Honey Love vs. Skims: Which brand should you buy? [2026]
Honey Love is known for its science-backed, targeted compression designed to sculpt and support, while Skims focuses on inclusive sizing, an extensive range of skin-tone shades, and a versatile, second-skin feel for everyday wear. Honey Love offers more intensive shaping with structured panels, whereas Skims excels at seamless, lightweight essentials that blend into your wardrobe.
Let's break down everything you need to know to choose the right shapewear for your body and your needs.
Honey Love: Science-Backed Shaping & Support
Honey Love is a premium shapewear brand that prioritizes innovative design for effective smoothing and body contouring without sacrificing comfort. Their products blend functional technology with a sleek, modern aesthetic, making them a top choice for those seeking noticeable results for special occasions or daily confidence. The brand's target customer wants high-quality, engineered shapewear that truly performs.
- Product mix: Primarily focused on shapewear, including high-waisted shorts, powerful bodysuits, and shaping camisoles. The brand also offers bras and a small selection of loungewear.
- Price point: Mid-range to premium, with most core pieces costing between $70 and $150. Their best-selling high-waisted shapewear typically lands in the $80-$100 range.
- Quality & Materials: Utilizes high-tech, breathable fabrics with specially designed targeted compression zones that shape specific areas like the waist and stomach. Materials are durable and engineered to stay in place without rolling down.
- Style/Aesthetic: Features a sleek, functional, and minimalist look. Designs are modern with seamless, bonded finishes intended to be invisible under even the tightest clothing.
- Fit & Sizing: Offers an inclusive size range from XS to 4X. Fit is generally true to size, focusing on providing firm, consistent support across different body shapes.
Honey Love is the ideal choice for anyone seeking powerful, reliable sculpting from performance-driven materials, creating a streamlined silhouette under any outfit.
Shop Honey Love: honeylove.com
Skims: Inclusivity & Everyday Comfort
Founded by Kim Kardashian, Skims has quickly become a leader in the intimates market by celebrating body positivity through incredibly inclusive sizing and a vast palette of skin-tone shades. The brand offers shapewear, loungewear, and underwear that emphasize a comfortable, second-skin feel. Skims appeals to a broad audience looking for modern, minimalist basics that can be worn for light support or as fashion-forward foundation pieces.
- Product mix: An extensive collection of shapewear, underwear, bras, bodysuits, sleepwear, and loungewear, making it a one-stop-shop for all intimates.
- Price point: Ranges from accessible to premium, with underwear starting around $30 and more structured shapewear or bodysuits reaching $150.
- Quality & Materials: Focuses on seamless, buttery-soft, and lightweight fabrics with excellent stretch and recovery. The construction prioritizes comfort and a smooth, invisible finish.
- Style/Aesthetic: Minimalist, modern, and highly versatile. The brand is famous for its wide variety of neutral and skin-tone colors designed to complement any complexion.
- Fit & Sizing: A leader in inclusivity, Skims offers sizes from XXS to 5X. Most items run true to size, intended to hug the body for a smooth, comfortable fit.
Skims is the go-to for shoppers prioritizing exceptional comfort, a perfect color match, inclusive sizing, and versatile styles that work for both shaping and everyday fashion.
Shop Skims: skims.com
Honey Love vs. Skims Comparison
Price Comparison
Both brands operate in the mid-range to premium space, but their pricing structures serve different needs. Honey Love's shapewear starts at a higher price point, typically around $70, reflecting its focus on engineered compression and technological features. You're paying for the targeted support and durable construction.
Skims offers a wider variety of price points. While their core shaping garments are priced similarly to Honey Love ($60-$120), they also have a vast selection of more affordable basics like underwear and bralettes starting around $30. Skims also frequently offers bundles and sales, making it slightly more accessible for building a complete intimates wardrobe.
Quality & Materials
This is a key point of difference. Honey Love uses high-tech, structured fabrics with targeted compression zones and flexible boning that hold, lift, and sculpt. The materials feel substantial and are designed to provide firm support all day without losing their shape or rolling down. Think functional, performance-oriented construction.
