A Month-by-Month Breakdown of the Best-Selling Beauty Products of 2020

In a year that tested our patience, emotions, resilience, and bank balances, our choices in beauty and skincare products seemed to reflect our collective mood: We needed to be looked after. A month-by-month breakdown of the best-selling beauty products of 2020 revealed some interesting shopping trends. Somewhat unsurprisingly, hand sanitiser and luxury hand soap topped our lists in 2020. 

But as self-care became less of a social-media buzzword and more of a daily necessity in 2020, there was a noticeable rise in skincare, haircare, and bath and body purchases overall. A report by McKinsey saw that, while the pandemic did affect how we shop (mostly online), we did invest in our pamper products. It stated that "Zalando, Europe’s largest fashion and lifestyle e-commerce marketplace, reported a boom in pampering and self-care beauty categories." 

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(Image credit: @monikh)

At Who What Wear, we kept track of the products our readers liked, and shopped, the most. From the looks of this year's purchases, customers valued high-functioning ingredients and practicality when it came to skincare. Overall, The Ordinary reigned supreme. The brand, which is known for its affordable yet extremely proactive skincare products, was one of the most purchased throughout 2020. Also, in a year where DIY haircuts were commonplace, readers invested in some hair repair products. Below, you'll find a month-by-month breakdown of the 15 beauty products you really bought this year. 

January–March 2020

April–June 2020

July–September 2020

October–December 2020

Next up, These 26 Incredible Beauty Brands Just So Happen to Be British