Famous Cosmetic Products and Their Dupes

Famous Cosmetic Products and Their Dupes

By Vivekina

Hi,

This is my first article for IMBB. I would love to hear your views and suggestions.

I have seen a lot of readers complaining about not being able to buy a product because their husbands think they cost a bomb.  Well, I agree, most of the products enlisted in the Holy Grail of beauty products have a really good PR and marketing team, the real stuff does cost that much. Also, you don’t need a six figure salary to be able to get your hands on a good quality and/or well pigmented product. We should not feel bad about missing out on the ‘it’ products because we aren’t, there are drugstore products out there which deliver as good a quality as these products. Also, what we don’t realize is that most of these big brands also own the smaller drugstore companies, so the product that we get is not “exclusive” or “high end.” They just market their products very well and are able to create hype around them.

Here is a list of such products and their cheaper drugstore alternatives:

1.  Nars Blush in Orgasm:

Famous+Cosmetic+Products+and+Their+Dupes

ELF Bronzer Duo

ELF makes a blush bronzer duo which just costs $3, not only is the duo a dupe for Orgasm, but also for Nars Laguna. Then there is La Femme, their blushes cost a measly $2.50 and are a favorite of various makeup artistes for being well pigmented and even for their formula. You can buy almost 10 pans of the ELF duo and 15 pans of La Femme for the cost of a single Nars’s pan. AMAZING, right?

2.) Urban Decay Nude Palette:

urban-decay-naked-palette

The best and the most similar dupe of UD’s Favorite Naked palette is ELF’s beauty book.  It is as pigmented as the UD palette and even the shades are absolutely similar and it costs only $5. Oh, you are welcome.

3.) Touche Eclat:

yves-saint-laurent-touche-eclat

photo2

This highlighting and concealing pen needs no introduction. A favorite among celebrities and make-up artistes alike, its revolutionary pen design has been copied by many companies and most recently our very own Lakme for its Absolute collection. There may be a lot of hype around, but it’s not worth the $50 sum. It doesn’t cover the dark circles properly and the cheaper alternative, Boots no.7 under eye concealer pen does a good enough job. Another great product that works wonders is L’Oreal Lumi Magique pen.

4.) Chanel’s Rogue Noir:

Chanel

Atracao-Fatal-1

I was surprised to see the Rouge noir bottle in my mother’s collection. Not only is it expensive, but also very rare to spot one. She told me about the time dad had gotten it for her along with a set of Dior minis (perfume), the Dior Show Mascara and a set of Dior nail paints.  My dad joined in the discussion by telling us about how he had to skip a day’s lunch and dinner to be able to afford it 😛 (now, I finally understand why girls say they want a husband just like their father). She has only used it a few times and it’s a miracle it is still in perfect condition. This venomous red was made popular by Uma Thurman in her movie Pulp fiction.  There are lot of dupes out there, but my absolute favorite is the Maybelline Colorama one – Atracao Fatal (one of the many reviewed by Jomol), and its damn cheap in comparison to the Chanel one.

5.) Diorshow Mascara:

diorshow-iconic-mascara

This is the most sought after mascara out there, a personal favorite of just about everybody, it can be duped for less than half of its price using L’Oreal’s double extend water proof formula, Maybelline’s Colossal voluminous mascara and Rimmel London’s scandal eyes show off which not only provides volume but also lifts your lashes.

6.) Urban Decay’s Primer Potion:

Urban+Decay+Eyeshadow+Primer+Potion+Eden+Review

NYX+Studio+Perfect+Photo+Loving+Primer+Clear

I may be hated for saying this, but the primer potion is way too pricey and overrated.  There are so many cheaper and better options out there and one of them is by NYX and the Two Faced Shadow Insurance works great too. You could even try the ELF one and the Mary Kay eye primer. Just know well which product works for you.  There are people who say that the primer potion doesn’t work for them, you just have to see whether it is able to reduce creasing and help your eye product stay for long.

7.) Lancôme Hypnose Mascara:

lancome-hypnose-custom-volume-mascara

mascara4

This probably is the most popular after the Dior Show and has an amazing wand which adds volume and doesn’t clump. GREAT. However, isn’t that what the Maybelline Falsies and L’Oreal’s voluminous mascara do too? Also, a lot celebrities swear by their Falsies mascara. Another great product is L’Oreal’s Extra Volume Collagen Mascara, which not only adds volume but curls the lashes, doesn’t clump and is even waterproof. The Lancôme Mascara guarantees to extend the volume by 6 times whereas the L’Oreal one delivers double of that number. It truly turns you into a doe-eyed beauty (a la Zoey Deschanel).  By the way, L’Oreal owns Lancôme, so no point in spending all that money on the hypnose mascara. You are welcome. :*

Ps: If you need to inquire about any other dupes, let me know.