Skims prioritizes a super-soft, stretchy, second-skin feel. Their seamless nylon and spandex blends are lightweight and breathable, designed to smooth rather than intensely sculpt. The focus is on undetectable comfort and complete freedom of movement, making their pieces feel less like traditional shapewear and more like incredibly comfortable base layers.
Product Selection
Skims has a significantly broader product catalog. Beyond shapewear, they offer an extensive line of loungewear, sleepwear, underwear, and even accessories. This makes Skims a more comprehensive brand for all your undergarment and at-home apparel needs.
Honey Love is much more specialized. Their core business is high-performance shapewear, with a smaller, curated selection of supporting items like bras. If your primary goal is finding the perfect piece of sculpting shapewear, Honey Love's focused collection is straightforward and effective.
Fit & Sizing
Both brands are commendable for their inclusive sizing, but Skims takes the lead. With a range spanning from XXS to 5X, Skims caters to a wider variety of body types than nearly any other brand on the market. Their dedication to a diverse shade range is also unmatched.
Honey Love’s range from XS to 4X is still excellent and covers a majority of sizes. Their sizing guides are detailed and help customers find the right fit for effective compression, which is crucial for their structured garments.
Style & Aesthetic
Honey Love products have a sleek, modern, and utilitarian look. They are functionally designed to remain invisible under clothing, focusing on performance over visual flair. The aesthetic is clean and sophisticated.
Skims, with its fashion-forward founder, treats its products as both foundation garments and potential standalone pieces. The minimalist aesthetic, combined with the vast color palette, makes many of their bodysuits and separates versatile enough to be incorporated into everyday outfits, embodying the "underwear as outerwear" trend.
Which One Should You Choose?
The right choice comes down to whether you prioritize targeted shaping or versatile, everyday comfort.
Choose Honey Love if:
- You need firm, reliable compression for a special event or for targeted daily support.
- You've struggled with shapewear rolling down and want a product engineered to stay put.
- You value durable, high-tech fabrics designed specifically for sculpting and shaping.
- You prefer a more specialized shopping experience focused purely on performance shapewear.
Choose Skims if:
- You're looking for an extensive range of shades to get an exact match for your skin tone.
- You want incredibly soft, seamless basics that feel like a second skin.
- You need a wider range of products, including loungewear, bras, and everyday underwear.
- Inclusivity in sizing (up to 5X) is crucial for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Honey Love or Skims more expensive?
Both are premium brands, but Honey Love generally has a higher entry price point for its core shapewear pieces (around $70-$100). Skims has shapewear in a similar range but also offers many more affordable basics, like underwear and bralettes, starting at about $30.
Which brand has better compression?
Honey Love offers stronger, more targeted compression. Its products are engineered with specific panels and sometimes flexible boning to sculpt and hold key areas. Skims provides lighter, all-over smoothing and is designed more for everyday comfort than intense shaping.
Does Skims run small?
Skims is designed to be form-fitting and generally runs true to size. However, because of the snug, body-hugging nature of the material, some people prefer to size up for a less compressive fit, especially in their loungewear collections.
Is Honey Love comfortable enough for all-day wear?
Yes. Despite its firm compression, Honey Love uses breathable, high-quality fabrics designed to be worn for extended periods. Their designs focus on eliminating common discomforts like rolling down or digging in.
Which brand has a better size range?
Skims has one of the most extensive size ranges on the market, offering products from XXS to 5X. Honey Love's range from XS to 4X is still inclusive but Skims provides more options on both ends of the sizing spectrum.
Can you wear Skims as regular clothing?
Absolutely. Many Skims bodysuits, tees, and loungewear pieces are specifically designed with a minimalist aesthetic that makes them perfect for wearing as part of a regular outfit. This versatility is a major selling point for the brand.
What are the 'must-buy' products from each brand?
From Honey Love, the SuperPower Short is a fan favorite for its targeted waist and stomach compression and anti-rolling technology. From Skims, the Seamless Sculpt Solution Short and the Fits Everybody collection of underwear and bodysuits are best-sellers known for extreme comfort and an inclusive shade range.
Which brand is better for postpartum support?
Honey Love's targeted compression and high-waisted designs providing firm core support make it an excellent choice for postpartum needs. The structured hold can help with abdominal support and shaping after pregnancy.
