scrambling to get out the door in the morning, but that means it’s especially nice to have someone else rub onto you, if you catch our drift. 

For the odds and ends (knees, elbows, knuckles), you want the Le Labo’s Multi-Purpose Balm. It’s a thick and potent moisturizer, and it just smells incredible—as you might expect from this fragrance powerhouse. A dab on your chest could conceivably replace your morning spritz of cologne.

When we think “spray deodorant,” that means those heavy-duty aerosols found in gym locker rooms around the globe. That is, until we tried Ursa Major’s Sublime Sage. It’s a spray made from natural ingredients that keeps you fresh all day—maybe the most surprising product we tried all year. Of course, those classic antiperspirant sprays are popular in locker rooms because they work. And no antiperspirant we tested this year just works like the Advanced 72H Motionsense deodorant from Degree. It contains sweat-stopping aluminum (an ingredient that doesn’t deserve its bad rap over unfounded health concerns), and it’s what we’d use for a midsummer round of golf or 20-hour travel day.

Aluminum will eventually discolor the armpits of your white shirts, so either wear an undershirt or reach for Dove Men+Care Clean Touch refillable deodorant. It’s aluminum free, smells quite nice, and comes in a nifty stainless refillable applicator to cut down on plastic waste.

Speaking of cutting down on waste: no product is doing more with less than the Panasonic Multishape Ultimate All-In-One Kit. It uses the same motorized base to power face, body, nose hair trimmers—and a toothbrush! Packing for a week-long business trip will never be the same.

Of course, sometimes you want to separate church and state. (By which we mean use a dedicated trimmer on your junk.) The Gillette Intimate body hair trimmer uses ultra-fine, closely spaced blades to keep any skin from slipping into the cutting zone, preventing nicks in the most uncomfortable places.

Sweater, price upon request, by Judy Turner. Tank top, $145, by R13. Pants, $198, by Sleepy Jones. Boxers, $54, by Hanro. Ring (on pinkie), $385, by Alighieri. Ring, $175 for set of three, by Clocks and Colours.

Where we’re sitting, nobody even bats an eye at some nail polish on a guy these days. In fact, the only thing that might get you judged is trying to lay down a manicure on beat-to-hell hands. So start with a solid foundation and a nightly application of Theraplush, from Soft Services. It’s got skin-plumping retinol (yet another potent skin care ingredient) and comes in a incognito dispenser all but guaranteed to look good on your bedside table.

Then, once your cuticles start growing again, keep them in place with the Men's Nail Pushy & Cleaner from Tweezerman. And if you’re ready to get really advanced, pick up a tube of Chanel’s L'Huile Camélia nail and cuticle oil. A nightly application is a genuinely luxurious little ritual—the fact that it prevents your fingers from peeling and bleeding is almost just a bonus. 

When you’re ready for a coat of polish, consider Color Matter from Off-White. True to the late Virgil Abloh’s spirit, it’s a range of colors just off-kilter enough to demand you take a second look. 

For more harmony—and more Harry Styles—grab the entire Pleasing x Marco Ribeiro nail polish set from the pop star's brand. The tonal mix of the whole set works together in interesting ways if you’ve got designs on becoming a nail art Vermeer.

These days, a guy wearing makeup isn’t necessarily making some big statement about gender. An application of Milk Makeup’s Future Fluid concealer, for example, is just a natural way to look a little more handsome. And for an important Zoom—because somehow we’re still doing that!—nothing will temper the glare off your face like a coat of Smashbox Photo Finish mattifying face primer.

But for a big look—you know, the club, a date, or a really important Zoom—it’s hard to do better than a chromatic blast from a Glossier No. 1 eyeliner pencil.

Tank top, $320, by Dion Lee. Bracelet (left), $110, and bracelet (right), $75, by Wolf Circus. Ring, $78, Sentient.

No perfumer is having a run like Francis Kurkdjian, who was appointed to lead Dior’s fragrance operation late last year. His own label is also growing rapidly, propelled by the mania over Baccarat Rouge 540 (which is on pace to define the smell of the decade the way that Le Labo’s Santal 33 did the last). But it’s a little ironic that his best-known fragrance has only a little of the metallic lightness that has become his calling card—whereas his latest, 724, practically floats in the breeze like a crisp white oxford shirt. That same sheen is all over Cologne Blanche, a 2004 release that he created for Dior and the house re-issued upon his appointment. It’s a sweet, powdery citrus so airy it practically drifts to the ceiling.

