'Drugstore' v 'High end' Make-up

I haven't been blogging for 2 weeks now and I apologise! I've moved back to Leeds for Easter then went on a city break to Amsterdam, which you will soon read about on the blog when I get my camera battery back. I left my camera charger at uni so unfortunately I have to wait until then to put any photos on my laptop. Therefore I have to go on what photos were already on my laptop so here is a kind of 'drugstore v higher end' post. I haven't done every category of make-up; for example I don't have two similar foundations from both a lower and higher end brand. Some of the products here aren't exact dupes but they aren't too dissimilar either. Hope this helps some of you :)

Eyes

Urban Decay Naked Palette V MUA Heaven and earth palette

The Urban Decay Naked palette is a cult eyeshadow palette for every make-up lover out there as it has 12 of the most pigmented day and night, matte and shimmery, shades you can find. 'Virgin' and 'Naked' with a bit of 'Sin' in the inner corner make a gorgeous daytime look whilst the combination of 'Half Baked', 'Smog' and 'Darkhouse' make for a gorgeous glittery smokey eye. However, this product comes at a price tag of around £30+ which a lot of people cannot just pluck of thin air. This is where the MUA Heaven and Earth Palette comes in to play. The eyeshadows are reasonably pigmented for the price (quite a lot in fact) but are mostly shimmery. It would be nice to have a few more matte shades in there and the packaging could be a lot sturdier, but for the mere price of £4, you can't really go wrong.

Conclusion: If you have the money, splurge on the naked palette as it has more of a range of shades which are slightly more pigmented and the packaging is really sleek, however if you don't wear eyeshadow too much, the MUA palette will do just fine. 

MAC eyeshadow in 'All that glitters' V L'Oreal's Eyeshadow 

'All That Glitters' is one of MAC's most famous eyeshadow shades and for all the right reasons. It's a lovely slightly glittery champagne colour; great for sweeping all over the lids. It's not as pigmented as you would expect for the £12.50 price tag, yet the L'Oreal one isn't overly pigmented either. Both colours are similar and look beautiful on the lid but the L'Oreal one is a bit too glittery. 

Conclusion: I would personally choose the MAC one despite the tag as the formula is better and less over the top. But I think the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows are something that I want to try and are raved about so will definitely be a good 'drugstore' single eyeshadow.

Lips

Clarins Instant Natural Lip Perfecter V Revlon Lipglosses

The Clarins lip perfecter is on every beauty blogger's wishlist as it's such a natural lipgloss with no unwanted glitter or stickiness. It adds a bit of shine and looks lovely with a bit of tinted moisturiser and mascara for a natural look. The Revlon lipgloss is the same sort of shade but it a lot more heavy duty. It is thicker and adds a lot more shine - I'd say it's the kind of lip product that goes with a smokey eye for a dressy night out.

Conclusion: It depends what the occasion is but I think the £16 price tag for a lip gloss is slightly ridiculous but nothing like this can be seen on the market. It's worth trying out and as for the revlon lipgloss; it's great for partying but can look a bit too much during the daytime and there are probably better 'drugstore' glosses out there.

MAC Impassioned V ELF 'Sociable'

The price difference here is pretty large as the MAC lipstick is £15 and the ELF one is £1.95. But I can definitely see why. MAC's Impassioned is known for it's pigmented hot pink shade yet is is still creamy and easy to apply. The ELF lipstick is quite dry and has glitter in it which makes it look quite tacky and cheap. 

Conclusion: I would pay £13 extra for the MAC one as the ELF one really is cheap looking and I'd rather just not wear it. However ELF do other lipstick shades, a pink one which is creamier and doesn't contain glitter. I just don't think the hot pink shade is worth even £1.95.

Face

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer V NARS Laguna Bronzer

The Bourjois chocolate bronzer has been raved about a lot and I definitely think it's the best drugstore bronzer. It's a nice matte shade with a tiny bit of shimmer and it's great that you can get a range of shades based on your skin tone. The NARS Laguna bronzer is something I was super excited to try when I got a NARS palette for christmas, because everyone raves about it. I feel like it isn't dark enough for my skin tone and doesn't really make much of a difference but is brilliant when I'm going for a really natural look.
Conclusion: The NARS laguna bronzer probably suits more faired skinned gals but is so finely milled that the price can be justified for those with a bit of dollar to spend. However, the Bourjois bronzer is really good and at only £7.99 I would probably pop into Boots and get this one!

Natural Collection V NARS

I've always been a fan of Natural Collection's £1.99 blushes as it's so affordable and I personally love the chalky texture as it makes them ridiculously pigmented. The NARS one is more subtle and is very finely milled which I also love. It depends which formula you prefer and the NARS blushes have a larger shade range. The price difference between the two is over £20 so it depends if you think the change in formula is worth the money. The NARS blush looks more natural though and you must be careful with the Natural Collection one.
Conclusion: Any make-up lover must have a NARS blush in their collection so despite my love for the Natural Collection ones, I think the NAR's blushes win on this one.

In general, I think you don't need high end make-up to fulfil your collection as most 'drugstore' products do exactly the same job. In most cases, high end make-up is a commercial con with ridiculously high prices. On the other hand, some products are of such good quality and beat all the others you can find in Boots and Superdrug. I recommend researching and reading lots of blog posts about a high end product before splurging your hard earned cash (or student loan, hehe).

What do you think?

♥

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