We Wore High-End & Drugstore Makeup For A Day — & This Is What Won

Beauty with Mi, hosted by Refinery29's beauty writer Mi-Anne Chan, explores the coolest new trends, treatments, products, and subcultures in the beauty world. Follow along on her wild beauty adventures here.

Recently, while FaceTiming with my 15-year-old cousin, I learned something truly shocking. While I bought most makeup on impulse at her age, my cousin told me that she and her friends won't even consider buying a product unless they've done extensive research on it: watched videos, looked up swatches, and read reviews online. What's more, she wasn't the first person to tell me how seriously one should take prospective beauty purchases. Just last week, while chatting with a room full of Refinery29 readers, the same sentiment came up time and time again.

We live in an age where hundreds of new beauty products are vying for our attention, so what's a makeup lover to do when a cursory Google search for alternatives to the $40 lipstick you've been hearing about pulls up dozens of cheaper options, too? Put them to the test, of course. With my cousin in mind, I've spent the past few weeks swatching dozens of different drugstore and high-end products with a simple goal: to find out how they stack up against each other. What's more? They're all vegan.

Curious to see which ones won out and how, exactly, this experiment went down? Press play to find out — and don't forget to subscribe to Refinery29's YouTube channel for more videos like this.

High-End Makeup:
Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick in Shell $46 USD, available at Sephora.
Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer in Light Neutral $29 USD, available at Sephora.
CoverFX Perfect Setting Powder in Light Medium $35 USD, available at Sephora.
Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow in Light to Medium $68 USD, available at Charlotte Tilbury.
Too Faced Love Flush Blush in Love in Your Love is King $26 USD, available at Too Faced.
Jouer Powder Highlighter in Citrine $24 USD, available at Jouer.
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion $22 USD, available at Sephora.
Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette in The Dolce Vita $53 USD, available at Charlotte Tilbury.
Charlotte Tilbury The Feline Flick in Panther $30 USD, available at Charlotte Tilbury.
Ilia Satin Cream Lip Crayon in Tainted Love $24 USD, available at Ilia.

Drugstore Makeup:
E.L.F. Flawless Finish Foundation in Sand $6 USD, availabe at E.L.F.
ColourPop No Filter Concealer in Light Neutral 15 $6 USD, available at ColourPop.
Pixi Flawless Finishing Powder in Translucent $22 USD, available at Pixi.
Glamour Dolls Lisa Frank Bronzer $5.99 USD, available at Glamour Dolls.
E.L.F. Powder Blush Palette in Dark $6 USD, available at E.L.F.
Pacifica Ice Baby Mineral Highlighter $12 USD, available at Pacifica.
E.L.F. Shadow Lock Eyelid Primer in Pearl $2 USD, available at E.L.F.
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow in Board Shorts $5 USD, available at ColourPop.
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow in Lil’ Boat $5 USD, available at ColourPop.
Pixi Lash Line Ink in Black Silk $14 USD, available at Pixi.
Pacifica Aquarian Gaze Water-Resistant Mascara $14 USD, available at Target.
ColourPop Lux Lipstick in Still Crazy $7 USD, available at ColourPop.

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