Dept. 01 → Aisle 1 · The Head-to-Heads
Skims vs Honeylove: a knit against a corset.
| Head to Head | Skims Seamless Sculpt | Honeylove SuperPower |
|---|---|---|
| Price, checked at retail | $44 — half the money | $89 — you pay for the boning |
| Construction | Seamless compression knit | Boned — the only real structure in the aisle |
| Compression | Moderate, even, forgettable | Strongest class — you will feel it |
| How the sizing runs | True to chart; size up for comfort | True to size, per the brand |
| Size range | XXS–4X — widest of the big three | XS–3X |
| Getting it on | Like any legging | Reviewers unanimously call it a wrestle |
| Buy it for… | every single day | structure on one big night |
| Take it home | Check Price → | Check Price → |
Prices checked at each brand's own site — Skims 2026-07-25, Honeylove 2026-07-25.
Search traffic keeps pitting these two against each other, and the comparison is really a category error — like comparing slippers to hiking boots because both go on feet. One is engineered to disappear under clothes for eight comfortable hours; the other is engineered to hold a silhouette for five photographed ones. The buying mistake isn't picking the wrong brand, it's bringing the wrong tool to the day. Start with the tape measure, then pick the day.
The letters lie between brands
Honeylove's chart is narrower per size than Skims's — an L at Honeylove covers a 32–33 inch waist, while Skims's L runs 31.5–34.5. Land at 34 inches and you're an L in one store and shopping the next letter in the other. Comparing letters across brands is a coin flip; comparing inches is arithmetic. The translator below does all three big brands from one pair of measurements.
The Size Translator
Two measurements — we never ask your weightSkims
L
≈ US dress 12–14
Runs true, but the compression is real — Skims itself says size up if comfort beats sculpt.
Check price at Skims →Spanx
L
≈ US dress 12–14
"Runs about a size small" is the most common line in OnCore reviews — near the top of a range, size up.
Check price at Spanx →Honeylove
L
≈ US dress 10
True to size per the brand — order your measured size for the full structural effect.
Check price at Honeylove →Translated from each brand's published body-measurement chart, as reprinted by the brand or its authorized retailers — last verified 2026-08-13. Between sizes mid-transition? Buy for the body wearing it this season, not the goal size. Reader-supported: the price links may earn us a commission — the size math never changes for it.
Skims Seamless Sculpt Mid-Thigh Short
The everyday answer: a seamless knit with moderate, even compression — the construction you pick when the goal is smoothing fabric texture for eight hours, not holding a silhouette for one big night. Also the widest size run in the category by a distance.
- Widest size range here: XXS–4X
- Seamless knit — built for all-day wear
- Cheapest of the big three at $44
- Moderate smoothing only — no structure
- Buyer reviews note the compression relaxes with heavy wash cycles
Fit note: order your measured size. Mid-transition, that means today's size, not the goal size — a $44 garment is the right price to be temporary.
Price and details last verified 2026-07-25.
Honeylove SuperPower Short
The only one of the big three built with actual boning — structure, not just compression. That's why it's the event pick: boning holds a line the way knit fabric can't. The trade, and reviewers are unanimous on this: you will feel it, and getting it on takes commitment.
- The only one with boning — real structure
- Strongest compression class of the three
- Designed specifically as an event-grade piece
- Priciest per garment
- Reviewers consistently call it a wrestle to put on
- You will not forget you are wearing it
Fit note: runs true to size per Honeylove's own guidance — order your measured size for the full structural effect. The brand says sizing up is fine if you'd rather have lighter compression; just know that's the trade you're making.
Price and details last verified 2026-07-25.
The $45 question
The price gap is the construction gap. Skims charges $44 for knit that smooths; Honeylove charges $89 because boning — the rigid supports sewn vertically into the garment — costs more to build and does something knit physically can't: hold a line under a fitted dress for a whole evening. If your calendar has one such evening, that's what the extra money buys. If it doesn't, the extra money buys a drawer ornament you'll wrestle with twice.
Mid-transition, the math changes
If your size is still moving, remember that shapewear is the one garment not worth tailoring — whatever you buy now is temporary. That argues for the $44 piece as the default and the $89 piece only when a specific date demands it. And on that date logic: buy Honeylove in your measured size the week of the event, not your hoped-for size a season early.
The Verdict — Cut Along the Dotted Line
Skims for a life, Honeylove for an event. If one purchase must do both jobs, buy the job that's on your calendar first — and buy it in your measured size in this size, not your next one.
Asked at the counter
Is Skims or Honeylove better?
They win different days. Skims Seamless Sculpt is the everyday piece: $44, moderate compression, seamless knit you can wear eight hours, sizes XXS–4X. Honeylove SuperPower is the event piece: $89, the only big-brand short built with boning, real structure you will absolutely feel. Buy Skims for a life, Honeylove for one big night.
Does Honeylove run true to size?
Yes — Honeylove’s own fit guidance says order your measured size for the full structural effect, and says sizing up is legitimate if firm compression worries you. You trade smoothing for comfort; make the trade knowingly. Skims also runs true to chart, though with different inch boundaries — the same waist can be a different letter in each brand.
Why is Honeylove so much more expensive than Skims?
Construction. The SuperPower Short is built with boning — the rigid vertical supports that make it shapewear in the corset sense, not the compression-knit sense. That’s roughly double Skims’s price ($89 vs $44), and it buys a hold that knit fabric cannot produce. If you don’t need a held line, you don’t need the $45 difference.
Which has the better size range?
Skims, clearly: XXS–4X versus Honeylove’s XS–3X. At the upper end of the charts Skims covers roughly a 49-inch waist and 59-inch hips, several inches beyond where Honeylove’s chart ends — for many shoppers Skims is not just the comfort pick but the only one of the two whose chart reaches them.