June 26, 2015

There’s a Makeup Dupe for That!

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makeup dupes meme hey girl

Makeup dupes? I haz ’em!

Eyeshadow, lipgloss, makeup dupes, a controversial sometimes touchy topic for some. One thing I’ve learned about us makeup addicts we take dupes very, very seriously. Well some of us do. I don’t. I’m the worst kind of consumer that has 500 of the exact same eyeshadow shade! Wasteful? Maybe! Hoarder? Possibly! It’s just…something about owning a variety of eyeshadows in the same shade but with a different texture? I dunno, I’m making asinine excuses for myself here.

I’ve personally broken down makeup dupes into the following categories.

The “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” Makeup Dupe
This is the dupe that’s a spot on duplication of a favorite shade and even the formula is exactly the same! This is a rare find for the true makeup connoisseur because I always find dupes are an either/or kinda situation. Either you get a spot on dupe for the color but not the formula or the shade is identical to your favorite shade but the formula sucks.

The “Close but no Cigar” Makeup Dupe
This is the dupe that ALMOST looks like your favorite shade but isn’t exactly the same.

The “Are you freaking serious?” Make Dupe
This is the ridiculous dupe that gets recommended to you by a friend or a fellow makeup addict. For example, when you’re recommended the L.A. Girl Beauty Brick Eyeshadow Collection and you’re told it’s a dupe or a lot “like” the Urban Decay Naked Palette. Yeah, sure, right.

What kinda of makeup dupe addict are you?

Now makeup dupe peeps are broken down into four personalities.

They include:

  • I am the nonchalant I don’t care if I have 500 shades of the same eyeshadow I’ll buy it anyway.
  • I am a very savvy consumer and I won’t buy dupes of ANYTHING, EVER!
  • I try to avoid duplicating my favorite shades but sometimes I cave.
  • I love the thrill of finding a good dupe of my favorite shades at a cheaper price.

I am unfortunately the nonchalant, I don’t give a crap if I have 500 of the same eyeshadows, I’ll still buy it anyway kinda personality. Many times this is frowned upon by the savvy consumer I don’t buy dupes anything, ever personalities. I do show, recently, more signs of being a “I try to avoid duplicating shades but I sometimes cave” personality lately but just barely!

How about you?

How do you feel about dupes?

Which personality are you?

What are some of your favorite makeup or beauty dupes?

Do share!

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About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Katie

    I love the thrill of finding a good dupe of my favorite shades at a cheaper price. BUT- I am often disappointed and end up buying the real thing. I found what I thought was a dupe for my Lancome Miel glace blush..wore it a while, but it just wasn’t the quality of the Lancome. Same thing with mascara. I should learn to save my money and buy what I really want. (Of course, I consult the Muse’s reviews before trying anything new!!) My leftovers end up in the scrap pile.

    • Isabella Muse

      Hey Katie, this is me too. I always like finding a possible cheaper dupe but about 99.9% of the time it isn’t at all like the real thing! So I end up spending more money in the end when I could have just saved and purchased the real thing -D aw shucks thanks chica! 😀

  • Heidi

    I think the only real dupe I’ve found is Revlon’s nail polishes can be good duplicates for higher end polishes. For example, Revlon’s Winter Mint nail polish (the perfumed polish) is a good dupe for Deborah Lippman’s Mermaid’s Dream. I think Sally Beauty has a 99-cent one, too, that compares favorably. They’re probably not quite the same, but they’re damn close.
    I’ve never found a good dupe in anything else, though. Close, yeah, but when I see people posting pics and saying “this could be a dupe for …” it never looks like it to me. There’s always something, whether it be a touch more red or whatever.
    That said, I don’t really buy pricey makeup brands, save for a couple exceptions. But if I want “that” lipstick or whatever, I figure why not pony up and buy it?

  • Kris

    My favorite dupe is Wet n Wild reserve your cabana bronzer. It is a dupe for hourglass dim light. I have both and swatch and wear very very similar.

  • Tracy

    Great topic! I’m always the odd person out when it comes to dupes because most of the time I just don’t see it. It’s never exactly the same so the majority of the time I don’t even bother looking for a dupe. I’m very particular when it comes to beauty products and although I mainly use higher end brands I love a great find at the drugstore.

    • Isabella Muse

      I feel the same. I see so many dupe this dupe that posts and I always go out and buy the “dupes” but I always feel like, “wait, why is everyone saying this is a dupe?” It just isn’t exactly the same thing!

