So many makeup products are going viral right now. With people trying to save money, we are constantly looking for drugstore dupes (short for duplicates) for your high end makeup favourites. We always try the high end makeup with the dupe several different ways. First, we swatch them next to each other to feel and see the finish on both. One day we put on the high end makeup product. The next day we will put on the dupe to test for longevity. One day we will put them on opposite cheeks, eyes or on half of the lips to see how they perform head to head.
As always, products are tested for performance, lasting power and overall quality. People have different skin types, eyelid textures and more and some products work better for oily skin versus dry skin or you may just have your favourite products and they differ from ours.
Here are 3 of our latest drugstore dupes versus high end makeup favourites:
Lip Colour
The Competitors: Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Lip Soufflé Matte Cream Lipstick at Sephora $26.00 VS NYX Professional Makeup Smooth Whip, Matte Lip Cream $12.49 at Shoppers Drug Mart
Rare Beauty is also a rarity in the beauty space. Selena Gomez’s brand is always on top of or creating trends in the beauty space. Rare Beauty’s Lip Soufflé Matte Cream Lipstick is soft on your lips with a matte finish. It feels weightless and unlike some bullet lipsticks, you can enjoy the velvety finish that matte lipsticks give without the tugging that can happen with bullet lipstick. I was excited to find almost an exact dupe.
NYX Professional Makeup Smooth Whip, Matte Lip Cream has the EXACT consistency lip feel as the Rare Beauty rival. They both apply using a doe-foot applicator and they both feel weightless. They even had a similar wear time and fade.
What You Are Missing Out On By Buying The Makeup Dupe:
Paying double the price.
The Winner:
NYX Professional Makeup Smooth Whip, Matte Lip Cream – at less than half of the price with a very similar texture and more shade options, is the clear winner. Never fear though, Selena fans, there is one product that Rare Beauty has that can’t be duped, and you will see that in a future post.
Finishing Powders
The Competitors: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder – $69.00 at Sephora VS Essence pure NUDE highlighter 10 – $5.49 at Shoppers Drug Mart
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder is a favourite. It is perfect for setting the under eyes or as an all-over finishing powder. It will give a light glow that isn’t too shiny. It also comes in a beautiful package with a variety of shades. The product is baked and you get a lot of it, which helps justify the high end price.
Essence Pure Nude Highlighter is supposed to be just that – a highlighter – but it is very soft and sheer and will give you more of a lit from within look versus a really glow. It is very similar to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in texture and results. It is a surprisingly good dupe and a high quality, beautifully soft formula that looks great all over the face or just on the under-eye. The only negatives are there is just one shade (a nude/pearl) and the plastic packaging doesn’t hold up.
What You Are Missing Out On By Buying The Makeup Dupe:
Better packaging and a wider shade range.
The Winner:
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder although Essence Pure Nude Highlighter is an excellent dupe that we highly recommend.
Eyeshadow
The Competitors: Kaja Eye Bento Bouncy Eyeshadow Trio – $34.00 at Sephora VS Maybelline New York, Shadow Blocks – $19.00 at Shoppers Drug Mart
Kaja Eye Bento Bouncy Eyeshadow Trio is a YouTube favourite. The easy-to-apply shadows are beginner friendly and ideal for travellers. The packaging is cute and you can get a variety of finishes with the different trios offered from matte only, mix of matte and shimmer and shimmer only trios. They take the guess work out of eyemakeup application.
The Maybelline New York Shadow Blocks are definitely inspired by Kaja. You get the same cute packaging, albeit harder to open, and the same ease of application thanks to only having three colours to choose from. The five available Shadow Blocks all contain two mattes and one shimmer. The only issue is that the formula isn’t consistent. West 4th & Perry St is by far the best of the blocks offered. We highlight recommend it for rich pigment and lasting power. The rest are much more muted.
What You Are Missing Out On By Buying The Makeup Dupe:
A consistent formula and better packaging.
The Winner:
Kaja, the high end makeup favourite, has the edge. They have a greater variety of colour and finish selection and their formula is consistent. Never fear though, Maybelline has a product (or two) that is so good, it will be featured in our upcoming best in drugstore makeup post.
