Every year we round up the top-rated beauty products and let you, our amazing readers, vote on which ones deserve to win a TotalBeauty Award. This year we realized something was missing -- namely the someones who possess the talent to turn a humble contour kit or curling iron into works of art. Yep, we're talking beauty influencers.

Sulfates: They're something you might not want in your shampoo. Until recently, that was all we knew about sulfates -- more and more brands started avoiding them, but we didn't know why, or if we should avoid them, too. The personal care industry is filled with complicated chemical names and lots of "rules" about what you should and shouldn't be putting on your body. Today, we're shedding some light on the sulfate debate: Should they stay or should they go?.

So, what exactly is a clarifying shampoo, and why do we need them? Well, products like conditioner, shine serum, hairspray, etc. tend to create buildup on your hair and scalp, which leads to dullness, frizziness and heaviness. Environmental factors like pollution and mineral deposits from hard water can also contribute to the aforementioned lackluster hair -- so, enter clarifying shampoo. You see, a well-deployed clarifying shampoo can take care of all that, leaving you with a clean (not to mention shinier and more voluminous) slate. They're not something you should use every day, since they can be harsh, especially on drier hair -- but they're something you should consider using anywhere from weekly to monthly, depending on your hair type and how much product you use.

Ah, the excitement of opening a fresh new eye shadow palette. So many pretty shades to choose from, all equally gorgeous. But then the confusion sets in — how do you know which eye shadow colors go where? Are you supposed to use all of them? Does your eye shape matter? Don't stress, there's no need for palette panic. We asked makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes to walk us through not only the eye shadow basics, like how to apply eye shadow, but also how to recreate four gorgeous looks that flatter four different eye shapes. Read on for Hughes' eye makeup tips and tutorials.

I'm a big fan of in-shower moisturizers (anything to save 30 seconds in the morning), and now thanks to Jergens Natural Glow Wet Skin Moisturizer, $8.99, I can hydrate and get a bit of a glow. (If you consider self-tanning time, I'm shaving off minutes.) The results are subtle, never streaky, and there's no burnt rubber self-tanner smell.