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A cut-price 'hair concealer', anti-bacterial hand gel and a liquid foundation that leaves skin luminous are the best-selling products of 2020 so far, research from a leading cosmetics comparison site has revealed.

A Cosmetify study of the sales and online searches for 216,650 products found a L'Oreal spray that colours grey strands and covers roots in seconds was this year's most popular buy between January and April worldwide.

A bottle of 'Magic Retouch' usually costs $15.99 AUD, but all shades are currently reduced to $7.97 AUD at Chemist Warehouse.

In a sign of the times, Cuticura's $2.92 anti-bacterial hand gel was second followed by The Ordinary's $13 Serum Foundation, which comes in a range of 21 shades and promises to coat skin with natural yet flawless coverage.

Huda Beauty was the world's most popular cosmetics brand for the second year running, followed by Anastasia Beverly Hills in second and MAC in third, with natural skincare labels Yves Rocher and Lush rounding out the top five.

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L'Oreal Paris Magic Retouch hair spray, the world's most popular beauty product in 2020

Cuticura $2.92 Anti Bacterial Hand Gel (left) was second, followed by The Ordinary $12.70 Serum Foundation (right)

1. Huda Beauty

Founded by Iraqi-American blogger and makeup artist Huda Kattan in 2013, the world's most popular cosmetics brand started with a single product - false eyelashes – which launched in Sephora and quickly sold out after being worn by Kim Kardashian West.

Seven years later, the Dubai-based company shifts record units of pigmented eyeshadow palettes, liquid lipsticks, mascaras, highlighters, foundations and baking powders.

Best-sellers include a $38 lipstick, a $99 18-colour eyeshadow palette and a $70 foundation that promises to smooth and brighten skin like an Instagram filter. 

Huda Beauty's best-sellers, an $99 18-colour eyeshadow palette (left) and $38 creamy lipsticks (right)

Today, Huda Beauty has more than twice as many social media followers - 44.3 million - as any other cosmetics brand, as well as being the most-mentioned brand on Instagram. 

The hashtag 'hudabeauty' is linked to a staggering 25.3million photos at the time of writing.

Kattan, 36, ranked 36th on Forbes 2019 list of America's Richest Self-Made Women, with a net worth of $610million USD ($882million AUD). 

She recently celebrated the 10 year anniversary of her beauty blog, where the idea for her business was born, by launching Diamond Balms, a luxurious line of $44 lipglosses in 'diamond' inspired iridescent packaging. 

The company also pledged $150,000 USD ($217,500 AUD) to Doctors Without Borders – Medecins Sans Frontieres – an organisation Kattan and her family have supported and advocated for since 2016.

The money will fund relief programmes for refugees, migrants, elderly and homeless people during the pandemic.

Iraqi-American beauty blogger turned businesswoman Huda Kattan, who used her talent for makeup to build a million dollar cosmetics brand 

2. Anastasia Beverly Hills

In second is Anastasia Beverly Hills or ABH, a cosmetics company opened as an independent Beverly Hills beauty salon by Romanian-American beautician turned businesswoman Anastasia Soare in 1997.

Soare, who was christened the 'Eyebrow Queen' by Kim Kardashian West, has built a billion dollar brand from her razor sharp focus on brows, which she says should be shaped around the natural bone structure of the face.

The first Anastasia Beverly Hills product - a brow wax and shaping kit - launched in Nordstrom in 2000. Every weekend, Soare traipsed around department stores showing customers how to use her product.

Businesswoman Anastasia Soare (left) with reality TV mogul Kris Jenner (right) in February 2020

By the mid-Noughties, the name Anastasia was synonymous with eyebrows. In 2012, the company expanded its range to include eyeshadow and highlighter palettes, bronzers and other face products.

A collection for professional makeup artists was launched in 2014 followed by contour kits in 2015.

The brand is now stocked in 2,000 international online and brick-and-mortar stores including Sephora, Nordstrom, Beauty Bay and Cult Beauty.

