I Compared Drugstore and Department Store Makeup, and the Results Were Surprising
I am that girl who loves to spend asinine amounts of money on beauty products. My guilty pleasure in life is luxury beauty items. I love beautiful packaging and like to tell myself that if I pay a lot of money for something, it'll be worth it. And although that is true sometimes, it isn't always. Good makeup is good makeup no matter the price tag. As long as the application is flawless, does it really matter how much it costs?
To test this out myself, I decided to try different drugstore products along with identical-looking prestige products. I made sure to use products that promised the same results and applied them to my face the exact same ways. Can you tell in which photo I'm wearing $147 worth of drugstore makeup and in which one I'm wearing $513 of high-end products?
Answer: Left is drugstore and right is prestige. Were you able to tell the difference? If you were, it was probably only slightly, and I bet if you saw me walking around in both looks throughout the day, you'd have no idea I switched out all 14 products with completely different ones.
To summarize my experiment, I would honestly recommend any of the products I tried to anyone. If you prefer to splurge on foundation, try the prestige option. If you'd rather save on a mascara, the drugstore option I used is ah-mazing. The best part? Only you'll know how much you really spent.
Here are some close-ups of the looks and the products I used to achieve each one.
SKIN
Primer
Drugstore: Flower Erase Everything Foundation in "Sheer Tint," $13 ; Prestige: Benefit The Porefessional Matte Rescue, $28
Foundation
Drugstore: L'Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation in "C4 Shell Beige," $16; Prestige: Giorgio Armani Maestro Glow in "5.5," $64
Concealer and Color Corrector
Drugstore: NYX 3C Concealer Palette Medium, $12; Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Treatment Concealer in "Neutralizer," $9; Prestige: Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Wipeout Color-Correcting Palette, $45; BareMinerals 'BareSkin' Complete Coverage Serum Concealer in "Light," $20
Contour and Highlight
Drugstore: L'Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Contour and Highlight Palette in "813 Light," $13; L'Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Blush and Highlight in "W102 Golden," $11; Prestige: Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette, $46; Becca x Jaclyn Hill Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in "Champagne Pop," $38
Bronzer
Drugstore: Maybelline New York Master Contour Face Contouring Kit in "10 Light to Medium," $12; Prestige: Tom Ford Small Bronzing Powder in "Terra," $65
Blush
Drugstore: Rimmel London Kate Moss Sculpting Palette in "001 Golden Sands," $7; Prestige: NARS Blush in "Orgasm," $30
EYES
Eye Shadow
Drugstore: Revlon Colorstay Eye Shadow in "505 Decadent," $8; Prestige: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eye Shadow Palette, $58
Eyeliner
Drugstore: Milani Eye Tech Extreme Liquid Eye Liner in "Black," $8; Prestige: Kat Von D Tatto Liner in "Ink Black," $19
Mascara
Drugstore: L'Oréal Paris Telescopic Mascara in "935 Carbon Black," $10; Prestige: Lancôme Grandiose in "Black," $32
Brows
Drugstore: Flower Eyebrow Pencil in "Blonde," $7; L'Oréal Paris Brow Stylist Prep and Shape Pro Kit in "386 Light to Medium," $15; Prestige: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in "Taupe," $21; Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo, $30
LIPS
Drugstore: Prestige Lipliner in "LW-40 Fleur," $6; Prestige: MAC Lip Pencil in "Soar," $17
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