BeautyIs it worth using mass-market cosmetics?

Mass market is a category of goods that are widely represented on store shelves and available to all consumers. As for cosmetics, this is the most inexpensive and widespread class. Of course, you should not expect a natural composition and a pronounced caring effect from it, but you can be sure that the manufacturer monitors the quality of raw materials, and the product will definitely not harm. In addition, mass market products do an excellent job of their tasks. The foundation evens out the surface of the skin, hides minor imperfections and creates an excellent base for makeup.

According to users experienced in such matters, you should carefully choose a product from the mass market category, but if the choice is made, the product will live in your cosmetic bag for a long time. We offer a rating of the best, in our opinion, foundation creams in this segment. The selection includes the most popular and sought-after products that have good characteristics and have a large number of positive reviews. They are recommended by both professionals and ordinary people.

Mass market cosmetics: expensive is not always a sign of quality

Mass-market cosmetics cause distrust among many and absolutely in vain! These are all prejudices that should be forgotten once and for all.

If you go to Rive Gauche and ask the consultant which eyeshadow is better - Bourjois or YSL ombres duolumieres?

They will answer you: “Well, what are you...! Where is Bourjois and where is YSL?! You are comparing luxury and amateur inexpensive cosmetics. Of course luxury!”

At this moment you will feel the stupidity of your question, because... They made you understand this very stupidity.

And then you begin to doubt mass-market cosmetics, but in vain. Having been disappointed more than once, I want to convince you that expensive does not always mean high quality. Go!

In first place, those same Bourjois shadows and YSL shadows

Bourjois Intense Extrait Color Shot Eyeshadow -317 RUR

YSL ombres duolumieres-1,300 RUR

When testing the Bourjois eyeshadows, I was surprised by the dense and rich color.

• YSL has deceptive saturation and no density at all! YSL eyeshadows will leave gaps when first applied, and to avoid them, you need to layer the color.

• Bourjois apply immediately from the first touch with the brush without gaps or bald spots. I have both of them in black.

In general, you can judge the quality by the black color. This can be seen from the shading, the density, all the “-” and “+”. Therefore, if you are in doubt about the choice, take the black one, it will answer all your questions.

Second place – Loreal and Dior lip gloss

Loreal glam shine – 350 rub.

Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Reflect – RUR 1,200

Red is another color that will help you to be convinced or disappointed in the quality of glosses and lipsticks.

I understand that Dior sounds nice. This is the shine of “status”. You take it out of your purse, as if by chance, and demonstrate the beauty of the Dior tube.

• Everything would be fine, but after 20 minutes you will forget that you applied it at all. He will disappear.
• Maybe his mission is to take it out of his purse every 20 minutes and show everyone his status. But personally, my mission is this: beautiful and long-lasting lip makeup. And this is where your paths diverge.

• And if you pay attention to Loreal glam shine, then this is the shine that won’t make you take it out again. Yes, this is not a “status” gloss, but your lips will say something completely different to those around you.

Firstly, it is richer in color, and secondly, it will last more than 20 minutes.

Dior can only envy his durability. And what have we come to? Dior, this is a false gloss that only looks beautiful on the outside, but nothing on the inside, and you will only be left with emptiness in your soul, because... you will regret the Dior gloss you bought.

In third place are Max factor and MAC mascara.

Max factor 2000 calories – 340 rub.

MAC Opulash – 900 rub.

There will be “=” here. Both mascaras are good. Long lasting, excellent separation, 100% volume.

But Max factor is almost 3 times cheaper than MAC, that’s all. Price difference. You decide.

In fourth place are Clean Line Lip Balm and Mac Lip Conditioner

Clean line – 35 rub.

Mac Lip Conditioner – 650

Clean Line turned out to be the favorite. It protects and moisturizes lips more.

• Mac does this quite modestly. How many times have I told him: “Well, convince me, make me believe that you are the best, and not some Clean Line!” Silence in response...

This will be the most paradoxical comparison - Water vs makeup fixing spray

Bonaqua – 30 rub.

Mac Fix – 750 rub.

Of course, Mac claims that this is a super-duper thermal water that will help your skin feel fresh and energized. The most interesting thing is that most makeup artists use it as a brush moisturizer).

Well, for example, we need to dampen the brush in order to apply the shadows in a wet way. And then you make a spectacular splash on her, and oh my God, she’s wet!)

Should you pay 750 rubles for such a miracle? How do you like it? I will say right away that it does not possess magical qualities.

The choice is yours, and if you like a spectacular “puff”, then pay for it!)

This is such a provocative post. But that doesn't mean luxury brands don't have their favorites. There are some others, but more on that next time in the article “Expensive, sometimes a sign of quality.”

Mass market or luxury? Checked by the pros

Makeup artist Anna Kartashova evaluates makeup products in the dark, having no idea about their price or manufacturer.

Makeup artist and creator of the Annbeauty brand Anna Kartashova does shoots for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, comes up with brush shapes that shade everything for you, studied with Scott Barnes, Val Garland, and is generally smart.

In addition, Anya loves luxury - beautiful packaging, pleasant fragrances - and is sure that the more expensive the product, the more flexible it is and the better the texture.

We gave Anya 6 products in the form of No Name bottles and jars - and asked her to identify the “luxury” among the chaff.

Was she able to do it?

