| You may have noticed recently that more and more clothing brands are revamping their make up lines. We’re moving on from the crappy sets of mini nail polishes and lip balms kept next to the queue desperately hoping you’ll pick one up in an impulsive moment of madness, or your out-of-touch nan will buy them for you for Christmas because she knows you shop there sometimes.
Anyway, New Look and Primark have been the ones to catch our attention. Primark are notoriously cheap, and therefore definitely worth investigating, and New Look, although a bit more expensive, do 3 for 2 on their beauty range, and will also give a student discount of 10% (sometimes 20%!) for you education lovers out there.
So we picked out 4 products from each line, and tested them extensively for your benefit. | |
New Look | Primark |
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| No Shine Mattifying Foundation in Porcelain – £7.99 Eyeshadow 4 Shade Palette in Natural Nudes – £4.99 | Longwear Mineralised Foundation in Porcelain – £4 9 Shade Eye Palette in Bronze – £2.50 Brow Fixing Gel in Dark Brown – £1 |
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| I have to say I was thrilled with the colour of both of these products. I’m a pale girl and my go to Clinique beyond perfecting foundation in 0.5, despite its amazing coverage, feels almost like fake tan when I’m putting it on. If you’re a ghost like me, either of these foundations will amaze you. Though both shades are ‘porcelain’ they’re not quite the same colour. New Look’s foundation is a much cooler shade, whereas Primark’s is more peachy. Primark’s has a better coverage for imperfections – New Looks is a thinner, more sheer offering. On my face however, Primark’s thick, pigmented foundation washes me out, and almost looks a bit cakey. New Look’s side looks healthier, and gives me a much more natural look. Coverage – Primark Colour – New Look Quality – New Look However after 12 hours of wear I found a rash on my New Look cheek! This could be a coincidence but it should at least be a factor in deciding the winner! Winner – Primark (only assuming the rash was caused by NL’s foundation – if not, draw) | |
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| When swatching these on my arm I found the shimmering gold from New Look went on a treat, but the other colours left a lot to be desired, and after applying 3 or 4 layers I was still struggling to build up the product enough to see the colour. Primark’s weren’t much better – the colours were only a little bit more pigmented, and seemed almost a bit gritty as they went on. When blending the shadows I found New Look’s blended well, whereas it felt like I was wiping off the Primark eyeshadow as I brushed it, leaving a weird colourless mess. Colour – Primark – except NL’s gold shade. Blending – New Look Winner – New Look (the only shadow to survive the whole day was NL’s gold shadow.) | |
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| Primark’s brow fixing gel started out really rubbish. The applicator is too big and so very hard to apply neatly, and it’s far more inclined to clump than New Looks. However this being said, I prefer my Primark eyebrow – once you clean up the little specs of product around the brow – the colour is a lot cooler and more natural. It’s also stuck around on the skin under the brow, creating a blended look, whereas the New Look gel just made it look like I had crazy thick eyebrow hairs. Winner – Draw | |
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| Both lipsticks stayed surprisingly well. I found the Primark offering to be a bit more drying, whereas the New Look one was scented and smooth to apply. Throughout the day the P lipstick behaved well, dulling a little but largely staying on. The NL lipstick did come off in flakes a bit, but didn’t seem to affect the actual look of the thing – the colour didn’t dull or lose its intensity. Winner – Primark, but I would happily buy and wear both. They both lasted as well as other more expensive lipsticks I’ve tried. Final result – The Primark range lasted surprisingly well, sometimes outlasting the more expensive New Look products, that seemed better at first but often disappointed. I’d recommend either of the lipsticks or eyebrow gels, stay away from the eyeshadows, and as for the foundations – well it really depends on your skin, but I probably won’t be using either again. | |
University drop-out, pretend artist, makeup enthusiast. Uses too many brackets when writing. Can’t be stopped.
