Every trusted rating.
One clear answer.
Instead of opening ten tabs, see the ratings from multiple trusted sources side by side — combined into one consensus score for each category, with the rating counts shown so you can see how much evidence sits behind it.
here
Start with our first completed guide: Microcurrent Devices
The full method, working end to end — every source's stars and rating counts side by side, one consensus score, and a plain-words note on why each score landed where it did.
Beauty — the launch department
Categories are grouped the way people actually shop: by what the product is. Each tile is one comparison page. Finished guides are marked Guide live; the rest are honestly marked Coming soon until their research is done.
Clear the search to see everything, or tell us below what rating you want to see and we'll add it to the list.
Latest guides — all 16 are live
Every guide in the Beauty launch plan is now complete. These two panels list all 16 as a shortcut in — the full grid, grouped by Devices, Skincare and Makeup, is in the browse section above.
Latest guides — Devices & Skincare
Completed guides, with the number of products ranked in each.
- ✓Microcurrent DevicesGuide liveBeauty Devices · 6 devices compared · Top rated ZIIP Halo, 4.8
- ✓Red Light MasksGuide liveBeauty Devices · 6 products ranked
- ✓Hair Growth HelmetsGuide liveBeauty Devices · 6 products ranked
- ✓IPL Hair Removal DevicesGuide liveBeauty Devices · 5 products ranked
- ✓Peptide SerumsGuide liveSkincare · 6 products ranked
- ✓Vitamin C SerumsGuide liveSkincare · 6 products ranked
- ✓Retinol SerumsGuide liveSkincare · 6 products ranked
- ✓Neck CreamsGuide liveSkincare · 6 products ranked
Latest guides — Skincare & Makeup
Completed guides, with the number of products ranked in each.
- ✓Face MoisturizersGuide liveSkincare · 6 products ranked
- ✓Eye CreamsGuide liveSkincare · 5 products ranked
- ✓Dark Spot CorrectorsGuide liveSkincare · 6 products ranked
- ✓Cleansers & Cleansing BalmsGuide liveSkincare · 6 products ranked
- ✓Foundation for Mature SkinGuide liveMakeup · 5 products ranked
- ✓Tinted MoisturizersGuide liveMakeup · 6 products ranked
- ✓ConcealersGuide liveMakeup · 6 products ranked
- ✓LipsticksGuide liveMakeup · 6 products ranked
One score, built from many
We don't write reviews and we don't copy anyone else's. We gather the numbers that already exist and combine them transparently.
Multiple trusted sources
Retailers, beauty stores and expert review sites — every source is named on the page, next to its own stars.
One consensus score
Sources are combined into a single score, weighted by how many ratings sit behind each one.
Rating counts shown
A 4.8 from 40 ratings is not the same as a 4.8 from 4,000. The counts are always visible, so you can judge.
Scores, not copied reviews
We show ratings and facts with attribution. We never republish another site's review text.
Read the full How We Score page — the weighting, the worked example, and how we handle gaps →
More departments coming
The same system — departments, groups, one consensus score per category — extends beyond Beauty. These are future plans, not live sections.
Home
Everyday home categories, organized the same way once Beauty is complete. No pages yet.
Electronics
Devices and gadgets with ratings gathered from retailers and expert reviewers alike. No pages yet.
Health
Health and wellness categories, held to the same sourcing and attribution rules. No pages yet.
Tell us what to cover next
Both boxes send your suggestion to hello@whatsthebest.reviews. When a rating you requested is published, it can be emailed back to you.
Tell us what rating you want to see
Missing a category? Name it — a product type, a brand, a specific question. Requests go straight onto our research list.
Which review site should we add?
Trust a source we don't use yet — a magazine, a retailer, a reviewer? Name it and we'll look at adding its ratings to our consensus.
Ratings from everywhere, one clear answer.
What's the Best? (whatsthebest.reviews) exists for a simple reason: the ratings you need before buying something are scattered across a dozen sites, and no single one of them tells the whole story. We gather them into one place and combine them into one consensus score per product — with every source named, and the number of ratings behind each score shown on the page.
What we do
For each category, we collect the star ratings that trusted retailers, beauty stores, brand stores and expert review sites have already published. We show each source's own stars and rating count side by side, then combine them into a single consensus score, weighted by how many ratings sit behind each source. Every product also gets a short, plain-words note explaining why its score landed where it did. The full method is on our How We Score page.
