Although I love everything to be balanced in my life, and the thought of asymmetry virtually gives me hives, I decided to go on a mission for the TheVogueCity.com readers. I created the same beauty look for each of my eyes, but using only Estee Lauder products on my left eye (Lauder = Left) and Clinique products on my right eye. You guys probably know that these are both high quality make-up lines, and I wanted to see how they compared. So, are Estee Lauder and Clinique products created equal? You have to read on to see.

Makeup Review Time

The Look:

Natural! Brown eyeliner, set with brown shadow to give it lasting powder. No Mascara. A creamy beige shadow over my entire lid, and a shimmery brown eye shadow in my eyelid crease. This particular look is always in style and works for anyone of any age.

The Specifics:

On my left eye I used Estee Lauder Pure Color Eye Shadow in Tea Biscuit and Chocolate ($17.50 each). For eye liner I used Estee Lauder Artists Eye Liner in Soft Smudge Brown ($18.50). These are available at Saks Fifth Avenue.

On my right eye I used Clinique Coloursurge Eye Shadow Duo in Double Scoop ($17.50). For eye liner I used Clinique Quickliner for Eyes in Roast Coffee ($14.50). These are available at Sephora.

For my study, I monitored the time after I used the makeup. Shortly after application I walked around a bookstore with my friend, Lola. (Sorry guys, but I wasn’t going to go run on a treadmill for an hour to test the makeup there, psh.) She was instructed to keep her eyes on me like she was a stalker (she had no previous experience with this job, she swears), to tell me if there was any visible fading or smudging on either eye. Lola did her job eerily well (I felt like the paparazzi was following me), and an hour after looking at books (from classics to recent chick lit), everything was in tact. I won’t give you a play-by-play of everything I did that day, but both of these looks held up for hours, at basically the same rate. But are they equal? Okay, not exactly.

Estee Lauder products all seem to have more intensity. Which means that they apply with more color, despite using the same amount of time/energy as when I apply Clinique products which look less pigmented. This is probably why Estee Lauder is marketed to more mature women, while Clinique is thought of a good brand for beginner makeup users (or however you’d like to phrase that – I wouldn’t call them makeup inept!), teenagers, and a very natural look. Because I was wearing very little makeup otherwise, I wanted my ‘natural’ eyes to have a bit more impact. Which is why I favored my left eye in the end.

I feel like the Estee Lauder eye liner is a better purchase, and only for a few extra bucks. The Clinique Quickliner fades quicker if you give it all day and compare to the Estee Lauder Artists Eye Liner. However, if you have a heavy-hand or you don’t like to have big-impact eye makeup, Clinique is going to please you much more.

The shadows seem very equal in quality. It’s good to use shadow with a bit of shimmer to reflect light. Matte colors can make you look older. Even if you are over 40, high quality makeup lines have a bit of shimmer in eye shadows that you shouldn’t be fearful of. I promise you won’t look like you’re trying too hard to be youhng.

The Estee Lauder shadow in Chocolate did not have shimmer, but the Tea Biscuit shadow more than made up for it. I am very fond of the Tea Biscuit color, though I acknowledge the name sounds very formal and frumpy. I really am not swayed towards having disloyalty towards either brand though, and I am happy with all of my Clinique and Estee Lauder purchases – and will continue to purchase them in my admittedly product junkie way.
Much love,

Sofia

(I want to note that the colors, though similar, were a bit different in tone – since browns have many different tones. I took this into consideration. Photo: Actress Camilla Belle, rockin’ a natural eye look.)

Posted by Mirela Gluck at 06:00 AM
BEAUTY , STYLE/BEAUTY |