Beauty Product Battles, Throw Downs and Showdowns

[itsfi]

Ready to pit some beauty products against each other? Can't decide which of your mascaras, lipsticks, hair masks, eye creams, vanilla scents, etc. reign supreme? I don't know about you but I love hearing about how products compare with one another, and which products come out on top when going head-to-head in a dual.  Share your beauty battles here and let's see which of our product(s) come out on top! 

If you have two or more similar products you're testing out or have been wanting to compare against the other to see which performs better for you, put them to the test. So that we can all join in on the fun and learn from your experiment, let us know what product(s) you'll have face off against each other and who comes out victorious, and any other details you'd like to share. 

[curlychiquita]

Thanks for your thorough run down, @PDXXXX! I’m excited to hear you like the Fenty and Westman Atelier concealers.

[PDXXXX]

@curlychiquita it was fun! Yeah, I've had really good luck with Fenty concealers. I'm really pleasantly surprised how much I'm loving the Westman Atelier as well, the texture and coverage is so nice!

[CynthieLu]

Oooh la la! That's an beautiful collection 🤩 @PDXXXX I'm in total awe! 

I would be very interested in hearing why you picked the ones to keep, how they performed and what gave them that edge to earn thier place to stay.  

[PDXXXX]

Let me do my best here @CynthieLu 🙂 As I break these down, it's worth noting I'm a Fair/Light Warm/Peach girl who goes from paper white in the winter to stained at least 3 shades darker in the summer and have dry skin with a lot of flushing from a syndrome I have called P.O.T.S. and red puffy eye bags so the shades here are a bit varied as needed for season and color correction. My key factors in evaluating a concealer are probably how easy they blend and play with other base products. Here is a swatch with each product:

1. The Fenty Eye Bright to me really acts as a color corrector and is great on days I need some lift. As you can see it has a bit of a luminous finish. I've been using it for at least 2 years and find it blends incredibly well with any concealer or base I have making it a product I can use alone when I need more brightening than coverage or layered under another concealer when I need the brightening and coverage. Applies great even pulled up to the outer orbital area.

2. I'm really surprised how much I've liked Fenty We're Even. It's a great color match for me, blends well, and runs more matte for times I'm not really trying to illuminate my under eye bags without being too dry. Love the shade range and a little goes a long way. The precise application with the wand is great such that if you're truly not overloading it you don't have to worry it's going to blend out beyond your targeted areas.

3. I've used Amazing Concealer for years (this swatch is the wrong color for me though). I would say it's the most concentrated, cream like, high coverage concealer I've come across. It does run a little more luminous so not so much of an option beyond under eyes. But blends out remarkably naturally for how full coverage it is. And, wow it's concentrated - I've yet to get through a bottle of this and have only tossed and replaced for expiration reasons.

4. I got the Westman Atelier in the last month and would say I'm reaching for it as much as the Fenty We're Even. I'm excited about the skin care ingredients it has and finding it runs more creamy then the Fenty but blends really well and better than the competing skin care serum concealers I've tried.

My two runner ups:

5. Huda Glowish in Fair 1. I truly love this product and wore it all summer. More of a luminous finish so great for those Summer days you want to glow. It does run a bit dark for me right now and is limited in that it doesn't have lighter shades so that's a point against it. But it's like butter and probably the easiest to blend of all the products I've listed. Their was a packaging error you might be familiar with where the white wand flakes off leaving specs of white on your skin. For me, I just got around it by wrapping a washcloth around the wand to protect from that but it's going bye bye except for their site and like I said, too dark for me for most of the year.

6. Jones Road The Pencil is really a multitasker and blends surprisingly well for being what looks like a dry crayon. It's matter but takes on the consistency of what you blend it with. Really helps with placement as well b/c it's not going to travel much once you've marked out where you use it and go to blend.

The rest of the concealers were generally too dry for me or didn't blend well with the exception of Ilia's in Arrowroot which I wore all last winter and would definitely consider for truly fair skin.

OK, that's my concealer novel, lmao. If you have any you recommend I'd love to hear about them even if I'm trying to NOT get anymore 🙂

[CynthieLu]

I think we have so real skin similarities @PDXXXX I appreciate all of that, thank you! 🙏❣️ 

I know what you mean, I have a few tried and true products and I shouldn't be trying it anything new..  but there's that pull to find something excellent that's out there just waiting to be found. 😅

I find most concealers settle into my lines to much for my liking or accentuate my dry skin so I don't use them often. 

My go to's are

HUDA BEAUTY #FauxFilter Matte Buildable Coverage Waterproof Concealer Cotton Candy 2.3 Beige 

Or

Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Lift & Flex Hydrating Concealer With Hyaluronic Acid & Caffeine 4 

But I still have to do a fair amount of prep to my dry skin before using them, but if I take the time it's so worth it. 👌

I think I may, for science, swatch some of these concealers you mentioned next time I'm in store thou.. just for science. 😉

I agree, the best makeup is the kind that plays well everything else we want to use. Pilling or seperation, nooo thank-you. 

[PDXXXX]

@CynthieLu just for science, just for science 😂 Why did you have to remind me how much I've wanted to try the Danessa Myricks (scratches head and tries to justify doing it "for the greater good" while reminding myself I DO NOT need more concealer)??

[CynthieLu]

My apologies @PDXXXX 🙉 lol, just pretend you never read that post. I know what you mean, I have a running list of ones I'm itching to try but not until I do some serious dwindling. 😞

[itsfi]

@PDXXXX, I find your concealer collection to be ... healthy and robust. It's so easy to accumulate, right?! You're in good company here with such a varied supply of beauties. No need to be embarassed; as I see it, you'll be doing us a service by going through your concealers and deciding which will stay and which should go. 

btw, beautiful photo. 💗 Your background is exquisite 😍 and the layout of your concealers meticulous! 

