Gold: Agua Maravilla.* This is a cure-all even though it isn't really meant to be. Senior Art Director Paola Gonzales says, "You can wash your face with it, you can use it as a toner and some people even drink it -- like my grandma."
Silver: Lacio Lacio.* This is a leave-in conditioner that Carrillo calls "amazing." "It stands for 'straight straight,' and it really delivers on its name. It makes your hair super shiny and soft and controls frizz."
Bronze: Agua de Violetas.* While it's marketed for children as a hydrating spray, Gonzales says it's the absolute one thing every adult needs when you're in the Caribbean. Why? "Because a spritz from this is the only thing that'll keep you feeling fresh and hydrated in the heat."
* Not available in the U.S. Great excuse to fly to the Caribbean.
We always love pitting products against each other --bronzer against bronzer, lipstick against lipstick, etc. -- to see which rates highest and comes out on top, -- victorious! And, now, with the Summer Olympics poised to captivate the world, we thought it would be fun to take our product pitting to the next level and figure out which country's beauty products deserve the most accolades .
So while the rest of the globe is gearing up to watch the fittest people on the planet compete, we're exercising our product savvy by putting the best beauty products to the test in our own "Beauty Olympics."
And, though we may not be former world-class athletes (and didn't have NBC standing by to cover our competition), we're convinced that as judges, we merit a few medals of our own. As beauty editors and makeup artists, we're uniquely qualified for the task, having tried nearly every hair, skin, nail, and lash product out there -- and, as with the best in the Olympics biz, we're ruthless with our critiques. A broken palette, a rough brush, or a polish that chips after three days would all be sent to the showers.
So, to find out which products defeated the competition and went home with the gold, silver, and bronze medals, we say, "let the games begin � "
