@annabeebeauty
Sometimes, and especially after the extravagance of Christmas, we all need to pinch a few pennies. Even though January Student Finance should have been paid by now, our New Year’s resolution to not blow it all straight away might mean we at least try to be sensible with what we buy! With this in mind, I’ve compiled a list of the best beauty duplicates on the market; they look just like the cult products, but they don’t carry the bank-busting price tag.
1. Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat, £25.00 vs. L’Oreal Lumi Magique Concealer, £8.49
Designed to illuminate the skin and diminish the appearance of imperfections, Touche Éclat seems to be at the top of every beauty blogger’s list of must-have items, but at £25 it’s certainly not an affordable beauty staple. Never fear, because L’Oreal have created their Lumi Magique pen to do a similar job at a fraction of the price. It has slightly heavier coverage as it is a concealer as well as an illuminator, whereas Touche Éclat only adds radiance, so it actually has more uses than its expensive rival! Dupe Rating: 7/10
2. Benefit Sun Beam & High Beam, £19.50 each vs. MeMeMe Oyster Gold & Pearl Pink, £5.50 each
Benefit have a reputation for brilliant products, adorable packaging, and unfortunately, sky-high prices. Nearly £20 for a bottle of highlighter to add shimmer and light to your cheeks is just too expensive for most, so turn to MeMeMe’s beautiful copies instead. The packaging is basically indistinguishable as both come in glass, nail-varnish-esque bottles, and the pink and gold colours from MeMeMe are spot on matches Benefit’s shades. Dupe Rating: 8/10
3. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, £37 vs. MUA Undress Me Too Palette, £4
Urban Decay’s Naked eye shadow palettes have created an absolute frenzy in the beauty world each time one has been released, but the fact that’s they’re nearly £40 each means that they’re not exactly suitable for a student budget. However, MUA have created an identical set of eye shadows with a cheekily similar name to match. The packaging doesn’t really measure up as the UD palette comes in a sturdy metal case whereas MUA’s is plastic, but I don’t think that matters much when it’s basically ten times cheaper! Dupe Rating: 8.5/10
4. Too Faced Sweethearts Blush, £24 vs. Makeup Revolution Blushing Hearts, £4.99
My eyes have always been pretty good, but I need a magnifying glass to tell these two apart. The packaging design is identical, the heart-shaped, 3D blushes look exactly the same, and the best part is that the quality of the Makeup Revolution one matches up to the Too Faced one. Each blush contains three baked blusher colours that swirl together to create a beautiful rosy blush effect; one just does it significantly cheaper than the other! Dupe Rating: 10/10
5. L’Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray, £6.60 vs. Aldi Carino Hairspray, £0.79
Yes, you read correctly; that says 79p. These two hairsprays have clearly been designed to look the same, and the quality of Aldi’s version certainly doesn’t disappoint. It doesn’t hold quite as long as Elnett, but the spray is very fine and doesn’t leave hair sticky at all. Both L’Oreal’s and Aldi’s hairsprays contain 400ml of product each, but only one of them costs less than a quid. Dupe rating: 9/10