[itsfi]

Eyeshadow Primer Showdown - NARS Pro-Prime™ Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base Original vs. about-face Shadow Fix Eye Primer  

I have very oily eyelids and an eyeshadow primer is a must 99.9999% of the time to prevent creasing and keep my eyeshadow going strong all day long. For the longest time, my fave has been the NARS Pro-Prime eyeshadow base, but I haven't seen it in stores or on the brand's site for some time. While I have picked up some backups, I thought it'd be a good idea to start looking for a comparabe substiute in the event the NARS primer is, a I fear, being discontinued if it's not already discontinued. So, here we go.

I've been testing these two primers out to see how they hold up against the eyeshadows in my collection as well as against each other. I have a few more rounds of testing I want to do but will report back by the end of this month if not before with my findings. Tagging @Mellmars1185 on this one because we were talking about the about-face primer.

[itsfi]

Sorry for the delay. Without further adieu, the victor of the eyeshadow throwdown between about-face Shadow Fix Eye Primer and the NARS Pro-Prime™ Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base Original is ... 

... about-face Shadow Fix Eye Primer

Both primers performed incredibly well. 

Eyeshadows tested with both primers consisted of:

• Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow Stick Golden Bronze (a holy grail product for me)
• Thrive Causmetics Eyeshadow Stick - Bronze (another holy grail product for me)
• Natasha Denona Biba Eyeshadow Palette (full size) - shade: rustic
• MAC Woodwinked
• from the Natasha Denona I Need A Nude Palette - shade: Muse 500SF (single)
• from the Natasha Denona Golden Eyeshadow Palette - shade Oro 201 M (single)
• Rare Beauty Bronze Stick (as eyeshadow)

I did not set my eye makeup after applying the shadow. Wear time depended on the day, with the shortest duration lasting 6 hours, and the longest testing period lasting approximately 16 hours (7:28AM - 11:35PM). While the about-face primer wins this battle, it was truly a close one - the about-face primer held on longer and stronger but the NARS put up a good fight. Where the NARS slid was with the color fading / starting to fade and with the natural oils from my eyelids breaking through earlier than the about-face. 

I would be happy to use both and if both were available, I'd repurchase either, or both. It seems as if the NARS eye primer is being phased out - right now, if there are any in stock, your best bet would be to order online through Sephora at Kohl's. NARS has been reformulating its products to, among other things, remove the talc from its ingredients. If that is the case with their eyeshadow primer and if the brand comes out with a new one, I will (if I remember, or if someone here reminds me), do a test between the about-face and a new NARS eyeshadow primer. 

Hoping I catch everyone who might have been interested in these results - @PrettyPaint @CynthieLu @Mellmars1185 @missjeanie @ather @caitbird @curlychiquita @alexasteph @Titian06 @lmaster @heartsmyface @danielledanielle 

[sister13]

Great to know! The NARS had been my holy grail and I don’t think I have any backups. I’ve been using the PAT McGRATH LABS IntensifEYES™ Longwear Eyeshadow Primer IntensifEYES™ Longwear Primary bur haven’t done any wear tests against the nars (or anything else) but it seems to be doing fine. @itsfi 

[itsfi]

Ah yes, that's a good one too @sister13! It's nice to have options, especially as I'm not sure when (or if) NARS is coming out with a reformulated (probably talc-free) version. I picked up a couple of back ups at Sephora at Kohl's. 

[PrettyPaint]

@itsfi Thanks for the tag! That's exciting that the About Face won, especially because it's so affordable. This is the one in the nondescript gray tube, right? I didn't even realize at first that this is the one I'm currently using and have been liking. 

[itsfi]

Ahhh, that's awesome that you've been using and enjoying the about-face all this time @PrettyPaint - it is the non-descript grey tube - that's a great way to describe it. I tried to get the name to show up in a photo but the lighting and the color of the ink on the grey tube makes it hard to tell. Do you have any other about-face products that you've tried and like? 

[PrettyPaint]

@itsfi I think the primer is probably what I like the most, though I can't say I've tried many of their products. The fluid eye paints are neat and have very good wear time, but they aren't something that really fit into my makeup routine.

[ather]

@itsfi  Wow! I am surprised that they both preformed well. Almost the same! That’s amazing. What is the price point difference? I don’t think I’ve seen about-face brand before. 

[itsfi]

Yep, they both did such a good job of really keeping my eyeshadow intact @ather, even ones I usually have some issues with when it comes to creasing or fallout. I was impressed. Ahhh, that's a great question. The NARS is $26 for 0.26 fl. oz while the about-face is half the price at $13 for more product (0.405 fl. oz), a little more than 1.5x more. The brand is available through Ulta or through their website, which is probably why you haven't heard of it.

[ather]

@itsfi  Ahh makes sense! I don’t wear a ton of eyeshadow since my eyes don’t seem to love it now. So I don’t use an eyeshadow primer. But it’s nice to have a more luxe brand and a cheaper brand! Nice to have something from both price points! 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  thanks for the tag! Good to know the about-face performs so well; I just picked up a restock of the Urban Decay eye primer in my Sephora sale order, but when it comes time to restock next time I might try the about-face one instead, just to see how it compares.

[itsfi]

The holiday sale is such a good time to replenish your faves @caitbird (and pick up other things, too! 😅) 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  yes, it is (at least, that's what I'm telling myself 😅)!