Drugstore dupes!

I know I talk about high-end products a lot, with the exception of that post where I told you about the drugstore products I regularly use.

Now I wanted to address something else: how to dupe high-end products with drugstore stuff. I realize I don’t look for dupes enough. I have a lot of things in my stash that could be used as dupe for new collection items, which would be smarter than rushing to the department store and getting the novelties. Well, same principle applies with the drugstore: better look there first.

Duping Mac MSF’s, Mineralize Blushes and Eyeshadows.

Prestige now has a mineral branch, surprisingly called Prestige Minerals. They have 3 baked bronzers and 4 baked blushes that can totally compare with Mac well-known MSF’s and mineral blushes. They work really well and I completely recommend them.
For people who like mineral eyeshadows, they are also offering eyeshadow quads. I don’t have much experience with these, I have one with neutral colors and it’s not very pigmented but I haven’t tried applying them wet. They’re worth a look anyway.

Duping Urban Decay 24/7 liners.

Bourjois has a great selection of pencil liners, particularly in the Clubbing line. These are as good as the UD ones, very smooth and pigmented. I know Bourjois can be quite expensive in the US but in Europe they are a drugstore brand, so it’s easy to find their products for a reasonable price.

Duping Nars Blushes.

Again Bourjois is great. They have been making blushes for over a century and have a very pretty collection where you can find good alternatives for Orgasm and other famous blushes. Plus, the boxes are super cute, which is always a bonus.

Duping Mac Studio Fix Fluid Foundation

I know this isn’t fresh news but Revlon ColorStay foundation is a perfect drugstore alternative. The shade selection is smaller though, but you can always mix 2 shades to get a better match.

Duping Mac Dazzleglasses and Lipglosses.

Gosh have a very good selection of lipglosses. The regular ones, in the round tubes, look very much like the Mac Lipglosses, and they have the same vanilla scent. Even more exciting, they have perfect dazzleglass dupes: Light’n Shine Lip Glazes. These come in a square shaped tube. When you apply it, there’s a little blue light shining at the base of the brush (which is inside the tap, obviously) and there’s a little mirror on one side of the tube. That’s a bit gimmicky of course, but the product itself is great.

Duping Mac Shadesticks.

Again, Gosh has a great product here in the form of their waterproof eyeshadow pencils. They come with a wide range of colors, great pigmentation and they really are waterproof.

Duping Nars Laguna bronzer.

Barry M compact bronzer! It’s a great product and even the packaging is close to the Nars one. If you don’t have access to Barry M in your country, you can order online as they ship internationally and have reasonable shipping prices.

Duping Mac pigments.

Two alternatives here: Barry M Dazzle Dusts(over 90 colors, all very pigmented, what more could you want?) and Gosh Effect Powders (the selection is smaller but the product is great).

Duping Mac Fix+.

Get a toner and a small plastic bottle with spritzer, put the toner in it and viola! This works as great as Fix+ but is way cheaper. If you have access to it, Nivea Moisturizing Toner is excellent for this purpose.