For those of you who follow me on social media, you may have seen one of my recent videos where I used only high street brands to create a makeup look. I really liked the look, so that got me thinking about whether you can actually tell the difference between high street and high end makeup when you compare them side by side.

So for this post, I’ve decided to do my makeup using high street brands on one side of my face, and high end brands on the other. I searched through my full makeup collection and think I’ve managed to come up with some pretty good matches for each product.

And here’s the finished result!

I’m going to keep you guessing for a bit longer as to which side is which, as first I’m going to give you a run-down of the products I used.

High End
Primer – Smashbox Photo Finish Primer
Illuminator – NARS Copacabana
Foundation – Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation
Concealer – NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer
Powder – Mac Pro Longwear Pressed Powder
Eyeshadow – Urban Decay Naked Cherry Palette
Eyeliner – Mac Pro Longwear Fluidline Gel Liner ‘Black Track’
Bronzer – Mac Mineralize Skin Finish
Eyebrows – Morphe Micro Brow Pencil and Benefit Gimmie Brow
Mascara – Illamasqua Masquara ‘Raven’
Blush – Mac Powder Blush ‘Harmony’
Highlighter – Mac Pigment ‘Vanilla’ and Mac Mineralize Skin Finish ‘Soft and Gentle’
Lip Gloss – Benefit Lip Gloss ‘Friends in High Places’
Setting Spray – Urban Decay All Nighter

High Street
Primer – Nivea for Men Aftershave Balm (there’s a hack for you – works great as a primer!)
Illuminator – L’Oreal Glow Mon Amour
Foundation – Maybelleine Dream Radiant Liquid Foundation
Concealer – Revolution Conceal and Hydrate Concealer
Powder – W7 Banana Dreams Loose Powder
Eyeshadow – Revolution Newtrals 2 Palette
Eyeliner – Rimmel Scandal Eyes Precision Micro Liner
Bronzer – W7 Very Vegan Bronzer
Eyebrows – Barry M Brow Wand
Mascara – Maybelline Great Lash Mascara
Blush – L’Oreal Le Blush ‘Rose Nude’
Highlighter – Revolution Soph X Highlighter Palette
Lip Gloss – Rimmel Oh My Gloss ‘Snog’
Setting Spray – Collection Fix Me Up

Overall, I’m pretty impressed with how well the high street products have matched the high end products in terms of the finished look. Although, with the exception of the eyeshadow and lipstick, I had to apply considerably more of the high street products to get the same build up and finished look.

Having said that, I was really impressed with the Revolution eyeshadow palette when I compared it directly to the Urban Decay one. The colours are just as pigmented (perhaps even slightly more) and they apply and blend just as well.

After I’d finished applying my makeup, I asked my teenage daughter to guess which side she thought was which. She studied my face for a bit, before confessing that she really wasn’t sure! When I pushed her to take a guess, she did get it right in the end, but I think that was more down to luck than anything.

Did you guess right?

After sharing this picture on social media a couple of days ago, I found the results were really quite mixed, so it definitely goes to show that when placed side by side, it’s difficult to tell the difference.

I think the main thing I’ve learned from this experiment, is there are some fantastic high street dupes out there, which will most definitely give you a look similar to one you could create using high end brands. However, high end products are luxury items, and in my opinion, what you won’t get with high street brands is the luxury in application and the longevity. High end brands should be much easier to apply and you won’t have to use anywhere near as much of a product to get the look you’re after. You also shouldn’t have to reapply these products over the course of the day. In turn, this will mean your high end products should last a lot longer before you have to re-stock.

Obviously there will be exceptions to this, but on the whole, and in my opinion, you definitely get what you pay for!