Granted, we’ve been slacking since our New Year’s soiree (note to self: don’t mix beer with shots with champagne in 2006, ughhhhh). But in our defense, one must let the highs and lows of the preceding 12 months properly sink in to pen an annual roundup (or at least that’s what we’re telling ourselves). And in hindsight, 2005 was a banner year, with cosmetics brands and celebs of all sorts breaking beautiful—and sometimes not-so-beautiful—ground. Here, the Beauty Addict awards for the class of 2005.

Most Momentum: QVC
Remember when QVC was the home of the 24-hour infomercial that would lull you to sleep? Not anymore. The home-shopping channel has come a long way over the past decade and, by 2005’s end, was proudly peddling 22 beauty brands, including standouts such as Proactiv and Philosophy. Quality, value, and convenience indeed.
Most Stylish: Sienna Miller
With a fashion sense far savvier than the current crop of A-listers' and heirheads', Miller won us over in 2005. But it was more than just the clothes. Even in the wake of Nannygate, the starlet refused to be a victim, eschewing a pity party with the press in favor of a gutsy cropped cut.
Most Popular: M.A.C.
The Angelina Jolie of cosmetics, M.A.C. continued to secure its premier position as both iconoclast (shunning traditional advertising) and philanthropist (dedicating its marketing dollars largely to the Viva Glam campaign for the brand’s HIV/AIDS fund). Beauty enthusiasts lauded the company’s approach and, of course, the products themselves.
Most Overexposed: Tyra Banks
If Banks hadn’t been blessed with that face, those legs—hell, the whole genetic package—our guess is that she would’ve been hired by Lizzie Grubman’s army of publicity mongers years ago. In 2005, the supermodel-cum-talk-show-host was the queen of self-promotion. The former Angel’s biggest stunt? An on-air sonogram to prove her boobs were real.
Most Cultworthy: Bare Escentuals
Although it’s been around since the ’70s, Bare Escentuals hit its stride in the mid-’90s, when the brand formally debuted the bareMinerals line. Since the 2002 infomercial launch, it has continued to accrue legions of loyal followers, evidenced in 2005 by buzzing message boards all across cyberspace.
Best Eyes: Gerard Way
The metrosexual madness of the past few years bored us batty, but we never tire of boys in makeup—particularly androgynous ones, and especially rock stars. The My Chemical Romance frontman’s makeup, reportedly by M.A.C., represents the most inspired use of rich, saturated pigments we’ve seen since Rothko.
Most Overrated: Paris Hilton’s “Makeover”
Most will disagree, but we preferred Hilton in full-on party-girl mode—down-to-there hair extensions, baring her midriff, dancing topless on tables. It seemed more…well…honest than the senator’s-wife look she’s got going on now, and more compelling. Even worse was former crony Nicole Richie’s makeover-meets-vanishing-act (not so much chic as scary).
Best Bargain Seeker: Tony Blair
Some feathers were ruffled when it was revealed that the British prime minister spent $3,010 of taxpayer money on makeup and makeup artists over the past six years. Sure, it sounds like a lot, but a red-carpet walker can drop twice that amount for a single awards show. And have you seen the way Blair gets grilled in Parliament? Still, we’ve never seen him sweat. The $9.65 expenditure (what the sum breaks down to per week) makes Blair our new bargain-beauty role model.
Most Disheartening: Botox a la Bonaduce
Just when we thought we’d seen everything, Breaking Bonaduce took the reality-TV genre to new depths, with a dank, depressing look at the destruction child stardom (personality disorders, steroid use, alcoholism, et al) can reap. At the conclusion of the series, which chronicled the dysfunctional relationship between Danny and his wife, Gretchen, the couple is left to bond in the most mundane of ways—with a trip to the doctor for Botox shots.
Most Controversial: Dove
Fans of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty commended the brand for showcasing women of all shapes and sizes. Critics equated a cosmetics company telling women to love their bodies with McDonald’s preaching calorie control. Innovative or opportunistic? Only you can decide. Either way, Dove’s sales hit the $1 billion mark, leaving industry insiders to wonder whether aspiration really is the key to beauty success.
