This girl tried cheap vs. expensive makeup and this is what happened

When it comes to buying makeup products, many women believe that because a product is more expensive it’s automatically better. Is this true, and do we really need to splurge on the pricier stuff?

We here at Bright Side have decided to find an answer to this dilemma by comparing expensive makeup products to their very similar, but much cheaper, counterparts. Of course, the question of how prestige and affordable cosmetic brands affect our skin was not taken into consideration. Our goal was to check whether it was possible to create a beautiful makeup look without spending a lot of money on beauty products. Let’s see how it went down.

Skin

Cheap cosmetics (on the left): The foundation has a creamy texture which seems too loose. It doesn’t smooth the skin and, moreover, makes it feel dry and tight. The blush gives the skin an uneven tone and makes the face look orange.

Foundation — $7, blush — $6.

Expensive cosmetics (on the right): The foundation hides all imperfections of the skin very well and is very easy to blend. The same can be said about the blush.

Foundation — $54, blush — $43.

Eyes

Cheap cosmetics (on the left): The texture of the eye shadow is quite thick. It glides on smoothly, doesn’t fade, crease, or budge. The eyeliner is easily applied and has a handy bristle. Overall, the mascara is not bad, but it can be a bit lumpy.

Eye shadow — $10, eyeliner — $7.50, mascara — $9.

Expensive cosmetics (on the right): The eye shadow has quite a thick texture and doesn’t crease. The eyeliner feels the same as the previous one. The mascara goes on smoothly with no clumping.

Eye shadow — $46, eyeliner — $32, mascara — $29.

Lips

Cheap cosmetics (on the left): The lipstick has a pearl finish and a very peculiar scent. However, it still looks quite good.

Lipstick — $8.

Expensive cosmetics (on the right): This lipstick is matte and has a pleasant smell. However, it feels quite dry which makes it a bit difficult to apply evenly.

Lipstick — $35.

This is the end result

Looking at the photos, you might be hard-pressed to tell the difference between expensive eye makeup products and drugstore ones. However, unlike the expensive foundation, the foundation used for the makeup on the left makes the skin look muddy.

The experiment wouldn’t have been complete if we hadn’t tested the beauty products in real-life situations. For this purpose, we asked our model to first walk under drizzling rain and then to eat an apple.

The rain test

Cheap cosmetics (on the left): Though the manufacturer stated that the mascara was waterproof, it failed the test and flowed down the model’s face. The eyeliner smeared too. The foundation didn’t change a lot. It’s probably because it was almost invisible even before the testing.

Expensive cosmetics (on the right): Both the designer mascara and the eyeliner passed the waterproof test successfully. They remained perfectly still and did not run. The expensive eye shadow, unlike the cheap one, gathered in the crease of the eyelids. The skin became shiny.

The apple test

Cheap cosmetics (on the left): The color of the lipstick faded to almost nothing.

Expensive cosmetics (on the right): The color began to fade towards the center of the lips, but it still didn’t look bad.

Conclusion

1. Expensive makeup products are not always better than their inexpensive counterparts.

2. When buying cosmetics, if you choose what to splurge on and where to save, it is better to try the prestige foundation.

3. Since in the photos the difference between expensive and cheap makeup is not that evident, you can use drugstore products to prepare for a photo shoot.