Makeup Madness Challenge 2024 – CHAMPION REVEALED: Check out Community's favorite product!

[TeamBIC]

We’re kicking off March right by bringing back the BIC’s favorite beauty bracket challenge – Makeup Madness! 😉 For the fourth year in a row, we’re putting makeup-related categories to the test by asking Community members to pick their favorite between two every week. At the end of the bracket, we’ll know which makeup category will earn this year’s Community Champion crown. 👑

In past years, Mascara, Lipstick, and Eyeshadow have earned the honorable title of Makeup Madness winner. This year, we’re bringing eight fresh categories into the frenzy – we’ll reveal them slowly and keep a visual of the current bracket updated below! 

Cream Blush is the Makeup Madness Champion of 2024!

To vote in Makeup Madness, hit the reply button below and tell us which category you’re voting for AND tag a product within that category that you love! For example, the sparkle and shine queen @AlexBT might respond with, “Lip oil! One of my favorites is DIOR Lip Glow Oil 20 Mahogany." 

On your marks … get set … go! ✨ New voting rounds begin on Fridays, and end the following Thursday at 2pm Pacific Time:

• ROUND 1 (3/1 – 3/7): Lip Oil (👑) vs. Tinted Lip Balm
• ROUND 2 (3/8 – 3/14): Brushes (👑) vs. Sponges
• ROUND 3 (3/15 – 3/21): Cream Blush (👑) vs. Contour Stick
• ROUND 4 (3/22 – 3/28): Eyelash Curler (👑) vs. Eyeshadow Primer
• ROUND 5 (3/29 – 4/4): Lip Oil (👑) vs. Brushes
• ROUND 6 (4/5 – 4/11): Cream Blush (👑) vs. Eyelash Curler
• FINAL ROUND (4/12 – 4/18): Lip Oil vs. Cream Blush (👑)
  
• CHAMPION REVEALED (4/19): Cream Blush!

Hit “Reply” below to vote for your personal pick in this week’s makeup category match up and tag your favorite by using the “#” symbol! Don’t forget to check back in for each week’s results and to participate in the next round of voting. 😊

UPDATE 4/19/24: Thanks to everyone who voted in this year's Makeup Madness Challenge! Our 2024 champion is none other than Cream Blush, and lots of you tagged your favorites in the replies. 🧡 In honor of our winning category, here are the five top-tagged cream blushes of Makeup Madness 2024.

1. PATRICK TA Major Headlines Double-Take Crème & Powder Blush Duo 
2. LYS Beauty Higher Standard Cream Glow Blush Sticks 
3. Tower 28 Beauty BeachPlease Lip + Cheek Cream Blush 
4. MERIT Flush Balm Cream Blush 
5. Ami Colé Desert Date Cream Blush & Lip Multistick 

And just for fun, here's a look at some of the top-tagged product from all the Makeup Madness categories this year!

• Lip Oil: Ami Colé Hydrating Lip Treatment Oil 
• Tinted Lip Balm: Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm for Hydration & Shine 
• Brushes: SEPHORA COLLECTION PRO Blush Brush #99 
• Sponges: Beautyblender ORIGINAL Beautyblender Makeup Sponge Original 
• Contour Sticks: Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Warm Wishes Effortless Cream Bronzer Stick  
• Eyelash Curler: Shiseido Eyelash Curler 
• Eyeshadow Primer: NARS Pro-Prime™ Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base 

[itsfi]

ROUND 4 (3/22 – 3/28): Eyelash Curler vs. Eyeshadow Primer  

Ack! 😩 Do I go for what my stick straight lashes need or what my oily lids like? Hmmm ... 🤔  

Since I can find a suitable substitute for eyeshadow primer, I'm going with eyelash curler this round, @TeamBIC! I have a few ... 

With the exception of the Tower 28 Beauty lash curler (the one to the far left, with the purple handles) which is my current favorite lash curler, each of these eyelash curlers were once available at Sephora. 

from left to right: 

• Tower 28 Beauty MakeWaves Lash Curler
• Sephora Collection Lash Curler
• Shu Uemura S Curl Eyelash Curler
• Shu Uemura Iconic Eyelash Curler (the gunmetal version was a limited edition)
• Shiseido Eyelash Curler Shiseido Eyelash Curler Eyelash Curler 
• Surratt Relevee Lash Curler

[CynthieLu]

Oooh this is a tough one. @itsfi 

That's a collection of curlers right there. I've never seen Tower 28's one, it looked like it would be comfortable on there hands to use. 💜

[barinna]

slay queen

[Buootiful]

Definitely Eyeshadow primer. It's a must for oily eyelids 😍. I don't have a current fave nor can recommend one as nothing quite works for me. Neither a concealer hack or Mac paint pots do the trick 🙅‍♀️. 