Most Changed: Lindsay Lohan
Was there a hair hue that L-Lo didn’t try in 2005? From ravishing red to golden blonde to our favorite, chocolate brown, and back again, the teen drama queen wore them well, replacing Madonna as the hair-color chameleon du jour. More important, Lohan is finally gaining back some of the much-needed weight she lost. In Vanity Fair’s January issue, she confesses that she’d been struggling with an eating disorder and drugs, but just “couldn’t admit it.”
The Biggest Loser: Tom Cruise
Cruise, who had enjoyed sex-symbol status for decades (although personally, we never understood the appeal), blew it big time this year. His infamous Today Show and Oprah appearances and too-promotional pairing with Katie Holmes relegated him to a new beauty low: Unsexiest Man Alive.
Best Vernacular: Jonathan Antin
We’re not predicting inclusion in Webster’s anytime soon, but Blow Out star Jonathan Antin did expand the beauty lexicon this year. After washing his hair with Evian, the stylist raved, “My hair is bangin’!” Months later, we’re still overhearing the expression peppered in conversations everywhere (as in, “This Fendi bag is soo bangin!’”).
Most Divisive: Aniston v. Jolie
You might be thinking this isn’t a beauty issue, but we beg to differ. Teams Aniston and Jolie weren’t just slogans emblazoned on T-shirts in 2005; they represented two diametrically opposed, competing camps of beauty ethos—girl-next-door v. vamp (confirming our belief that the world can, in fact, be divided into the Mariannes and the Gingers). Why real people became so emotionally invested in Bradgelina/Vaughiston’s sordid affairs we’ll never know, but at watercoolers and supermarket-checkout lines, there was no escaping the impassioned debates about which star was hotter and thus more Pitt-worthy. Yawn....
Most Envied: Demi Moore
When we saw Moore gracing this summer’s Versace ads, we did a double-take and heralded the star “the beauty icon we’d most like to resemble when we’re 43.” Shortly thereafter, we caught St. Elmo’s Fire on cable. And who says women don’t get better with age?
Most Makeover-Worthy: Pam Anderson
Let me preface this by saying that I love trashy as much as a girl possibly can. But this year, Anderson’s crash-helmet coiffure started creeping dangerously close to Jovi territory. Our 2006 predictions for Stacked star? Fewer layers and more monochromatic color usher in a new, more modish era of Pamdemonium.
Best Looking: Chanel No. 5
Product packaging is a cutthroat business, with each brand trying to develop cooler, cleverer containers. But of all the cosmetics on the market, our vote still goes to the classic Chanel scent, whose sleek deco bottle and signature black-and-white label never lose their luster.
Most Red-Carpet Regrettable: Jessica Simpson
This former Newlywed/soon-to-be divorcée is drop-dead gorgeous by nearly anyone’s standards. But her 2005 fashion blunders were equally deadly. The ultimate “Oh no she didn’t!”/“Fire the stylist!” moment was Simpson’s straptastic Cabaret-meets-St. Pauli Girl ensemble at the MTV Video Music Awards. As she sashayed down the red carpet, Simpson looked as if she were trying to Houdini her way out of a straight jacket. Egads!
Biggest Buzz: Jergens Natural Glow
If you were fortunate enough to have stockpiled the undisputed “product of the year” prior to this summer’s Cabbage Patch–style chaos, our guess is that you unloaded the goods on eBay long ago and are enjoying an early retirement somewhere far from the maddening crowd. And we hate you for that. ’Nuf said.
Most Impervious: Kate Moss
The U.K. uber-waif was like Teflon in 2005, enduring one of the year’s biggest scandals, getting dropped by Burberry and Chanel, and emerging a few months later from rehab no worse for the wear. Moss has since snagged new deals with Longchamp, Stella McCartney, and Virgin Mobile, whose commercial pithily asserts: “Virgin Mobile: One contract worth keeping.”
Most Loyal: Chris McMillan and Ken Pavés (tied)
When we become a famous Hollywood actress whose marriage comes to paparazzi-worthy end (it could happen), we’ll need a shoulder to lean on. And if that shoulder comes attached via arms to hands that can do world-class hair, all the better. In 2005, McMillan and Pavés were the ultimate go-to guys for Aniston and Simpson respectively, proving that a skillful stylist really is a girl’s best friend. —xoxoxJenny