marissa belle ｡･:*˚:✧｡࿐

Good day everyone!

If you didn’t already know, I’m a sucker for drug store products and cheap dupes because of two things. Firstly, I love shopping affordably. Secondly, I know many people do as well so I like recommending them with cheaper alternatives to what you’d usually get with ‘high-end’ products. I’ve not tested much expensive products but as a makeup lover, over time, I have had some samples here and there that I was able to get my hands on, and there have been many I was extremely fond of but the price…..

NOT fond of that. 

Please note this post will contain both cruelty-free and non cruelty-free options as over the years I have had the chance to try all kinds of makeup. I will always advocate for the cruelty-free option but I also DO understand that sometimes they don’t work as well, they are out of your reach (country-wise or price-wise), or worse, they make you break out! You can check out the list of cruelty-free brands at Cruelty-Free Kitty and compare them with the products you think you’d want to try!

Here are some of my personal favourite makeup dupes I’ve discovered over the years!

Laura Mercier Powder (£32) VS Innisfree No Sebum Powder (£3.70)

I KNOW I’M GOING TO GET A LOT OF HATE FOR THIS! I’m very aware that the Laura Mercier Powder has a cult following and that anyone who speaks badly of it shall be damned! But hear me out. Do you see that £28.30 price difference? That could buy you a couple of extra products from Superdrug.

My mum had bought the LM Powder about a year ago and I decided to give it a try, expecting to be blown away by how amazingly flawless it made my skin (or something..?) and it did not do that for me at all. I didn’t like the texture of the powder, it didn’t feel fine enough, and it felt… cheap? It did not feel like a luxury powder. Basically, you could’ve replaced it with flour and I wouldn’t have known the difference. I’m sorry if that was too harsh.

On the other hand, it might just be my extremely oily skin because I have heard that this product has worked WONDERS for some people with oily skin. Maaaaybe I’m just not bougie enough for this product.

The Innisfree Powder has done the best job out of any powder I’ve ever used before in setting my face, as well as keeping me matte. It also smells slightly medical because of the mint, but I don’t mind it as it’s not overpowering. I would highly recommend giving it a try.

Too Faced’s Dark Chocolate Matte Bronzer (£25) VS NYX Matte Bronzer in Medium (£8)

I’ve written about how much I liked the Too Faced Dark Chocolate Matte Bronzer in the past and trust me, I still like it a lot! But for that price point, I’m not sure if I’ll be purchasing it again as I’ve found a product that does something similar for less than half the price! The only difference is that you won’t be getting the lovely chocolatey smell that comes with the Too Faced Bronzer, but is that worth the extra £17? Not for me! But it still is a great product, nonetheless. If you can afford it, go for it!

The NYX Matte Bronzer in the shade Medium looks almost exactly like the Dark Chocolate Bronzer, you wouldn’t be able to really tell the difference! Both bronzers lasted me months, the Too Faced one is still going strong at almost (or over) 2 years. It took me ages to hit pan, and I’m still trying to finish up my Too Faced one before I move on to Benefit’s Hoola which I got as a present for my birthday in February – I am also obsessed with it!

It does put me off knowing that Benefit still sells to China, but if you’re looking for a third alternative to a great bronzer for light-medium skin, Hoola is great too at £14.50 for the travel-sized version.

Marc Jacobs’ Velvet Noir Mascara (£25) VS Primark’s Wonderlash (£3)

I’m not one to splash out on a tiny tube of mascara that cost me £25, which is why I only got to try this product when it was a free gift in a Sephora Goodie Bag. Imagine my disappointment when I realised that this product worked WONDERS for my eyelashes! I don’t have extremely long lashes, they’re of average length but my main issue is that they point straight and downwards, I have the hardest time keeping them curled. The Marc Jacobs mascara made my lashes look like falsies, it was amazing! However, I never repurchased it after it dried and clumped up, as I wasn’t going to spend £25 on a small tube.

I discovered the Wonderlash mascara from Primark completely by accident. I saw how cheap it was and decided to give it a go, not knowing it was, at the time, being hyped up on social media for being a dupe for Too Faced’s Better Than Sex (which in fact, I never really fancied!).

The Wonderlash mascara is amazing! I love how skinny the wand is and I notice it gave my lashes a lot of volume and curl which is really what I’m after. I would highly recommend Primark mascaras, as I’ve tried the Aqua Lash one for £2 back in the day and it worked really well for my stumpy asian lashes too.

Tarte’s Shape Tape (£28) VS L’Oreal Infallible Full Wear Concealer (£9.99)

As someone who is still suffering from cystic acne and scarring at the solid gold age of 26, concealer is the most important part of my makeup routine after foundation. The hype around Tarte’s Shape Tape was unreal and while I do agree it is pretty good, I also do think the price is a tad too high for some concealer when there are many drugstore ones that perform similarly, or even better, like the L’Oreal one I’m about to recommend you.

I stumbled upon the L’Oreal Infallible Full Wear Concealer in my local Watson’s (a drugstore in Singapore) one day and saw that it was described as “full wear” – I was hooked. I need industrial strength concealer to cover all the dark hyperpigmentation all over my face if I’m honest. Went home, tried it, and I have never used another concealer since then.

I am disheartened that L’Oreal, one of the biggest makeup companies out there, is still selling to China, which categorizes them as non-cruelty free. Personally, a good concealer is hard to find, let alone one that doesn’t break me out. L’Oreal Infallible Full Wear has fulfilled every category that I would want in a concealer, which is why I have stuck with it. There is news out there that China might completely ban animal testing on makeup products, which makes me really happy, as it means there are loads of products out there I can finally spend my own money on without feeling like an enemy to the animals.

KVD Beauty’s Tattoo Liner (£18) VS Heroine Make Eyeliner (£10)

Last, but definitely not least, liquid eyeliner! Another staple in my makeup routine.

I am very particular about the kind of eyeliner I use, as I only use felt tip liners. The brush has to be soft and thin as I do like to wing out my eyeliner with extreme precision. The KVD Beauty Tattoo Liner was the first felt tip liner that I fell in love with, and I actually repurchased it 3 times in my lifetime. I thought it was the best eyeliner I could ever try so I didn’t venture out to try new things, but I’m very happy I did.

I tried Heroine Make’s Eyeliner and I was stunned at the results. Not only did it feel exactly like the felt tip of the KVD Tattoo Liner, it was much darker and more pigmented which is exactly what I wanted. It was almost half the price, so I never bought another Tattoo Liner from Sephora again. If you’re looking for a more natural look, Heroine Make do this eyeliner in brown too.

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this post and I hope you have enjoyed reading it! This definitely won’t be the last of the dupes as I do have a couple more, let me know if you’d like to see another post with more products.

Have you discovered any good dupes recently? What are your thoughts on high end makeup?

Let me know in the comments below!

Stay safe and stay positive!

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