We present scores and facts with attribution. We do not copy or republish another site's review text, photos or conclusions — the numbers are credited to the sources they came from, and the judgment calls (what to include, what to leave out, and why) are ours and are explained on the page.
Beauty first
We launch with Beauty, in three groups: Beauty Devices, Skincare and Makeup. These are categories where prices are high, claims are loud, and ratings genuinely disagree between sources — exactly where a consensus helps most. More departments (Home, Electronics, Health) are planned for later, and they will follow the same system: groups, named sources, one honest score per category.
Where things stand: all 16 launch guides in Beauty are now complete — from Microcurrent Devices (6 devices compared, with the ZIIP Halo top rated at 4.8) through Peptide Serums, Cleansers & Cleansing Balms and Lipsticks. The few categories still labeled “Coming soon” on the homepage are the next ones in line, and they stay labeled that way until their research is actually done. We would rather show you an honest label than an invented rating.
Independent and reader-first
- No paid placement. Brands cannot pay to be included, ranked higher, or scored better. If a product is missing, it is because its data was too thin or conflicting — and we say so.
- Scores come from ratings, not relationships. Some links on the site may earn us a commission (see our Affiliate Disclosure); commissions never change a score.
- Gaps are shown, not hidden. When a source can't be read live, or figures conflict, the page says that too.
- Readers shape the coverage. The most-requested categories and sources move up our research list — you can request a rating or suggest a review site any time.
Get in touch
Questions about a score, a correction to a rating or count, or an idea for what we should cover next — the fastest route is email. We read everything sent to us.
Email us
Use this address for corrections, questions about how a score was built, and privacy questions (see the Privacy Policy). If you are writing about a specific category page, naming the category and the product helps us check the figures faster.
Two things readers ask for most
Both boxes work the same way as the ones on the homepage: type your suggestion, and we'll show you a ready-to-send, pre-addressed email to hello@whatsthebest.reviews so it reaches us in writing.
Tell us what rating you want to see
Missing a category? Name it — a product type, a brand, a specific question. Requests go straight onto our research list, and when a rating you requested is published, it can be emailed back to you.
Which review site should we add?
Trust a source we don't use yet — a magazine, a retailer, a reviewer? Name it and we'll look at adding its ratings to our consensus.
One score, built from many — in the open.
We don't write reviews, and we don't copy anyone else's. We gather the ratings that already exist, show our working, and combine them into one consensus score you can check for yourself.
1 · We gather ratings from multiple named sources
For every product in a guide, we collect star ratings from several sources: retailers, beauty stores, brand stores and expert review sites. A source only counts if it publishes a real rating for that exact product — a different size, bundle or model doesn't get borrowed. Every source we use is named on the page, next to its own stars.
2 · Each source's stars and rating count are shown
A star rating on its own hides the most important question: how many people does it represent? So every source on a product card shows both its stars and the number of ratings behind them. A 4.8 from 40 ratings is not the same evidence as a 4.8 from 4,000, and on our pages you never have to guess which one you're looking at.
3 · We combine them into a count-weighted consensus
The consensus score weights each source by its rating count, so a rating built on thousands of shoppers pulls more than one built on a handful:
Worked example (illustrative numbers): if a product scores 4.6 from 2,000 ratings at one store and 5.0 from 20 ratings at another, the consensus is (4.6 × 2,000 + 5.0 × 20) ÷ 2,020 ≈ 4.6 — not the 4.8 a simple average would claim. Big samples steady the score; small samples nudge it.
4 · Every product gets a “why this score” note
Numbers alone can mislead, so each product carries a short, plain-words explanation: which sources agreed, which disagreed, whether one huge rating pool dominates, or whether the evidence is thin. If a score looks high but rests on very few ratings, the note says so — that context is part of the score, not fine print.
5 · Gaps are shown honestly
- Snapshots, labeled as such. Some retailers make a live read of their figures difficult or impossible. Where a number comes from a recent listing snapshot rather than a live read, the guide treats it as exactly that — a snapshot — and the caveat travels with the data.
- Conflicting figures. If sources disagree about a product in ways we can't reconcile — or a rating appears to belong to a different variant — we don't average the confusion away. The product is flagged or left out, and the page explains why.
- Thin data means no score. If a product doesn't have enough trustworthy ratings behind it, it doesn't get a consensus score. An honest omission beats an invented number.
