Raise you hand if you want a more radiant, even skin tone? Yeah, we thought so. Even if you don't have dark spots or hyperpigmentation, a brightening product can work wonders on your skin. Seemingly every other skin care product we received this year boasted brightening effects, but there were a few standout formulations that left our skin absolutely glowing.

For serious dark spots, editors raved about RéVive Perfectif Even Skin Tone Serum, $325, and awarded it an honorable mention. They noticed their brighter skin and diminished dark spots in just a few weeks, thanks to the formula that was inspired by Nobel Prize-winning technology. Our winner, ProActiv Advanced Dark Spot Correcting Serum, $50, took top honors for its ability to even skin tone without being irritating.

Eve Lom's Brightening Cream, $110, impressed us with its light texture and bevy of powerful ingredients -- including a brightening peptide that blocks melanin production in your skin, along with soothing ingredients, like rose otto oil, aloe vera and allantoin. Dolce and Gabbana's newly launched skin care line also included an array of skin-brightening products, like a brightening essence/lotion hybrid, $72, that's light enough to add to your daily and nightly routine without making you feel like you're packing on too many products.

Over the last few years, countless exciting innovations in skin care have come from Korea. Case in point: gel moisturizers like our day cream award winner, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel, $18.99, and our entire BB and CC cream category.

As Korean trends gain traction stateside, Korean brands have hopped across the Pacific, as well. We awarded Belif -- a Korean brand that's new to the US -- a skin care Breakthrough Award. The textures are unusual in the best possible way, and it's one of the more natural lines to come over from Asia in recent years.

Many amazing beauty things now come in gel form: gel eye treatments, gel body lotions and, perhaps most famously, gel manicures. While we love the lustrous, long-lasting results we get from a gel manicure, we're not so crazy about exposing our hands to those UV lights. This year, our Editors' Picks award-winners in the nail category honored the at-home, gel-inspired manicure.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel, $9.99, won us over with its long lasting formula that looks just as shiny as a salon gel manicure, but dries in normal light and is a breeze to remove -- securing its Breakthrough Award. And, though the formula isn't a gel, Trust Fund Beauty Nail Vernis, $12, seriously stunned us with its glossy finish, vegan formula and staying power that are surely the result of some sort of witchcraft.

We're all for a bargain, but the OMG effects of some of this year's luxurious skin care submissions had us ready to open our wallets -- no matter how steep the price tag. When Sisley Black Rose Precious Face Oil, $235, runs away with our Editors' Picks award for best face oil, you know it's not just good; it's spectacular. Testers gushed about the consistency and smell of the product but were even more impressed by how glowy and youthful their skin looked -- both immediately and after a few weeks of using it.

Similarly, La Prairie Cellular Swiss Ice Crystal Eye Cream -- with an identical $235 price tag -- was a standout, taking home the top prize for an eye cream in our Editors' Picks category. The texture is a dream, and testers saw fine lines disappear in a few days.

There are many similar stories within our awards (like Clé de Peau's Intensive Brightening Mask, $150 for six, that made one editor literally exclaim "wow" when she looked in the mirror) because some beauty products are worth the investment. A new pair of shoes might last you a season or two, but compliments on your skin will boost your ego forever.