A-Z of Style: Dupes

To be honest, I only realised what dupes were recently. I couldn’t believe it when I was told about them! Today, I have the gorgeous, Norlin from Bubbles, Baubles and Bags explaining what “dupes” are and sharing some amazing dupes with some serious savings.

A-Z of Style: Dupes

I was so excited AND honoured to be picked to share the letter D of Rachel’s A-Z of Style and this week it’s all about “dupes”. Being someone who absolutely loves beauty and fashion, but surviving on a beer budget, it’s imperative that I know where to look for products that will do the exact or a similar function to that of their more expensive counterparts.

So what exactly are “dupes”? It is basically short for duplicates; products that are exactly or function similarly to their more expensive and original cousin. With the beauty and skincare industry being so competitive, there are always bound to be drugstore brands that would produce copies of the original. That’s not to say that it’s bad or anything, but it makes it more attainable for those of us who wouldn’t or couldn’t part with our hard earned money for the super expensive brands. The price difference between the higher end or shall we say luxe brand names are huge! In most cases it can be over 50% in savings! In this post, I’ll be sharing with you some dupes that you can easily get your hands on, without sweating on the prices.

Face of Australia

Face of Australia is an Australian brand (pretty obvious from the name really), who has a great range of highly affordable and easily available beauty products that are often similar, if not even, like the originals we’ve seen on the shelves. I’ll list the originals that Face of Australia has had dupes made so far.

• Benefit Brow Zings – High Definition Brow Kit
• Benefit High Beam – Mineral Therapy Illuminator in Angel Mist
• NARS The Multiple – Lumi-Tint Illuminating Sticks
• Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar – Lip Paint
• NARS Blush (Super Orgasm) – Blush in O-Peachy
• Clinique Chubby Sticks – Glossy Lip Crayon
• Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil – Pure Skin Cleansing Oil

If you don’t already know, L’Oreal has made quite a number of dupes in terms of skincare and even their makeup range from well known brands such as Armani, Lancome, YSL, just to name a few. Honestly though, it shouldn’t be such a big surprise because these are all under the same umbrella of the L’Oreal group of brands. So naturally, a more affordable version would always be released later down the track. Usually though, there might be little tweaks made on the more affordable versions. Things like the scent, the feel and texture and also slight differences with the packaging. Sometimes, it could also be slight differences in the performance of the product. Rightly so, seeing that you pay the premium price for a premium product, so naturally, you would lose some of the qualities in the dupes.

• YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis A Levres – L’Oreal Shine Caresse
• Giorgio Armani Maestro Liquid Foundation – L’Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder
• Lancome Visionnaire Serum – L’Oreal Skin Perfection Serum
• Lancome Advanced Genifique – L’Oreal Youth Code Super-Concentrated Serum
• YSL Touche Eclat Concealer – L’Oreal Lumi Magique Highlighter

Besides the two I’ve mentioned, there are also other brands that have dupes but I’m going to call this the “rumour has it” list because I’ve heard that they are dupes but haven’t tested them together, myself but have read on other blogs who have.

• Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream – Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream
• MAC Paint Pots (a few shades) – Maybelline Color Tattoo
• Dior Addict Fluid Stick – Maybelline Color Elixir
• NARS Blush (some colours) – ELF Cosmetics Blush
• MAC Blush (a few shades) – NYX Blush

There are actually a lot more affordable brands out there that are duplicates of the higher end brands; the thing is for you to experiment and try especially if you’re not keen on splurging on the latest high end product. My tip is for you to wait a few months or so, the dupes would definitely be out on the shelves. Google the high end product you’re after and insert the word dupe at the end and you’ll usually get a list of the more affordable, drugstore brand.

I hope I’ve helped divulge a little well-known secret on some of the luxe brands out there.

Have you tried any of the more budget friendly brands I’ve mentioned? Are you surprised by any of the ones I’ve revealed?

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