Product #1: cream highlighter

Anya Kartashova: I used this highlighter on the set. The camera loves him. It gives the effect of well-groomed, radiantly moisturized skin and does not shift the foundation: sometimes the foundation “floats” under creamy textures, but here there is no such problem. In general, I liked it very much. It's also similar to the Pat McGrath Labs sticks. But you need to hunt for those, they are sold out like pie, and, besides, Pat’s sticks are included in Skin Fetish sets and cost 70-something dollars.

And this highlighter, my intuition tells me, is much cheaper. It seems to me that for the price it is not luxury. And this is great: you can apply it to your arms, legs, décolleté and don’t skimp.

Product No. 2: eyeshadow base

Anya Kartashova: I don’t use eyeshadow primers either at work or for myself. Apart from Cinema Secrets and the old version of Urban Decay (I haven’t tried the new one), all the others make shading more difficult. Same problem with this primer. It's difficult to blend, but it works: the shadows don't crease all day, although on my eyelids rarely does anything linger for long. Instead of primers, I use cream shadows (less often concealer). When you apply powder shadows on them, they blend out easier. All that remains is to deepen the fold, add highlights, etc. Like in a watercolor sketch: first the form, then the details.

Mass market?..

Product #3: concealer

Anya Kartashova: Low covering power and light blur. Will this concealer cover up obvious dark circles? No. Apart from Bobbi Brown Instant Full Cover Concealer, very few people can do this on their own. I cover the problem area in two layers. I base it with Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector and put a nude concealer on top of it. Tested by hundreds of filming sessions - the blue does not show through, the camouflage does not look too dense.

I repeated the same thing with your know-name, the effect was superb.

I also highlight the central area of ​​the face with concealer: I go down from the lower eyelids to the cheeks, apply it to the back of the nose and the middle of the forehead. This one proved himself to be an excellent student. Didn't sink into pores and didn't highlight flaking.

But... I suspect that this is a mass market? (Don't look for logic, it's not here:)

Product No. 4: face primer with toning effect

Can be used alone or as a base for makeup.

Anya Kartashova: Hmm, why is this primer of yours so pigmented? Essentially a light foundation. I would wear it on its own or, alternatively, dilute it with thick, thick foundations for a thinner coverage.

I have oily skin and the primer (foundation?) has a dewy finish. Together is a disaster)) To get away from the “I don’t know what matting napkins are” effect, I did the following. Added to the shine... more shine. A couple of drops of Sensai highlighter, a drop of bronzer. The result is the notorious healthy glow. There is a fresh complexion, but there seems to be no foundation. This trick works with almost any CC and tinted moisturizing cream.

I would recommend this primer to young girls with normal skin and, conversely, to those who are older. Highly pigmented foundations tend to concentrate in wrinkles, while light ones apply much better. Alternatively, this primer can be used to dilute thick, dense foundations to achieve a thinner coverage.

Judging by its pleasant consistency and good hydration, this is a luxury product.

Product No. 5: loose mattifying powder

Anya Kartashova: Excellent mattifying, I would buy such powder. If applied generously, it slightly highlights the flaking, but this is a typical problem with products of this format, no matter how much they cost. Perhaps the only powders for which I did not notice this sin are RMS Beauty and Sensai.

So it’s hard for me to decide whether it’s luxury or not luxury. But judging by the smell, it’s not him.

Remedy No. 5: lipstick

Anya Kartashova: Cool lipstick-balm. Comfortable, but not too durable. It lies beautifully due to the fact that it is distributed in an even thin layer. Sooooo reminiscent of Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Colour. Did you guess it?..

What did Anya Kartashova actually test?

• Cream highlighter (mass market, which is similar to Pat McGrath:) – Art of Glow Stick, Make Up Factory. Price – 1380 rub.

• Eyelid primer (“I thought it was mass market: it adds difficulties when blending, but the shadows last all day”) – NYX High Definition Eye Shadow Base. Price – 550 rub.

• Concealer (“I thought it was mass: light coverage and light reflection”) – Dior Diorskin Forever Undercover. Price – 1497 rub.

• Primer for the face with a toning effect (“Lux: light tone with a wet finish”) – emulsion-perfector Rouge Bunny Rouge Skin Perfector Serene Light. Price – 4,240 rub.

• Mattifying powder (mass: smelled :) – Puri Pore No Sebum Powder, Holika Holika. Price – 790 rub.

• Lipstick (there was an assumption that Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color) - aaaand... it really is Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color! Price – 1700 rub.

Anya's comment: Come on! How did I not see the luxury in this concealer?! But I recognized Bobbi Brown lipstick. Make Up Factory highlighter and Holika Holika powder are a winner again.

When Lena handed me the plastic jars, I was honestly confused. It seems like I’m holding highlighter and lipstick in my hands, but I have no desire to go to the mirror and put on makeup. Is packaging really that important to me? I was forced to admit: yes, that’s exactly it.

Then I got the hang of it and continued playing with pleasure. Now I try to evaluate any means separately from their appearance. Luxury should remain luxury, even if it is wrapped in tape.

In general, I have become even more selective and demanding. And I want to take part in such an experiment again. Can?:)

Of course you can!

What blind test drives would you like to see in the next series - lipsticks, foundations or maybe highlighters?

Have you tried any of these remedies? Are your impressions the same?