If you crave dampened freshness instead, there’s Polo Earth, a mostly-natural bottling from Ralph Lauren that gives the impression it was recently pressed out of just-picked flowers. For a slightly heavier floral: Prada’s Infusion D'Ylang, a sweet bouquet that works on anyone of any gender. 

But even in this fluid age, great leaps are still being made in decidedly masculine fragrances (that also work on anyone of any gender). Take Frederic Malle’s Uncut Gem. A genuinely imposing wall of vetiver and amber, it’s the one for any guys looking to take the next step from established designer cologne down the perfume rabbit hole.

Other fragrances are simply too specific to call masculine or feminine: take the new-tennis-ball pop of DS & Durga’s Leatherize and the wonderful concrete breeze of Maison Martin Margiela When the Rain Stops. Or soak in the powdery haze of Louis Vuitton City of Stars, where the weather is stupidly perfect and in fact the edible is just starting to kick in.

Still others explore a dominant olfactory family. Wood, for instance: where Gucci’s Love At Your Darkest blends in warm spice and Tom Ford’s Ébène Fumé uses incense, Aesop Eidesis is an entire sawmill full of aerosolized resin and dust.

Or sometimes it’s more of an idea, like fire. If sweet and spiced Arquiste Indigo Smoke smokes gently, Guerlain's thrilling Oud Khôl burns white-hot, like you’re downwind from a steel-mill blast furnace that’s somehow fired with precious agar wood.

The La Droguerie odor-removing candle is just one part of Diptyque’s extremely fun entrée into cleaning products—seriously, the fancy French brand is now making amazing-smelling dish soap and vinegar-based surface cleaner. And while candles are often used to mask unpleasant smells, this one is best used while you’re scrubbing and vacuuming. The overall effect is making a perfectly clean room smell just that much cleaner.

Some incenses smell like a cathedral, others like a campfire. Vyrao’s Verdant incense is firmly in the latter camp—it’s green and resinous rather than perfumed and ecclesiastical. No fireplace, no problem, in other words, even if you’re trying to set the mood on a chill winter evening.

There’s no reason to stop your olfactory control at your foyer: on the back side of the Seasons car clip is a receiving slot for the brand’s fragrant oils. Vetiver? Ylang ylang? No matter what you choose, we’ve come a long way from Black Ice.

Any skin care routine starts with face wash, which is usually a compromise between opposite poles: powerful acne-fighting cleansers threaten to dry you out, while gentle products simply don’t do anything. A few years ago, Philosophy’s cult-favorite cleanser somehow broke that law, with a super-powerful clean that’s also easy on the skin. And with the Purity Made Simple Pore Purifying Foam Cleanser, the brand took that essential appeal and made it foam—it’s now much easier to work with for guys with beards. If, however, you prefer a more straightforward consistency, look no further than the Neutrogena Hydroboost cleanser, which manages a similar balance in a gel. 

The next step is usually a hydrating serum. For daytime, you want Jaxon Lane’s Super Serum, which packs a murder’s row of helpful ingredients into a straightforward, quick-drying base. If you’re headed to bed, on the other hand, the heavier Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair Serum is best when it has all night to work its hyaluronic-acid powered magic.

Exfoliation might be the most personal skin care decision—one man’s cleansing mask is another’s chemical burn. So start slow: for daily use or sensitive skin, Dr. Jart+ Pore Remedy PHA exfoliating serum uses a class of chemical exfoliants that’s much gentler than the more common acids. For a deeper, once-in-a-while kind of clean, spend just a moment with Sisley’s Exfoliating Enzyme Mask—no need for cucumbers when it only takes 60 seconds to work.

And while you still have to get a prescription to get the most powerful skin-saving retinols on the market, the over-the-counter stuff is getting better every year. In fact, the only way we’d know Protocol-Lab’s Enzyme-Active retinol serum didn’t come from a pharmacist is that it feels too good to put on.