- Things change. Ratings and counts move over time. Guides are re-checked as they are updated, and corrections from readers are verified against the sources and fixed — tell us if you spot one.
6 · Scores and facts only — never copied reviews
We show ratings, counts and product facts with attribution to the source each came from. We never republish another site's review text, and a consensus score is our own calculation from the published figures — you can recompute every one of them from the numbers printed on the card.
The short version: many named sources, every count visible, weight given to the ratings with the most people behind them, a plain-words note on every score, and the gaps labeled instead of hidden. That's the whole method — and it's the same on every guide we publish.
Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information What's the Best? (whatsthebest.reviews) collects when you visit the site or contact us, how it is used, and the choices you have. It is written in plain language on purpose.
Information you send us
When you email us or use one of the suggestion boxes on this site (for example, requesting a rating or suggesting a review site), your message is delivered to us by email. That means we receive the content of your message and the email address you send it from, along with any name your email account attaches to it. We use this information only to read and respond to your message, to plan and prioritize the site's coverage and sources, and — if you asked us to — to let you know when a rating you requested has been published.
Basic technical and log data
Like almost every website, when you visit, the systems that host and deliver this site automatically record basic technical information: your IP address, browser and device type, the pages you request, and the date and time of your visit. We use this kind of log data to keep the site working and secure, to understand which pages are being read, and to fix problems. It is not used to build profiles of individual visitors.
Cookies
Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. This site may use cookies that are needed for it to function properly, and — as the site grows — cookies that help us understand how pages are used or that support advertising which helps fund the site. Some of these may be set by third-party services the site works with. You can control or delete cookies at any time through your browser settings; the site will still work if you block them, though some features may behave differently. We will update this policy to describe any significant new use of cookies before or as it begins.
What we don't do
- We do not sell your personal information.
- We do not require an account, and we do not collect payment details — purchases happen on retailers' own sites, under their policies.
- We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
When information is shared
We share personal information only in narrow circumstances: with the service providers needed to operate the site and its email (for example, hosting, site delivery and email routing), who may process it only to provide those services; if required by law or a valid legal process; or to protect the rights, safety or property of the site and its readers. If the site is ever sold or transferred, information may transfer with it, and we would note that change here.
How long we keep it
Emails and suggestions are kept for as long as they are useful for running the site and keeping track of what readers have asked for. Technical log data is kept for a limited period by the systems that generate it. You can ask us to delete an email or suggestion you sent at any time.
Your choices and rights
You may ask us what personal information we hold about you (in practice, this means emails you have sent us), ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Depending on where you live, privacy laws may give you additional rights, and we will honor reasonable requests. We respond to requests sent to the contact address below; we may ask you to confirm the email address the message came from so we can find the right records.
Links to other sites
This site links to retailers, brand stores and review sites. Those sites have their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for how they handle your information. This policy covers only whatsthebest.reviews and email sent to us.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy in a meaningful way, we will update this page and revise the “Last updated” date above. Continuing to use the site after a change means the updated policy applies.
Contact for privacy questions
For any question about this policy or your information, email hello@whatsthebest.reviews.
How this site earns money — in plain language.
What's the Best? is free to read. One of the ways it pays for itself is affiliate commissions, and this page explains exactly how that works — and what it never does.
Some links may earn us a commission
Some links on this site — for example, “check price” links on category pages that take you to a retailer or brand store — are affiliate links. If you click one and then buy something, the retailer may pay us a small commission on the sale.
It costs you nothing extra
The price you pay is the same whether you arrive through one of our links or go to the retailer directly. The commission comes out of the retailer's side, not yours.
Commissions never buy placement or change a score
- A brand or retailer cannot pay to be included in a guide, to be ranked higher, or to receive a better consensus score.
- Every consensus score is calculated the same way — from the published ratings and rating counts shown on the page (see How We Score) — whether or not an affiliate link exists for that product.
- If a product's data is too thin or conflicting, it is left out, even if selling it would earn us money.
Prices and ratings change
Ratings, rating counts and prices all move over time, and a retailer's price at the moment you visit may differ from the last figure we recorded. We check the figures in our guides against their sources when a guide is researched and when it is updated — but the retailer's own page is always the final word on price and availability.
The one-sentence version: if you buy through one of our links we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — and that commission has no influence on which products appear or what score they get. Questions about this disclosure: hello@whatsthebest.reviews.