  • Carol G

    Yeah, I’m in the first category. I’m sure I really do have 500 different shades of brown (or whatever color) because in my sick, twisted mind I justify buying it because no two shades are going to be exactly the same. It’s just not possible because if it was, it would be the actual product you’re trying to duplicate in the first place! Haha, how’s that for logic?! I need a makeup intervention…

  • Zovesta

    I am not too fussy of a makeup person, so I see a shimmery taupe and think “ah, don’t need that, already got a brown and a grey I can mix together to make that”. Sometimes good, sometimes not…

  • Codename Duchess

    I’m a mix between a type 1 and a type 4. If I see someone swatch a cheaper dupe online and that cheaper dupe is easy to find, it’ll kill my lemming and I’ll just buy the cheaper stuff. But that’s only if the dupe is so close I have a hard time telling them apart OR if I end up actually liking the color of the cheaper shade better. I have no patience for dupes that aren’t really dupes. I’ll buy those products if I like them on their own merits, but they’re not going to satisfy me enough to replace them.

  • Jane

    I am more like you, Isabella. Different shades and textures look still different on me and it is fun to me to play with them. I have few colors that suit me best and of course I will have more variations of them than buying a rainbow of shades. Why would I want to find a dupe at cheaper price? Maybe if I would be a makeup artist and would be using a certain product so much that finding a cheaper dupe would save me significant money… but otherwise I find it rather weird to look for a dupe for a product that you will need to buy again in 2-3 years only, price difference per year is so minimal then that it is not worth an effort of searching for dupes or whatever (I mean if $10-20 difference is significant money for someone, then she did not have to buy an expensive version in the first place). When I like something very much I just buy some backup.

  • Amber M.

    I think the thing about dupes is that they are very dependent on skin tones. So it might be an exact dupe of a product on one person but nowhere close to another. It s very individual.

  • Karen R

    Yeah I think I have about 200 different shades of taupe and purples….both dupes and high end (I know I know its a sickness)…Im always on the look out for a dupe for my dearly departed stila puck….sadly haven’t found it yet!!

  • kookchicken

    Oh gosh, I feel like I’m still evolving into the type of shopper I am. I used to be a “buy them all” type for sure. Then it was “if it’s a favorite, then why not? I’ll take eight”. I have always been a “if it’s cheaper then heck yeah!” type. But if the quality isn’t there I get angry and don’t use it. And I’m not just upset at the product, I’m upset at myself for being so dumb- again. So right now I’m trying really hard to be the “don’t buy it if you own it, think you own it, or would rather own a different brand” type. I just bought two Givenchy lipsticks last week. They were pricey and I could have probably bought something similar for less. But I’ve been so happy with them, wearing them non stop. And to me that’s worth it. I got exactly what I wanted and probably saved by not buying ten “close but not quite right” shades I’ll never wear.

  • Jay

    I’m a weird dupe snob lol. I absolutely HATE when people buy a product and then constantly compare it to something else, the “real thing”. I don’t need 100 brown eye shadows just like MAC’s brown script, Just buy the original damn eyeshadow and call it a day! I like products of all price ranges because they stand on their own as good products.

  • Candice

    I have this problem with basically every single item I buy these days. The makeup world needs to up their game so I can keep buying!

  • devon

    i get curious about dupes when i see a lot of people talking about it (per example–nyx mauve lip liner/mac whirl lip liner) and i know that i don’t want/need the real thing but could be possibly drawn into the cheaper version. i also look for dupes if it’s a brand that i don’t use and i want to see if i can find it by a cruelty-free company.

  • Katherine T.

    If it’s a superior formula, then I will buy the real thing even if it’s more expensive. If it’s just a great color, but hideously expensive, then I’m happy to find a cheaper dupe as long as the quality is there. If I buy a HE product (Tom Ford, Chanel, Charlotte Tilbury), it has to be a more unique color or LE, and the quality better be there, otherwise, I go with the dupes.

  • Katherine T.

    Oh, and I try not to duplicate colors in my stash. If I see a purple shadow I like, I will swatch all the purples in my stash to make sure I’m not buying a color that I already have.

  • Amber

    Well I guess I’m alone in NEEDING to buy dupes a lot of the time because I simply can’t afford the real thing most times. Being poor is no fun but I can’t believe there was no one else in the comments in the same boat. Oh well. If you can afford everything you want then good for you lol but that’s just unrealistic for me. I bought several dupes for naked before my boyfriend finally bought me the real thing for christmas. And, of course, no…none of them compare to the real thing lol but they tied me over until I could afford it!

    • Katie

      I understand completely about the budget!!! I have to pinch every penny, but I am learning that for me, I can blow a bunch on stuff that I am unhappy with, or save up and get the real deal. As I get older, I am getting better at this. I also watch for sales, and use my Ulta points for the more expensive items. But if I need a quick fix, I can usually do OK with Nyx, although their prices are creeping up rapidly!

    • Stephanie

      I understand. I’m on disability. I’m lucky to have a fantastic housing situation but I chose not to have cable TV so I can experiment with more of my hobbies and everyone thinks I’m nuts 😉

  • Stephanie

    I’m the one that sees something she likes, buys it and realizes she has two other pencils that are similar in color but different formulas (Stila Rose shadow stick, NYX Yogurt, Milani Champagne Toast)