If your routine is packed with powerful serums, all you need from your moisturizer is a finishing hit of, you know, moisture. Augustinus Bader’s The Light Cream fits this niche nicely. It leaves a perfect texture on your cheekbones and otherwise is a fast-drying team player, even on swampy summer days.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking for an entire skin care routine in one bottle, start with skin brightening vitamin C. Dr. Dennis Gross Vitamin C Lactic moisturizer is ultralight, practically a serum, while Sunday Riley’s CEO Afterglow is plush—but both make excellent use of the ingredient to leave your skin buffed to a shine.

And if it’s maximum hydration you’re after, look even heavier. The matte texture of Isla’s Whipped Dream moisturizer means you could get away with it for daytime use; we’d keep Kiehl's Midnight Recovery night cream strictly after dark. But with enough time, both will leave you waking up like you got nine hours of sleep instead of six.

We’d describe Tatcha’s Clarifying Clay Mask as old school, given the straightforward clay texture, if it didn’t have a trick up its sleeve: it goes from a pale green to a pinkish color when its work is done. It’s a little like those cans of Coors Light that change color—hasn’t gotten old yet!

Shirt, $3,800 for pajama set, by Gucci. Pearl necklace, $115, and pendant necklace, $185, by Wolf Circus. Ring, his own.

There’s decent evidence that a little physical stimulation works as well as any cream to give you a fuller, less-tired-looking complexion. Therabody made its name with devices powerful enough for the muscle of pro athletes, but their latest, the Theraface Pro is much more delicate. The little machine has lots of tricks up its sleeve—heat, red light, eclectic current (!)—but it’s the rhythmic tapping massage we loved most. Of course, you can also get some of the same effects of a facial rubdown in a much older way. Supernal’s Cosmic Stone glides across your face—do it right, gently, and you can practically feel the tension in your jaw dissolve. 

If, in spite of all of that work, you still end up with a volcanic zit? Embrace it with a Black Star pimple patch from Starface—it happens!

It’s never been easier to make the switch to physical (otherwise known as mineral or natural) sunscreen—they’re better for coral reefs (and maybe for you), and gloppy texture and mime-makeup white casts are mostly a thing of the past. That’s thanks to the work of companies like Nécessaire, whose Sunscreen is true to the brand's minimalist ethos—it’s a simple easy-to-apply mineral sunblock and nothing more.

Drugstore superbrand CeraVe, on the other hand, bulked up the Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen with hydrating ingredients. It’s not a moisturizer exactly, but you could do a lot worse than simply slapping this on each morning.

Of course, there’s still a long way to go before chemical sunscreens give up their edge in texture. Supergoop Every Single Face watery lotion goes on instantly. Unless you’re spending lots of time around coral (lucky you), this one is hard to beat.

Shirt, $198, by Sleepy Jones. Eye Mask, $600, by Gucci. Underwear, $310, by Tom Ford. Slippers, $140, by Lenys World.

The Ordinary has probably done more than any brand to make guys aware of the specific ingredients in their skin care products, and now they’re attempting to do the same with hair. It’s off to a pretty counterintuitive start. While most enlightened hair-care brands have left harsh sulfates behind, the Sulfate 4% Cleanser makes the case (pretty convincingly) that it was the out-of-control quantities in bad shampoo that were the problem, not the ingredient itself.

If you’re not convinced, Olaplex’s no. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo is a gentler option, suitable for use more than a few days a week (if you must). Don’t leave this in a gym shower and expect to still be there when you get back.

Electric Flask In many ways conditioner is more important than shampoo (not that we’re picking sides). Our favorite rinse-our conditioner was R+Co Bleu Essential, which left everything deeply silky without a hair-mask time commitment. Even faster was Drunk Elephant’s brilliant Silkamino leave-in conditioner—simply work it though your mane and get on with your day. And more people every year are giving up shampoo entirely in order to co-wash—to cleanse their hair as needed with conditioner. Any product will work, but we’ve loved seeing dedicated products like Geologie’s Smoothing Co-Wash hitting the market with smart adjustments to texture and fragrance to help everything feel extra clean.