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.

For every $45 aquamarine eyeliner you can buy on the internet, there's at least five drugstore dupes that are rallying for your attention instead. But, there's only so much those side-by-side hand swatches on YouTube and Instagram can tell you. Will the liner stay on after biking to work on a humid day? Can you watch This Is Us without crying blue tears down your cheeks? Will it scratch your lids and leave them painfully dry or irritated?

To find out, I decided to put seven high-end products and their seven drugstore dupes to the ultimate test. I wore half of them on each side of my face, then put them through a series of challenges to see which ones reigned supreme at the end of the day. Check out my results in the video above and keep scrolling for a full product breakdown.

Estée Lauder Double Wear Nude Water Fresh Makeup, $42 USD, available at Estée Lauder.
NARS Sun Wash Diffusing Bronzer in Laguna, $40 USD, available at Nars.
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Beauty Light Wand, $38 USD, available at Charlotte Tilbury.
MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in Cyan, $17.50 USD, available at MAC.
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Waterproof, $23 USD, available at Too Faced.
Kylie Cosmetics The Bronze Palette, $42 USD, available at Kylie Cosmetics.
Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick in HeartBreaker, $20 USD, available at Sephora.

Revlon Colour Stay Makeup for Combo/Oily Skin, $12.99 USD, available at Ulta Beauty.
Covergirl Trublend Bronzer, $9.99 USD, available at Ulta Beauty.
NYX Cosmetics Away We Glow Liquid Highlighter in Crystal Gaze, $7 USD, available at NYX Cosmetics.
L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise Waterproof Mascara, $9.99 USD, available at Ulta Beauty.
Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in Turqoise, $3.97 USD, available at Walmart.
E.L.F. Mad For Matte Eyeshadow Palette, $10 USD, available at E.L.F.
Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink Lip Colour in Pioneer, $9.49 USD, available at Maybelline.