Image Sources:  2, 5, 6.

L’oreal Extra Volume Collagene Waterproof Mascara
L’oreal Telescopic Mascara
L’oreal Paris Volume Million lashes, Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara
Mascara: How to Choose Mascara for Eyes
Deborah Milano Definitive Volume and Curl Mascara Marrone Brown
MAC Studio Fix Lash Mascara in “Black Fix”
How to Remove Mascara with Olive Oil and Cotton?
Revlon Lash Fantasy Higher Definition Mascara
Avon SuperMagnify Mascara
MaxFactor Masterpiece Max Mascara
Maybelline Colossal Volum’ Express Waterproof Mascara

IMBB RECOMMENDS

32 thoughts on “Famous Cosmetic Products and Their Dupes

  1. Nars O blush is definitely over hyped! I don’t see the point plus has tones of shimmer! Even sleek’s rose gold is very similar to O and costs less than 6$!

  2. very nice post Vivekina..:-) .. i agree with evry point that u hav mentioned … :-).. very well written and an eye opener for me.. hehehhe :-).. good one 🙂

  3. Great article Vivekina.. I am surprised to see that Urban Decay Nude Palette costs $5 only?? I would love to buy it 🙁 Buy can anyone plz tell any online site to buy it?? For beginners like me I would to have it 🙂

  4. Great article Vivekina.. I am surprised to see that Urban Decay Nude Palette costs $5 only?? I would love to buy it 🙁 Buy can anyone plz tell any online to buy it?? For beginners like me I would to have it 🙂

  5. Whoa..What an entry.. 😯 … I have an inquiry 😛 he he he.. please tell me a dupe of 2 Chanel nail paints : Distraction & Orange fizz 😉

    1. Distraction again can be found in one of the many colorama lacquers…Its called coral chic I guess . Layering on a second coat will make it exactly look like the chanel one ! I Love orange fizz you have to really search the market for it , its very hard to find in India….I had a colorbar which was almost like that but your safest bet would be revlon’s make mine mango and the maybelline color show in orange fix. ALso, if dont mind buying online .. Asos has these similar colours by a brand called POP!

  6. Great article Vivekina.. I am surprised to see that Urban — Palette costs $5 only?? I would love to buy it 🙁 Buy can anyone plz tell any online to buy it?? For beginners like me I would to have it 🙂

  7. I loved loved loved the post & this is the first time that I commented on any post on IMBB! Looking forward to many more posts from you! :))

  8. OMG!:O I wasnt expecting this at all….I have my exams and was taking a quick nap so sorry for the late reply. Thankyou all so much! Yay!! 🙂

  9. Very well written article, Vivekina 🙂
    Also, if I may, I suggest a dupe closer to Rouge Noir than Atracao Fatal. Maybelline Colorama’s Zarzamora. I have used it, and I suggest 3 coats to get the desired darkness.
    And oh I SO want the Naked Palette (or the ELF Beauty Book) 😀

  10. Thank u for such a wonderful post, not only you have suggested fabulous alternatives but also picked our mind to shop ” smart”
    Looking fwd to your posts

  11. Nice post…Got to know about alternatives and how to save money…I would like to know the dupe for Bobbi brown lipsticks in shades plum rose, italian rose and rose brown.

  12. welcome to IMBB vivekina :)) Loved the post. I find that a lot of loreal products are super similar to lancome products. Basically because they belong to same group. Looking forward to reading more posts from you. 🙂

  13. wow.. an eye opener truely and i loved to know that loreal n maybelline are dupes for so many high end brands cool!! 🙂 i wud rather stick to drug store brands.. 🙂
    great start vivekina.. 🙂

  14. IT’s so true..I have learned from my own experience that and never ever spend a money on haigh end mascaras (except benefit they’re real). Also wet n wild shadows are much better quality than many high end shadows and cost a fraction. Lovely article and yay for drugstore products 🙂

  15. Also l’oreal infallible eyeshadows are very similar to Giorgio Armani eyes to kill eyeshadows ..formula wise I don’t see any difference!

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