Anastasia Beverly Hills has 20.4million Instagram followers, a base cultivated by Soare's daughter Claudia 'Norvina' who built her own eponymous beauty brand inside the ABH business.

Norvina orchestrated collaborations with Mario Dedivanoic - Kim Kardashian's longtime makeup artist - and Amra Olevic, better known as AmRezy, which increased the brand's visibility on social media.

Today, best-sellers include the $33 Dip Brow Pomade, the $76 Modern Renaissance eyeshadow palette and a $24 eyeshadow primer that reviewers say keeps pigment in place for more than 16 hours.

Anastasia Beverly Hills' best-sellers, the $33 Dip Brow Pomade (left) and $76 Modern Renaissance eyeshadow palette (right)

3. MAC Cosmetics

Long before Kylie Lip Kits there were MAC matte lipsticks.

This year's third most popular beauty brand has been a major player in the cosmetics industry since 1984 when it was founded in Toronto, Canada by makeup artists Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo.

The brand has historic association with supporting LGBTQi rights and raising money for HIV and AIDS research.

The MAC AIDS Fund was established in 1994 to support people affected by the disease, and has since raised over $400million USD ($575million AUD) from sales of its iconic MAC Viva Glam lipsticks, donating 100 percent of the sale price to the cause.

Today, MAC has an online presence of 23.6million Instagram followers, along with 18.5million associated hashtags.

Longtime best-sellers include its range of lipsticks, which were permanently reduced from $36 to $30 in 2019, $54 Studio Fix foundation and $55 powder highlighters.

Notable collections include collaborations with RuPaul, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, as well as a line in honour of the late Selena Quintanilla, the 'Queen of Latin Pop' who was murdered in Texas on March 31, 1995 by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar.

MAC best-sellers, the $54 Studio Fix foundation (left) and creamy finish lipstick (right) which were permanently reduced fro $36 to $30 in 2019

4.  Yves Rocher 

A surprise entry in fourth position was French skincare line Yves Rocher, who entered the top five thanks to millions of searches across mainland Europe.

Cosmetify data shows more people searched for the 'botanical skincare brand'  between January and April 2020 than any other label.

Proving its adaptability, the company - which was founded by French businessman Yves Rocher in 1959 - started manufacturing hand sanitiser in early March to meet  growing global demand.

Best-sellers include a $50 gel moisturiser that claims to tighten skin, making the complexion appear younger, and a $27 cleansing scrub that promises to lift blackheads and dead skin cells in seconds. 

Yves Rocher best-sellers include a $27 facial cleansing scrub (left) and a $50 gel moisturiser that claims to tighten skin, making the complexion appear younger (right)

5. Lush

Rounding out the top five is Lush, a handmade skincare and beauty brand known for its sustainable and ethical ethos.

The brand was founded by British hairdresser Mark Constantine and beauty therapist Elizabeth Weir in 1995 who shared a passion for natural hair and beauty products before it was fashionable. 

Constantine was awarded an OBE for his services to the British beauty industry in 2010.

Today, Lush sells creams, soaps, shampoos, body washes, scrubs, bath bombs, lip balms and face masks in 923 stores across 52 countries.

Best-sellers include a $29.95 body cream designed for dry and eczema-prone skin, $40 lavender perfume spray and a $17.95 peppermint mask that claims to soothe inflamed skin and reduce acne breakouts. 

The best-selling $29.95 Dream Cream body lotion from Lush, which claims to soothe, calm and hydrate dry or eczema-prone skin

The brand has been involved in charitable fundraising since 2007 when it launched the Charity Pot, a hand and body lotion sold at the counter with 100 percent of the price donated to small organisations fighting for human rights, animal welfare and conversation. 

The company is regarded as one of the UK's best places to work after being voted the country's seventh best private sector employer by recruitment site Indeed in 2018. 

In January, the company made headlines Down Under by launching a limited edition 'koala body soap' to raise money for wildlife sanctuaries decimated by the Australian bushfires.