[Loretta55]

I have been lucky to have been born with thick eyelashes that have a nice curl. Unfortunately my ends don’t have pigment. My lower eyelashes have no pigment at the root and the ends. My vote is for eyeshadow primer. I wish that Smashbox didn’t reformulate their primer because it was bulletproof in my opinion. I have been using PAT McGRATH LABS IntensifEYES™ Longwear Eyeshadow Primer IntensifEYES™ Longwear Primary but it is no substitute for my beloved Smashbox.

[Buootiful]

Agree! @Loretta55 I miss the Smashbox formula so much 🥹.

[Loretta55]

I still have one tube left @Buootiful. I am not sure how old it is. Companies need to check with their customers before reformulating their products. Josie Maran is another good example. The new formula body butter is like lotion.

[Mellmars1185]

@TeamBIC Eyeshadow Primer! I have oily, hooded eyelids and this is a must for me when wearing eyeshadow.

NARS Pro-Prime™ Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base Original 

[itsfi]

@Mellmars1185, a classic and my favorite eyeshadow primer other than the Valentino Stick With Me Glitter Primer (which, why doesn't it come up to tag??!!) for shadows with some texture to them. 

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi I will have to check the Valentino primer out!

[Samtian]

Primer!!!!!! I don't have a favorite, so far I've been liking concealer as a primer. 

[Mellmars1185]

@Samtian I use concealer sometimes and since I have oily eyelids, I set with a setting powder for a smooth base and so the oils don't breakdown my shadow.

[Samtian]

@Mellmars1185 That's what I do as well, it works wonders!

[WinglessOne]

Eyeshadow Primer. On my hooded eyes, most eyeshadows—even mattes—need a good primer base to keep ‘em from creasing and transferring. This is non-negotiable. Primer also helps shadow colors pop (a major plus for folks my skin tone and deeper) and extends wear time. My favorite eyeshadow primer, Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer, was reformulated for worse by Smashbox a year or 2 ago. While nursing my last tube of that primer, I’ve been seeking a worthy replacement. MAC Cosmetics Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base 0.4 oz/ 12 mL is a contender. Sometimes I still use a MAC Cosmetics Pro Longwear Paint Pot or Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow Stick Taupe as a primer, though they’re not as grippy as the old Smashbox primer. I’ve still got a bunch of shadow primers to test against my gold standard. 

I hate lash curlers. The mechanical ones have too much accident potential for me, and they never fit my eye shape well enough, and I’m just too impatient with them. The heated ones would dry out my lashes over time—and for my skin tone, that much heat so close to skin can result in hyperpigmentation. And my eyelids aren’t as oily as most other people’s, so adding heat would exacerbate lid dryness. I’ve got lash primers and/or mascaras that make my lashes look good without needing a curler, so I’m good there. 

[Buootiful]

We need to hold a memorial for Smashbox Photo Finish Primer 🥹. Or, mail back $3 worth of all their sample cards to Smashbox and bombard them with sample mail until they agree to go back to the old formula!🤣 @WinglessOne 

[WinglessOne]

@Buootiful  Yes! 😂 I don’t know why Smashbox messed with perfection, but they need to bring it back! I’m gonna be sad when my last tube’s empty. 

I noticed Smashbox stopped advertising/promoting their reformulated shadow primer a few months after release. Hopefully that means enough of us complained to make them go back to the lab and work on improvements. That could take a long time… or they could just switch back to the old formula and make us all happy in less time. Wish I knew someone at the brand who could give me the inside scoop. 

[queenmommaj]

I am team eyeshadow primer.  Love it and it just makes the shadow more vibrant and evenly distributed. I am fortunate to not have to need a curler. I have naturally long, thick lashes. 

[heartsmyface]

@TeamBIC  I think eyelash curlers more often than I use shadow primer…unless I’m using glitter.  I love panosonic heating curlers.  No threat of pinching. 

 

[itsfi]

I'm going to have to check this out @heartsmyface!

[ather]

I have to go with eyelash curler!!! I love the one I have from Tower 28!

[itsfi]

That's my current favorite as well @ather!